Amazon is having another great magazine sale. They have select magazines for only $5 for a full year subscription.  This would be a great gift idea for someone special on your list and you wouldn’t need to spend much.  Since these are a year subscription, this would be a gift that gives all year long and you can get an entire subscription for about the price of one issue in the stores.

Here’s a list of magazines that you can get for $5 today and the amount you’ll save versus buying from the stores:

• Southern Living – 92% off cover price, save $52.88
• Golf – 90%, $42.88
• Sunset – 90%, $52.88
• Essence – 90%, $42.88
• Coastal Living – 84%, $26.60
• This Old House – 90%, $44.90
• Family Fun – 75%, $29.55
• Health – 87%, $34.90

Visit Amazon’s $5 magazine deal page.  Those interested in the Disney Family Fun magazine should follow this link.  Amazon is also have a $10 sale on Entertainment Weekly and InStyle magazines.

I am thinking of purchasing Southern Living. They have beautiful decorating and home ideas, as well as fantastic recipes.  Earlier this year, I purchased Real Simple during a $5 sale and I have been really happy with that purchase.

If you are looking for a particular magazine, be sure to search around.  I also found deals on Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and Food Network.

Amazon does allow you to ship the magazines to different locations.  Look for the option at the checkout.  You should expect your first magazine in February.  To give these as gifts, I would recommend printing a certificate and putting it in a card, gift bag, or wrapped box.  If you don’t mind spending a little more, you could purchase a copy of the magazine from the store and attach the certificate to it.

Will you be taking advantage of the $5 magazine sale?

image from Amazon

All good shoppers need some tricks up their sleeves to save more money. Hopefully these tips below will help you to brush up on your shopping tricks – good especially for this time of year when we all want to save more money.

Don’t be pressured by sale purchase amounts: When an item says 10 for $5 you usually don’t half to buy all 10. You can buy 4 or 7 or however many you like and still get the deal.
Ignore customer limits: Along the lines above don’t let stores trick you into thinking an item is rare or in high …read more

My email inbox is always filled with sales and deals so I decided to pass some of these on to you.  I hope you’ll find something in here you can use to save money.  

Get the FamilyFun Activity Calendar for only $5.99 with free shipping and handling.  It’s chock full of creative crafts, instant boredom busters, holiday recipes, and entertaining activities for each month of the year.
Gilden Tree is having a sale on gift certificates. From now until Christmas, order an email gift certificate for $50 or more and receive a $10 gift certificate for yourself; $100 or more and receive a …read more

Layoffs can happen to anyone at any job but if it happens you’ll be less at risk if you do the following…

Use the proper chain of command. Nothing makes management more upset (in my experience) then employees who fail to follow the proper order in the chain of command. Example – you’ve got an issue with your direct manager and instead of discussing it with him first you go above him to his supervisor. Unless it’s a real tough issue that puts you in an unsafe situation (like sexual harassment) you should always talk first to lower level management before …read more

Belk is one of my favorite places to purchase clothing.  I can shop their red dot clearance sales and get quality clothing cheaper than I would at discount stores.

These are a few of my favorite purchases from today.  My hubby and I have been wanting some new sheets but I have been waiting around for a bargain.  These Wamsutta 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets are normally$195.00 but I got them for only $58.19. Oh yeah!  The dry erase/cork board was regularly $40. Not sure who would paid such a crazy price. I got this for my little girl’s room …read more

Dental care issues have become super frustrating in recent years as most companies shave off their dental plans to cut costs. On a positive note, saving on dental care costs is usually  far easier than saving on health care costs. Try the following.

Preventative care – obviously the best way to save is to need less dental care overall. Brush, floss, rinse, eat healthy – you know the drill I’m sure; but just in case read this preventative dental care guide. Along those lines encourage your kids to have healthy dental habits from birth.
Find a way to pay for regular check-ups …read more

My husband has been wanting a Wii for a while now. He’s mentioned wanting one a few times, but recently he began talking about us getting one for Christmas.  I’m not trying to be a Scrooge, but I can think of better things to spend my money on right now. 
If you’ve been reading Thrifty Mommy for a while, you’ll know that in the last year we’ve dealt with a poor housing market, moving, have a mortgage payment and rent, adoption, and now purchasing a home.  It’s been a financially exhausting year and I’m just not ready to lay down $200+ …read more

Women still make less money than men even when in the same position, women who divorce or split from their partner often get shoddy child support and a battle to go along with it, and women usually get the short end of the stick when they have kids – i.e. they take time off, lose wages,and continually do more housekeeping and child care which takes away from work time.
In good news a recent study shows that a larger majority of women, not men, control the family budget – but only by a little bit and other research shows that while …read more

SEE UPDATE BELOW – These are sold out…
Honestly, I’ve just recently heard of Zhu Zhu pets when I was writing my toy scalper post. It’s not a toy my son has seen. However, what I hear is that these are pretty much the hottest toy of 2009, so I’m guessing some of you are looking for one for your kids.
If so, you’re in luck because according to reports, Kmart has these fun furry friends scurrying-in just in time for Christmas.
On December 18th these electronic pet hamsters will be available for purchase on Kmart.com and on December 20th they will be …read more

You may want to wear something that makes you feel cheery and bright, something that will show everyone that you’re celebrating.  The problem is, many Christmas  sweaters, vests, and accessories can be very expensive.  I’m not one to wear Christmas sweaters, so I’ve been giving some thought to how to dress for the season, while keeping it low budget.

Wear cheery colors – Although you probably won’t see me in a Christmas sweater, you’ll likely see me wearing a bright red sweater.  Many of us have something red or green in our closets.
Jazz it up a little – Add some festive …read more