Holiday Guide to Online Coupons

Alright grab a pen and pencil and get ready. Here’s Plugged In’s Holiday Guide to Online Coupons.

Starting off the list are the sites that have become famous for their Black Friday madness.

Bfads.net
BlackFriday.info
BlackFriday.DealSPL.us
Black-Friday.net
BlackFriday.gottadeal.com

All of the above list the deals that will happen when retail stores open their doors bright and early Friday morning.

And whether you’re shopping online our looking for printable coupons you can use in stores, these sites have thousands of deals and are updated everyday.

First up, GottaDeal.com, use the drop down menus on the left hand side of the screen to customize the deals you want shown.

The site Keycode.com is a massive online coupon site that has the option to print select coupons. You can even sign up to get free printable coupons and a newsletter delivered to your email every week.

Another very similar site Is CurrentCodes.com.

Then you have the Pittsburgh based site MyCoupons.com-which I love! Scroll through more than 7,000 coupon codes and millions of products.

And finally ShopSort.com is a comparison-shopping engine. This site compares prices from more than 5,000 online vendors. The site is currently sorting through more than 11 million products with more being added every day.

Happy Shopping!

Give a laptop, get a laptop

How about a computer for your kids that’s spillproof, rainproof, dustproof, and drop-proof?

This is the XO Laptop, better known as the “$100 laptop,” part of a visionary new mission to get a laptop in the hands of every poor child in the world. For just $400 you can buy your child a nifty, rugged, lime-green laptop and at the same time be providing the same laptop to a needy child in a foreign country. You get a $200 tax deduction and the company says the machine will be at your house in time for the holidays.

These devices come with a built in camera, microphone, memory card slot, game-pad controllers and a screen that can rotate. The computer also has the ability to read e-books, draw, create music, chat or even make movies.

The XO computer is built with regular wireless Internet connectivity, and something called mesh that allows the computers to connect with each other without the Internet.

Another cool feature of the laptop is the ability to charge via handcranks or through solar power, since many of its potential users don’t have electricity.

Listen up, the “Give One, Get One” project will only run from Nov. 12 to Nov. 26 and these laptops are going to go quick.

If you want to learn more about the “laptop with a mission” or buy one, click here or check out my video story.

SmartShopper

Busy moms and dads, even singles, don’t have time to wander the aisles at the supermarket or try to remember which errands need to be run.

This $150 gadget can help.
The SmartShopper is a device that helps you make your grocery list and even reminds you of common errands that need to be done.

You’ll never have to use a pen and paper again for your shopping lists. The SmartShopper uses voice recognition technology. Simply press record and speak the name of the item or items you wish to add.

The device recognizes 2,500 item names and common errands like “dry cleaners” or “bank”.

The part that I love is that it even categorizes the items on the list for quick reference in the grocery store, meaning all your produce is printed out under “produce,” and so on.

Once you’re ready to head out to do the shopping, all you have to do is press print and the entire list is printed out!

Of course, the device isn’t going to recognize specific detailed products, but I was surprised by just how many products it did recognize.

Zootoo, Pet Lover Site With Local Benefit

If you love animals, there’s a new way to help your local shelter.

Zootoo.com is a free, opinion-sharing Web site where “every click helps a pet” and every pet lover has a voice.

On the site, people share their opinions and experiences about all things related to pets.

But here’s the cool part: Just about everything you do on Zootoo earns points that can quickly add up to help your local shelter.

When you sign up, you can include pictures of your pets, plus you can choose from a list of local shelters to support here in Pittsburgh.

Then, every time you visit Zootoo — whether it’s to review a product or service, share an opinion or post a photo — you’ll automatically earn points for your designated shelter.

And one very lucky shelter could win a million dollars for renovations! The second shelter gets $10,000 and 18 runners-up get $5,000.

So it’s true, every click does help a pet — and possibly a shelter right here in Pittsburgh.

The contest started in October and runs through March.

I love this site! I think it is a fantastic concept. I created my own profile, uploaded pictures of myself and my two cats. And to my surprise, the shelter where I adopted my two boys (Paws of My Heart) was among the local shelters on the list.
I got 100 points for just signing up.

But Zootoo is more than just a contest; the site really does provide pet owners with valuable information that comes first-hand from other pet owners just like you.

I want to thank Kelly Frey for plugging me in to this site, and Gretchen Fieser at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society for getting the word out about Zootoo.

Google on Your Phone and at the Pump, Your Personal Finance Made Easy

This week, Google announced a program that will open up wireless and cell phone service in a whole new way.

Google’s Open Handset Alliance brings together 34 companies that will develop software that will give everyone equal access, including Internet capabilities.

As you already know, every wireless carrier and phone offers the consumer something different. So, Google’s alliance may finally end some of the intense competition happening between wireless carriers…..yeah right!

Google also didn’t rule out creating their very own Google phone, but they say it’s not in the plans for the immediate future.

Mmmm…..what would a Google wireless device look like? Here are some of the pictures floating around the Internet.

Google is also coming to a gas pump near you. Starting next month, thousands of pumps at gas stations across the country will have an Internet connection and a small, interactive screen. Yep, you guessed it, Google’s mapping system will be available at the pump. You’ll even be able to print right there as you’re filling up.

This is a perfect idea for all the men you know who “know it all” and refuse to ask for directions. My question is, with so many navigation options available on cell phones and built in to the vehicles we drive, how successful will these Google pumps really be?

Your Personal Finance Made Easy

We could all use a little help taking charge of our finances. Whether it’s paying bills on time or putting kids through college, these two free sites make taking charge of your finances a breeze.

To help you manage your money and manage all of your finances, there’s Wesabe.com. And no, I’m not talking about the stuff you drink at Japanese restaurants.

Once you create an account, Wesabe will let you upload your financial data. Don’t worry, the site is secure. But if you have concerns, read through the security and privacy page.

With Wesabe, you can track your spending trends, add tags to those transactions and get personalized tips to help you get more for your money.
You can also write those future goals, like putting your kids through college. Plus, Wesabe is a social site, so people with similar goals can communicate together in order to reach them.

Another budget site is BudgetEDGE.com. This site says it lets you view the future of your money.

BudgetEDGE is a good tool for looking at and keeping track of your budget, and allowing you to plan for the future. All you have to do is enter your income, expenses and savings information. Then, based on your income and expected monthly expenses, it tracks how your money will flow over time.

These sites are great starters. Of course, they won’t replace a financial adviser.

Free Music Sites

Wouldn’t you like to download music with no charges, without doing anything that’s against the law?

A whole new crop of music sites are popping up that will actually let you download songs absolutely free.

One of those sites is Deezer.com. This site says it’s as simple as opening a web browser, typing in a song and hitting “play” to listen. The site offers thousands of different tracks.

Users can create their own playlists and freely share them with other users. Here’s the catch: you can’t download to your computer or portable music player. You can only listen.

SpiralFrog.com is another site offering free music. This site actually lets you download your favorite songs and sync them to your portable device absolutely free.

The downside to this site is that it is supported by advertising, so you’ll have to endure those annoying ads for the free downloads. And although it works with many portable music players, it doesn’t work on the iPod.

These sites are great options for people who don’t want to shell out cash each time they want a new song or just want to listen to a new song.

Deezer is a great way to create and listen to a playlist while a work and Spiralfrog is a great option for people who perhaps have two computers and don’t want to pay for a music service on both.

For example, I have a laptop and a desktop. My iTunes is on my laptop and I use Spiralfrog on my desktop because it doesn’t cost me anything.