The Good Life For Less

With this weekend shaping up to be a nice and sunny one, it has many people thinking -- Christmas?! Yep, that's not a typo -- Christmas.

With temps in the 60s it may very well be the last warmish day of the year. That means it’s a perfect time for those die-hard decorators to start hanging lights outside and beat the below-zero temps that will soon be headed our way.

Well Home Depot wants to help you out. From now until Nov. 15 you can bring in your old, used, broken, or just burnt-out incandescent light strings and trade them in for a coupon for $3 off a new string of LED lights (Normally $5.97, but $2.97 after the coupon.)

LEDs use 80 percent less energy and can last much longer than normal lights -- and that means the lights basically pay for itself in savings this holiday season. The bonus is that Home Depot will recycle your old lights for you. Now that's some holiday spirit!

Freebie Bonus: Free Steaz Drink At Whole Foods

There's power in numbers and now there are discounts in numbers too!

The site, Groupon, was brought to my attention by one of my cousins about a month ago. She wanted to know if it was legit and could sign up for it. Well good news Heather, go for it!

Groupon basically is able to give such great deals through the power of group buying. Businesses offer deals based on the condition that a certain amount of people must sign up for the deal.

Each day the site will feature something new at a really great price and then if enough people buy the deal, everyone gets it. If not enough people sign up, the deal is canceled and you never get charged for it.

A coworker of mine recently got a really great deal on a salon package in Uptown, a $155 value for only $45. It includes three and a half hours of pampering by getting a hair cut and color, followed by a facial wax and manicure.

Other recent deals include half-off admission to Underwater Adventures, $20 worth of drinks and snacks for only $10 at the Shout House.  As I'm blogging, they are offering 70 percent off CardioFITBoxing Classes.

Groupon can be found in many other cities across the U.S and is good for businesses too because it brings many new customers into their store.

Strength in numbers comes with its perks!  

Kids may be used to getting free candy on Halloween, but the free treats don't stop there.

Here are some great food deals happening on Halloween day (10/31):

1. Taco Bell is giving away one free Black Jack Taco per person between 6 p.m. and midnight ... while supplies last.

2. Come dressed as a burrito, taco, bowl or salad to any Chipotle Mexican Grill between 6-close and you get a free burrito. (This can be as easy as rolling up in aluminum foil and going as a burrito!)

3. Kids can get a free mini kid-sized pizza when they wear their costume into Papa Murphy's. Call ahead to the store nearest you to see if they are participating.

4. Toys 'R' Us is having a Halloween parade every hour on the hour from noon to 3 p.m. Kids are encouraged to come in costume and pick up free treats and get a free eco-friendly trick-or-treat bag!

5. Sonic is selling $0.50 corn dogs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

6. Caribou Coffee is offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Buy any (type or size) drink and get one free from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. when you wear a costume.

Who said this holiday is just for kids!?

Need new high heels? How about the kids -- do they need new winter boots? If so, you're in luck!

A great deal was just announced by talk show queen Oprah. Payless ShoeSource is offering a coupon for 50 percent off for your entire purchase. This is an in-store offer and only good through tomorrow (10/30). Click here to get your coupon.  You you can also text OPRAHSHOW to 242424 and get your coupon code digitally and show them your code in the store.

Happy shoe shopping!

It's not everyday when you can get professional sporting event tickets for FREE. So, now might be the time to become a fan of, in my opinion, one of Minnesota's most under-appreciated professional sporting teams -- The Minnesota Timberwolves. That's what Target and the Wolves have teamed up to do -- make you a fan and fill the stands for the team's first three home games.

This Saturday (10/24) you can show up to the guest service area at participating Target store and get 4 free tickets a game. For more information, click here.

The tickets are for games on:

Oct. 28: New Jersey Nets (Home opener!)
Oct. 30: Cleveland Cavaliers (See Lebron James!)
Nov. 4: Boston Celtics (Former Wolves Star Kevin Garnett returns!)

Only available while supplies last so get there early Saturday. You can cheer on your hometown basketball team and help them kick off the season right!

There are many great low-price shopping sites out there, but one I want to talk about today is SmartBargains.com.

This site gets it merchandise similar to how places like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls gets stuff -- from canceled orders, manufacturer closeouts and overruns.

You can get all types of brand-name clothes, household items and jewelry on the site.

The nice part about this site is they have received good consumer reviews and they even have a pretty decent return policy compared to some online bargain shopping sites. The Web site says that every bargain can be returned within 30 days for your money back. When finding a good bargain-shopping Web site, to me, the most important things to look at are the return policy and reviews from people who have shopped there before.

On top of the low prices, through Friday they are offering and extra 25 percent off everything on the site. No codes necessary. Just hop on and check some stuff out for yourself. Discount will be taken at checkout.

Now might be a great time to stock up on some Christmas gifts, or even wedding gifts for next year.

Do you have any bargain shopping sites you enjoy going to? Post them below and share them with fellow Good Lifers!

If you live in Minneapolis or St. Paul and are sick of the expenses of owning a car, HourCar may be the alternative for you.

HourCar is a car-sharing service that uses a fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles and is geared toward walkers, bikers and mass-transit users who might need to use a car every now and then.

Members can choose from a few different plans and pay for the monthly option that works best for them.

The company pays for the gas, insurance and repairs. You pay a small monthly membership fee ($5-$15) and another small fee for usage ($6-$8/hour, $55-$65/day).

For someone who doesn't drive a lot this can be much cheaper then having a car payment, insurance, gas and other maintenance and repair costs.

Of course, this is not an option for everyone, especially people who live outside the urban center of the cities. But if you are in the heart of the city, now may be the time to ditch your car and when you need wheels, reserve an HourCar online, pick it up and start driving.

Need something to serve with that roast? Betty Crocker is giving away free potato samples.

Click here to sign up to get one. You can choose either Au Gratin Potatoes or Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Hurry, samples are limited!

Note: With this you are also signing up for the Dinner Made Easy newsletter. The newsletter gives 30-minute meal ideas, coupons and other offers from Betty Crocker. If you don't want it -- unsubscribe after getting confirmed for the sample.

When weather gets cold, it may be perfect to spend some time sprucing up your house.

Right now, Glidden is offering a free quart of paint. Click here for details.

Basically you have to register and send that in along with the label from any other brand of paint and mail it to:

Glidden Paint Test Drive
33625 Pin Oak Parkway
Avon Lake, OH 44012-2320

Note that the offer excludes Glidden Paint, Ralph Lauren Paint and The Freshaire Choice labels.

You have to register by 10/11/09, it must be postmarked by 10/16/09 and must be received no later than 11/16/09 to be eligible.

If you don't need the paint, think about donating it to someone else who could use it!

Xcel Energy trying to save everyone a little dough by offering energy-efficient bulbs for $1 each!

The great part about these bulbs is that they can last 7-10 years and use 75 percent less energy than normal incandescent bulbs, which will save you money on your energy bills!

According to Xcel, "In addition to helping protect the environment, by replacing one incandescent bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, customers can reduce their energy bills by up to $50 over the life of each 60-watt equivalent bulb."

Click here for list of places to buy some bulbs.