This post is a sponsored post on behalf of Savings.com. All opinions are my own.

So I have this problem: I have too much money and not enough ways to spend it. I try really hard – I watch QVC and HSN. I buy things like the Slap Chop and Magic Bullet! But alas…SO MUCH MONEY, so little time. I even occasionally look to celebrities for inspiration on spending excessive amounts of cash.

Oh wait, no. I’m sorry – that was an excerpt from my dream world. Let me refocus. MY dilemma is smart spending. Yes, that’s it. Lack of money. As a young person starting a family, I need to be selective. I want to buy things that are high-quality and long-lasting, but not too expensive. Amazon’s product ratings serve as a good guide, but it takes forever to filter through all the options and focus on the products I care about. I need a site to make my shopping process simple. Give me the the highest rated and most frequently purchased items in the product category I want. And then send it straight to my house. Am I asking too much??

Cooking.com makes things simple (for kitchenware, at least). If I’m looking for a coffee maker, I type in “coffee maker” and it gives me the top rated and the best-selling brewer, side-by-side. I can see comments by previous purchasers as well as an extensive, easily-sortable list of other coffee makers. When I make my (extremely easy and straightfoward) decision, I can buy the item I want right on their site – usually at a discounted price. Better yet, they put a link to all available factory rebates right next to the selling price. And better STILL, there are tons of Cooking.com coupons listed over on Savings.com, a clever social couponing site that can best be described as ”PennySaver meets Digg.” So not only is it easy to find what I want, it’s easy to get the best price on it.

One last awesome benefit that makes it SO much easier for me to locate gadgets on Cooking.com: the site really does show the best of the best. If I look for a meat tenderizer over at Crate & Barrel, I get your generic everyday meat mallet:

If I search on Cooking.com, I do get the generic meat mallet (because that’s what’s popular and sells high volumes), but I also get THIS:

Holy cow! These people are serious about their meat. And did I mention they also have hundreds of delicious recipes also on this same site? Yeah, I dare you to browse over there without blowing your budget AND your diet.

I know I’m not the most loyal customer you have. I’m not always the most fashion-forward trendsetter, and I have a tendency to spill spaghetti sauce on the few designer outfits I do own. And I don’t like spending a ton of money on clothes since my wonderful fiance occasionally switches the dryer setting to High so that everything looks like it belongs on a Barbie instead of a normal size 6 (okay so I’m an 8, whatever) woman. BUT, when I set my eye on something and really want it, I get it. This is how I feel about your Gucci Rush perfume.

I’ve worn Gucci Rush exclusively since I discovered it in high school. For a high school student to develop that kind of dedication to a $70 luxury item really says something. To me, that much money meant two full days of babysitting my neighbor’s THREE children, who were each somehow less than a year apart. That’s how much I loved Gucci Rush. There’s just something enchanting about it. People have literally stopped me in the street to sniff me, insisting on knowing what I’m wearing. The unofficial Gucci Rush Facebook fan page has 957 fans. I’m sure somebody, somewhere, has dedicated a small shrine to Gucci Rush.

So a couple years ago when my friendly Macy’s counter girl told me that Gucci Rush was discontinued, I was devastated. She said all of the Gucci Rush had been mysteriously pulled from the shelves and sent back to the warehouse. No warning, no signs, no forwarding address. A loss like this calls for a billboard or, at the very least, a full-page ad. I hit up every boutique perfume shop within a twenty mile radius and spent my life savings ($322, to be exact) stocking up on the now higher-priced “discontinued” Gucci Rush. That supply (plus a bottle graciously tracked down by the afore-mentioned wonderful fiance) has lasted me until now.

As the last few squirts eeked their way out of that final red Gucci Rush box, I turned to the internet to see how much it would cost me to replenish my supply. “This stuff must be like gold now,” I thought, imagining how much the scent of heaven might go for on the black market. Oddly, however, I found it at Sephora. And on Gucci’s own website. And on Amazon…for half price. What the hell is going on here? Have I fallen into some sort of bizarro Gucci Rush mind-trap? Nope. Apparently, Gucci yanked the product from department stores nationwide only to later capitalize on the popular perfume through more lucrative retailers.

So I’m spreading the word. Hopefully the many women who have stopped me in elevators/grocery stores/doctor’s offices and exclaimed, “Oh my god, is that Gucci Rush? Where did you get that?! I’ve been looking EVERYWHERE” can now rest easy. It’s been a turbulent ride, my friends, but I truly hope that all the other Gucci Rush lovers out there can get past the overwhelming sense of betrayal/confusion and move on to what’s really important: Amazon. Where we can now get Gucci Rush for half price.

I love it when businesses get into discount wars. The consumer always wins! Right now, OfficeMax and Staples are competing to see who can give away the most stuff (or at least, who can give the best “member rewards”). Both are offering a plethora of “free after rewards” items. For example, if you spend $6.99 on a featured item, you’ll then get a reward check for $6.99 that’s good for any purchases in the store (so this is really only beneficial if you were planning on buying office supplies anyway, because the item is “free” in the sense that you get store credit in the amount of the purchase price). You may be familiar with similar drug store programs: CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens all have similar programs with rewards known as Extra Care Bucks, Single Check Rebates, and Register Rewards.

Staples is currently offering small binder clips ($3.39), letter-size heavyweight manila file folders ($8.00), 100-count pack of letter-size envelopes ($7.99), 5-pack retractable gel pens ($3.99), 6-pack perforated notepads ($7.99), and a 6-pack of Bankers boxes ($9.99) for free after rewards. Staples has a limit of 1 per household for each item.

OfficeMax is currently offering a case of copy paper ($34.99 – limit 2), a 12-pack of Sharpies ($5.99 – limit 3), and a 50-count pack of letter-size envelopes ($3.99 – limit 3) for free after rewards.

Both stores’ deals are good through January 16. For both stores, you’ll have to be a member of their rewards program to get the deal. Sign up for OfficeMax’s reward program at their website (select “MaxPerks Rewards for Business” – it doesn’t actually matter if you own a business or not) and sign up for Staples’ reward program at the Staples website (select “Sign Up Now”). As an added plus, both sites offer free shipping for any purchase over $50, so you could potentially get all of this stuff for free without even leaving the house.

I’ve heard it said that no act is truly selfless (okay, I’ll admit I’ve heard this mostly on a certain episode of Friends). Disneyland is now taking this idea a step further by rewarding people for volunteering. So in case all the warm fuzzy feelings you get from helping out your community weren’t enough, NOW you can get a day at a Disney park for free when you volunteer at a Disney-approved location through the Give a Day Get a Disney Day program. They have a wide variety of opportunities, including shelters, after-school programs, hospitals, and more. The program is limited to the first million people who sign up, one Disney day per person, volunteers must be at least 6 years old and accompanied by someone over 18, certain other restrictions apply, blah blah blah.

Here’s Nate and I at Disneyworld in Orlando just six months after we started dating. And yes, we are wearing matching shorts. Again. I’m starting to think that every well-documented moment in our lives will have us looking like the Cleavers. I should just give in and start buying all plaid for both of us.

We’re planning on visiting Disneyland in Anaheim this year – we’re already signed up to volunteer at the Carlsbad marathon this month. I, for one, can’t wait!

I’m generally a savvy spender, but I have to admit to one of my (several) vices: Magazines. Specifically, home improvement, craft, and food magazines. I’ve always felt a bit guilty spending money on subscriptions since I only read each magazine once, ripping out pages with projects or recipes I want to try. So I was pretty ecstatic to find two of my favorite magazine subscriptions for practically free. Now through December 12th, Amazon has Good Housekeeping and Country Living subscriptions for just $5 each. That’s less than my favorite coffee at Starbucks! And trust me, curling up with one of these next to the fireplace is far more relaxing than drinking a Grande triple shot skinny vanilla latte. 

Kim from Shopping Bookmarks just posted a guest post I wrote about Swaptree.com. Swaptree is a bookworm’s heaven, allowing you to trade used books with fellow readers, so you save money AND the environment by recycling books. Visit the Shopping Bookmarks blog to read the full post.

While you’re there, check out Kim’s other money-saving tips. She highlights the best deals, savvy spending habits and good shopping websites. Along with helping me snag great prices, her blog has also helped me get the best deal with credit cards and de-mystify things like rebates and rewards programs.

I don’t usually ask for much for Christmas, birthdays, etc (what can I say? I’m a giver!), but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with “Talk Talk,” an aptly named line of engraved jewelry by Far Fetched. The line features sterling silver necklaces, earrings and bracelets engraved with clever, inspirational, and memorable sayings. Check this one out:

There’s a number of pieces with numerous quotes ranging from serious (“Live the life you have imagined” -Thoreau) to romantic (“If I know what love is it’s because of you” -Swift) to downright silly (“You can never go down the drain” -Mr. Rogers). They start at about $35 and to make your life just a little easier, they’re even sold on Amazon!

And in case my lovely fiance happens to be reading this and didn’t catch on by now…*ahem* hint, hint. Love you hun!

Kim from Shopping Bookmarks just posted a guest post I wrote about Grocery Shopping Strategies – go check it out! It highlights savvy grocery shopping habits such as developing a storage system and buying online at sites like Alice.com. Visit the Shopping Bookmarks blog to read the full post.

While you’re there, check out Kim’s other money-saving tips. She scours the internet for the best prices, sales and coupon codes, then posts them to her site so you can find all the best deals in one place. I’ve found her blog particularly helpful during the holidays – her Black Friday previews definitely helped me strategize my plan of attack!

I went to three craft stores yesterday looking for a decorative bench to put at the end of my bed. I didn’t find one. But I did find a 3-foot fake Christmas tree, ornaments, 2 holiday bowls, a set of red placemats, a Bill Bryson book that’s been on my list, a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook, and THIS:

A Winnie the Pooh honey pot “Hunny” lamp. Adorable, right? If I had a baby, his (or her) nursery would definitely be Winnie the Pooh themed, with this lamp as a focal point. But I don’t have kids yet and definitely don’t have storage room, so I left this for some other lucky family. I bet it would be easy enough to make your own Winnie the Pooh honey pot lamp, actually. You’d just need a smooth oval-ish lamp, craft paint, a clear coat, and a steady hand.

One of the stores also had a beautiful bedspread that would’ve matched my room perfectly, but I didn’t get that either. Something about used bedding gives me the heebie-jeebies. Maybe it’s just me…

So I know Nate and I aren’t actually married yet and this may be bad luck or something…but I’m not really the superstitious type. The wedding isn’t too far off now and I just couldn’t help myself when I saw these precious personalized caricature address labels. They’re technically “holiday” return address labels, but I didn’t add any of the optional santa hats or mistletoe to mine, so I can use them all year round.

The address gets printed below the family last name, but I blacked ours out for posting on the web. Caricature options include adults, children, babies, holiday-themed icons, sports icons, and animals such as dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, ferrets, spiders, pigs and a number of others. They’re currently 75% off so you can 140 for as low as $1.99 + $3.04 shipping at Vista Print.