American Express Charge Card – 10 Flip Ultra Cameras to Giveaway!

Great responses from everyone. I'm closing down the comments and picking winners soon.

I started by purchasing throws that were on sale. Then I wrapped gifts with them. Before the holidays started, I changed out all my light bulbs to energy efficient ones, then I added insulation to my house. I also convinced my husband to give up bottled water. While I didn't save millions by doing these things, I saved enough money to buy the grandkids at least one item on their 'wish list'. I didn't buy anything online that didn't come with free shipping either. I am looking forward to finding more ways to save money. This is the first Christmas that I can remember that I haven't charged anything!

I made sure to shop sales and used coupons and free shipping on top of the sale or clearance price to get certain gifts. I also shopped around and looked for the lowest offered price with all options for other discounts before I bought. I ended up with some amazingly low prices and got my sons gifts at unheard of prices for the items, almost 90% off on almost all of them!! It did take up quite a bit of time and work looking around and finding the coupons and codes for free shipping, but it was well worth it!
I use old Christmas cards to decorate and make into wrapping for the gifts, so they looked great, but it didn't cost me a penny to wrap them.
I also did a swap item party with friends and neighbors. We all had new items that were unused and in mint condition, and unwanted by ourselves. So we had a party where we swapped items with each other. There were iPods, printers, video games, and so many great items that everyone ended up with gifts for their family this year that otherwise we would not have purchased!! It was GREAT.
I did a lot more also, but will stop at these so you have time to actually read this. lol Happy New Year to you and yours. Keeping my fingers crossed since the flip is one item no one wants to trade or put on sale yet. :D

By shopping the 75% -90% off holidays sales last year !!!!!

I saved money and helped my money go further this Christmas by shopping the Dollar Stores for gift wrap, tissue paper, gift bags and even tape! I also discovered twitter and all of the amazing giveaways and won a prize that I would not otherwise be able to afford to gift to my daughter. I also found some great discounts that were only offered via twitte followers by some merchants. All of this help to make our Christmas and still not break the bank. I feel like twitter has definitely helped me to be a very SAVVY mom this year!:D

Oh yeah...and i saved gift boxes and some gift bags over from last year and recyled them into this year! Reduce and reuse...helping the earth at the same time as being a Savvy Christmas shopper.

ciesla504@charter.net

I bought my Christmas wrap, cards, bags, etc. last year after Christmas when the stores had them for 90% off. This year money has been extremely tight and I did not have to spend any money on accessories for Christmas. Also, a group of us that usually exchange gifts every year(for 9 years now) all decided instead to do a White Elephant gift exchange, that way each person only brings 1 gift instead of several.(major money saver) It was a lot of fun and we will probably continue this eash year now.

I constantly browse Slickdeals.net for the best deals out there & use coupon sites like retailmenot.com to sweeten the deal even more!

I also cut out or print coupons to save every penny :)

Thanks for the chance to win!

Testdrove a new car for a $50 Gift Card.

tweeted

http://twitter.com/styleezta/status/7216588996

I joined a site called swapstyle.com, which allows you to swap clothing you don't want with other people. So I swapped things I didn't want for new items with new tags. I gave them away as presents this year and managed to spend only shipping costs. Each package cost me around $4-5 to send! So essentially I spent very little in christmas pressies!

I had a plan ready and knew exactly who I was shopping for. I shopped mostly online and used coupon codes to get discounts. Using my debit card made it easy not to go over what I orginally planned on spending. No spending money that's not there! lol! I also checked different sites for the best deal. Buying some gift sets also helped so that I could take a couple things out and give them to different people, they didn't know it was purchased in a set :) And it the thought that counts anyway!

I saved by buying only sale items. Used all available coupons and took advantage of lots of online sales with free shipping.

I shopped online and hit the deals and clearances and with free shipping i could not go wrong at all.

I am unemployed and we live on hubbys paycheck so we made sure we bought sale items. We also try to use coupons or coupon codes online.

I to have been unemployed since July. I went back to school and have been trying to find odd and end jobs and stretch my grad student loans to the fullest

I am unemployed (as of August)but I was able to honker down and get an apartment(great) and pay my bills! Budgeting and great coupon bloggers help a lot!

I made sure to shop sales and start early. I used a lottt of coupons found online and in stores. I also took the time to make homeade gifts and put together inexpensive gift baskets so that the gifts would go a long way but not cost too much. Also, we did not go to as many movies nor dinners, in order to save money.

I combine coupons & rebates along with stockpiling items we use normally use when they're on sale. It helps that paying full price for anything makes me nuts lol Happy new year!

What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season? In my husbands family there are 10 siblings so we did a swap this year first year pick one person and buy for that person. We were with close family and everyone brought something to eat so no one had to buy everything. Also in my family we set limits on how much we were spending on each other. Worked out quite well. For me I waited for things to go on sale and used the internet to buy many things.

What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season?

I definitely was seeking deals- did alot of shopping at Marshalls, overstock.com and other discount stores.

I also charged some gifts in between statements- so 1/2 was due in dec. and then 1/2 will be on my January statement to pay off. That way I don't go into the hole 1 month- I can save a bit in between. I also pay off in full both times, so i don't owe going into 2010.

"What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season?"

I have clipped discount coupons for local stores, checked online for additonal discounts esp. via twiiter, as well as entered to win some great gifts via twitter that I would never have been able to afford otherwise (without breaking the bank) to give to my family!!
Everyone was very happy and I was a very savvy mom this year!

The saviest ways my wife and I saved money this holiday season were by buying a fake Christmas tree from the dollar store which will last for many many years to come and was still a good looking tree. We also used hand me down ornaments and lights from family members who either bought new sets or just didn't want theirs anymore; and finally for our Christmas dinner which was ever so tasty we used a gift card we received as a gift to pay for all the food so we didn't spend anything for our feast. So overall it was a very thrifty yet good holiday season

I started watching "deal sites" in 2008 so in 2009 I was able to get all my gifts at a GREAT price. It takes work and diligence to check these sites daily (and daily is the key!!) but the pay-off has been huge. I've been able to give bigger and better gifts for less money than I used to spend during the holidays.

I stock up on items that we use when they are at rock bottom prices and store them for use throughout the year. I do this with gifts, food, and other consumables. My most recent bargain - 7 packages of 12 count Pepsi for $1.29 each! I'm all set for our yearly summer BBQ. Bonus: when the big earthquake hits, my family will be set for food and most importantly, toilet paper!

We've recently embraced the reusable bag and as a plus have found out that many places will offer a bag credit! (Target - 5 cents, Food Maxx - 5 cents, Safeway - 3 cents). Good for the environment, good for my wallet.

We believe that shopping at Costco, living with no credit card debt, clipping coupons, and shopping on the internet/Ebay/Craigslist should part of everyone's everyday lives rather than something uniquely special to this year's holiday season.

Rather than talk about all of the ways we incorporate everyday savings and frugality into our lives, probably the most unique thing is the way we're going to be able to meet our budget for our upcoming wedding. My fiancee will make our flower arrangements herself, and I'm designing a photobooth for the kids. We're having the outdoor wedding and reception at the same site, and we'll be able to incorporate all of our unique crafty touches without spending more that we wanted on a wedding that will be completely paid for by ourselves.

Pick me! I've recently had a baby, and will be off work for the next year. As such, money is tight one just my husband's salary. One simple thing I've done is to embrace my glasses. By not wearing my contact lenses, I save money by not purchasing the lenses (every 2 weeks for the kind I wear), as well as not having to purchase the cleaning solution! It helps that I actually like the way my glasses look on my face.

I stacked coupons with gift cards I already had to save money shopping for Christmas gifts. I also gave some prizes I won away as gifts. I hardly spent any money this year on gifts.

This year I made most of my Christmas purchases on ebay. I found some really good bargains that were both unusual but perfect for the recipients. The best thing was that I had so much fun shopping. I would love to have one of these Flip cameras! They certainly seem to be handy.

The savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season is saving money by reducing credit card debt.

I'm attempting to master credit card debt. I'm taking advantage of the 0% balance transfers and paying the balance off before the interest rate increases. This past year I've been more aware of adendeums or new information being sent out with respect to rate increases. I've closed or transfered balances as seen fit to reduce my interest rates. I've also sent letters to bank CEO's in hopes of making an overall change in regulations with respect to policies in increasing rates for respectable ontime paying customers.

I saved up Amazon GCs that I received from various internet activities during the past year...surveys, contests, etc. Then I watched for toy sales of %70 off and combined with free shipping. I was able to send amazing gifts to friends, grandkids, kids for NOTHING!

I call it the triple whammy. I shop online, I work mypoints and ebates, I find a free shipping offer to make my purchases and I pay with my AMEX rewards card. So I earn 3x off each purchase I would have made anyway, plus I didn't pay any shipping or burn any gas.

ha what money i won everything i giving away this year for christmas.

I did the majority of my shopping online. I watched dealnews and slickdeals and started my shopping a couple of months in advance, anytime I seen a good sale. I tried to buy through a site with cashback so I was getting extra savings that way also. I never believe in paying full price for anything and this year I did excellent!

I follow you on Twitter as well & Tweeted http://twitter.com/CocktailChic/status/7109199904

Thanks for offering this giveaway!

As a college student I have perfected the art of being savvy with money over the years. In financially difficult times, you learn what you need and what is excess (a concept that is difficult for many young fashionistas like myself).
Coming from LA, it is difficult to be a savvy shopper when you are surrounded by money and over the top gadgets and goodies daily. One must learn to bargain shop, which includes looking for sales and price matching. A rule of thumb for purchasing a spendy item is walking away and noticing if you still want it a few days later. In addition to bargain shopping, one could shop resale, particularly for clothing & accessories. If fashion isn't your thing, you can always turn to websites like Ebay or iOffer for the best deals on electronics and other goods.
To be a savvy shopper you must remember what you NEED & that there is always going to be a way to get the good for less. There is no need to be frugal in these difficult financial times, but it is important to be economically wise.

What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season? Instead of gifts, I encouraged friends to donate $1-5 to Alyssa Milano's clean water campaign . http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=2414

i went to walmart with a christmas budget. i found presents that didn't seem very low priced but they were on sale or clearanced. so when i gave people my presents it seemed as if i spent 3xs the amount i really did because i looked for bargains that were good quality.

i start my Holiday Shopping right after Christmas. So i basically buy Year around everytime i see a great Deal or Sale :)

Tweeted http://twitter.com/cushytushyshop/status/7077665620

I handmade a lot of my Christmas gifts this year. Saved me money and was a great way to give a customized thoughtful gift.

I bought used toys and books for my daughter on Ebay. She loves her used toys more than the new ones my mother-in-law got her.

I taught myself a new skill: learned about it online, went to the dollar store for basic material to practical experience.

Then I bought a device that lets me create custom patterns for this skill. Now I'm setting up free open-source software to facilitate this new venture online.

Using all the contacts I have via social media, I may have a new source of income here, all for less than $300 + time for research.

Now I could use that camera for making product videos and pics.

I did a lot of shopping on Ebay. I love saving money. Finding items that are full quality at half the price was a huge help. I did the rest of my shopping at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. They purchase everything overstock and sell it for a fraction of that price. I bought everything from slippers to food at deeply discounted prices. I get a thrill out of making my money stretch further and further every time I spend.

Lee :)

Instead of many little gifts we decided one nice gift, one of quality that would last.

My oldest son begged for a Nintendo DS this year, with my husband laid off and me starting a new job to make ends meet we weren't sure if a DS was going to be in the budget again this year, luckily we found a reasonably priced used one at a pawn shop. It works great and we saved enough buying used, to buy a couple of games and still came below price of a brand new DS.

I love saving money if at all possible! My family knows that and I do what I can to save anywhere!! I clip lots of coupons and match their sales with the coupons. Of course checking all ads before I go anywhere FIRST.

I love using my gift cards in conjunction with sales and my coupons. I get my gift cards from usually MyPoints, Swagbucks, Reward Port, etc. For magazines, I get them free at E-Rewards for doing surveys and I make great use out of them passing them on to family Members so they don’t have to pay for them! I also use YouData and you can earn a little bit of cash just by clicking on a few ads.

If shopping online, you can get online codes for certain stores. You just do a simple search for like ‘coupon codes for Target’ or ‘free shipping codes’. You can use rebates places like Mr. Rebates for Cash back.

I use my credit cards to pay for purchases that I make and earn rewards and turn it in for cash.

Also, I send small donations off to a Ministry and I receive an item/items from them. I’ll put them up on E-bay and make a profit off of them!

Traveling for Christmas? If you can, try flying out on the Christmas Day to save money! Costs will be cheaper for sure.

I’ve found that homemade gifts work well. Use what you have at home already to make something nice for someone. They will appreciate the thought and love that came from something that you made for them.

Pretty nice ways to help save money and even in some cases, help me make a little bit of money!! Thanks for this wonderful chance to win! I would LOVE a FLIP Camera and would totally do FLIPS for it!!!! Hoping....

purposedrivenlife4you at gmail dot com

I would love, love to own a FLIP!!

tweeted @momsfocus

I have saved money all year to spend on holiday gifts. By searching for online sales and coupon codes my money has gone further than usual