The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Alerts:

• Scary clowns. At Cirque Du Soleil, when you buy one ticket at regular price for select Las Vegas performances of its Ka, Mystere, Love, O, Criss Angel Believe, or Zumanity productions, you get a second ticket for $25. (via DealNews)

Gadgets and Gear:

• $550 notebook. The HP Home & Home Office Store has the HP G70t Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz 17″ Widescreen Notebook for $549.99 with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $689 notebook. Dell Home has the Dell Inspiron 15 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz 15.6″ Widescreen Notebook in pacific blue for $689 plus $29 for shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $130 notebook. Dell Home has the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950 10-Megapixel Digital Camera in pink or silver for $129.99 with free shipping, but coupon code “ZL8GCRDBC$F3BH” brings the price down to $114.99. (via DealNews)
• $20 backpack. Today only, eBags.com has the JanSport Big Student Backpack in three colors for $19.99 (List: $50) plus $6.95 for shipping. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• $2 Cary Brothers album. Today only, the Amazon MP3 Store has downloads of Who You Are by The Cary Brothers for $1.99. (via DealNews) If you enjoyed the Garden State movie soundtrack, which featured as song by the group, you may also enjoy this album.
• Free iTunes downloads. This week’s single of the week, “Under Control”, comes from Parachute, which is somewhat reminiscent of Maroon 5 in Songs About Jane. The discovery download comes from comedian Christian Finnegan, who expounds on people who give high fives in “High Five Yourself”.

Odds and Ends:

• Free screaming flying monkey. Spend $29.99 or more at ThinkGeek.com, and receive a free Screaming Monkey Slingshot (Reg.: $6.99) with your order with coupon code “MONKEYFLY”. (via DealNews) What exactly is a Screaming Monkey Slingshot? Check out the vid below!

Photo: xeeliz / Flickr

The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Gadgets and Gear:

• $494 notebook. Lenovo has its Lenovo IdeaPad Y430 Pentium Dual-Core 2.16GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $549 (Was: $699) with free shipping, but coupon code “USP48HOURSALE” brings the price down to $494.10. (via DealNews)
• $637 notebook. Lenovo has its Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $636.65 (Was: $1,111) with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $700 notebook. HP Home & Home Office Store has the HP Pavilion dv6z Turion X2 2.2GHz 16″ Widescreen Notebook for $699.99 with free shipping via the directions found at DealNews.
• $717 notebook. The HP Home & Home Office Store has its HP Pavilion dv6t Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13GHz 16″ Widescreen Notebook in espresso black or moonlight white for $717.49 with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $800 notebook. TigerDirect.com has the HP EliteBook 8530w Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 15.4″ Widescreen Notebook for $799.99 with $1.99 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• $900 notebook. Buy.com has the Sony VAIO FW Series Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz 16.4″ Widescreen Notebook in titanium gray for $899.95 (Was: $1,049.99) with free shipping. (via DealNews)
• $34 computer bag. Altrec.com has the Osprey Packs Glide Computer Bag in pewter for $33.99 (Was: $68.95) plus $7.25 for shipping. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• Blawgirl download of the day. The Blawgirl’s free download of the day comes to you via Amazon.com’s MP3 store from one of my favorite songwriters, Tori Amos. You can download a copy of “Maybe California” from Amos’s latest album Abnormally Attracted to Sin, which is due out May 19. If you want a ringtone or the music video, you can also go to Amos’s official Web site, where she gives away the song, video and ringtone as a gift for all mothers.
• Other free music to check out. NuTone’s Music to Inspire Spring Sampler, an 8-song sampler with heavy Indian influences; Dust by the Benjy Davis project, a 13-song album that fans of Jason Mraz may also enjoy; Now Hear This: Discover New Music – Rock by various artists, a 7-song sampler.
• New Crystal Method album for $2.99. Pick up Crystal Method’s new album Divided by Night, which was released today, for $2.99.

Odds and Ends:

• $5 heart tee. Joe’s New Balance Outlet has the New Balance Women’s Heart Tee for $5.49 (Was: $9.89) plus $2.95 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• Save Maya. Visit your nearest Haagen-Dazs ice cream store from 4 to 8 p.m. for a free scoop of ice cream that contains products made from honeybees. The promotion is an effort by the chain to highlight the dwindling populations of the honeybee. (via OC Deals) Don’t be a hater. Save Maya the Bee.

The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Gadgets and Gear:

• $450 notebook. Dell Home offers the Dell Inspiron 15 Pentium Dual Core 2GHz 15.6″ Widescreen Notebook in pacific blue for $449 (Reg. price: $549) plus $29 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• $700 notebook. Dell Home has its Dell Studio 15 Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz 15.6″ Widescreen Notebook in midnight blue or black chainlink for $699 (Reg. price: $878) with $29 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• $6 notebook covers. Meritline.com has over 100 styles of protective notebook covers for $5.99 each with free shipping. Each includes one laptop skin and two wristpad skins. (via DealNews)
• $100 digital camera. Best Buy has s the Nikon Coolpix S550 10-Megapixel Digital Camera in plum for $99.99 (Reg. price: $199.99) with $6.75 for shipping. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• Free movie rental. Today only, Redbox.com has a free 1-night DVD rental (worth a buck) via coupon code “6A43JK”. Find your nearest for a Redbox kiosk location here. (via DealNews)

Odds and Ends:

• Free Sam’s Club 1-day pass. Sam’s Club has a free 1-day Sam’s Club guest pass with this printable coupon. The pass expires May 25. (via DealNews)

Photo: Steve Wampler / Flickr

Welcome to the Frugal Finds Weekend edition! The Blawgirl shares frugal living ideas she comes across every Saturday morning.

Be sure to check back 11:30 (ish) Monday through Friday when The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper.

Hey, undergrads. So the semester is winding down, and you’re (hopefully) showing those finals who’s boss. You’ve pwned Plato. You’ve told science to suck it. You’ve made communications law cry and have taken its candy.

But, before you can hit the beach or start that new internship before law school, you have to figure out what you’re going to do with the stack of textbooks that cost you a pretty penny that now are just worth 15 or so crispy chicken sandwiches at Carl’s Jr. Sure you can sell them back to your campus bookstore or to an online company like Cash4Books.net, but there are several other options available to you.

• Rather than sell your books for pennies on the dollar, you can try trading your books online through sites like Textbookrevolt.com, Paperbackswap.com, or Textswap.com. The concept is pretty simple for most of these kinds of sites: mail a book and get a book in exchange. You get a new book for the old book! Sure, you’re not taking an undergrad class in the fall. But some of the titles available could make for great non-school reading depending on your interests.
• You can try donating your books to your local public library. Even if the books don’t become part of the collection, there may be a non-profit group that supports the library that may be able to sell the books in one of its booksales.

If you have an old edition of a book that no one is willing to take, you can help the book ascend to another state of being with a couple of these crafty and creative ideas.

• You can turn a stack of old books into a cool book-stack lamp, like the one found at the DIY Network Web site.
• Teaforjoy.com recommends turning book pages into decoupage bracelets, giftags or a work of art.
• Lifehacker via VideoJug has an awesome idea to turn your “least-loved” book into an invisible bookshelf.
• If you’re a scrapbooker, you can cut out images and letters for future projects.

The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Gadgets and Gear:

• $600 notebook. CompUSA has the Gateway T-6859U Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 2GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $599.99 (Orig. price: $750) plus $1.99 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• $9 USB hub. Today only, Yugster.com has a 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub for $8.97 (Retail: $18.95) with shipping at $5. An AC adapter is included. (via DealNews)
• 42 to 60 percent off book bags. 6pm.com cuts 42 to 60 percent off its selection of JanSport bags, with prices starting at $8. Shipping adds $6.95. A “best bet”, according to DealNews, is the JanSport Elefunk Messenger Bag for $26 that comes in four different color combinations. Speaking of Elephunk.
• $99 computer desk. Walmart has a Computer Desk Corner Tower for $99 (Reg.: $109) with shipping at $24.47, or opt for free Site-to-Store. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• Free Shiny Toy Guns song. Amazon.com has free downloads of the song “Major Tom” from the album of the same name by Shiny Toy Guns. (via DealNews)
• 99 cents for 48 classical guitar tracks. Today only, the Amazon MP3 Store has downloads of Guitar Heroes’ Guitar Heroes, a classical guitar album, for 99 cents. The album has a whopping 48 tracks (songs are broken up into their various movements) and is valued at $37!  Because there aren’t any vocals, this album should make great background music for studying. But I doubt it has the song in the video at the end of this article!

Odds and Ends:

• $9 flight bag. Today only, Joe’s New Balance Outlet has the New Balance Women’s Flight Bag in black for $8.99 (Orig. price: $14.99) plus $2.95 for shipping. (via DealNews) While you’re there, you may also want to check out the deals on New Balance shoes as many are under $50 a pair.
• $8 Star Trek Minimates set. Today only, Things from Another World (Is it just me or does that sound like an awesome Sci Fi soap opera?) has the Star Trek Original Series “Mirror Mirror” Minimates Box Set for $7.99 (Reg.: $20) with shipping at $3.98. (via DealNews) Or you can Trek-ify yourself for free!

Photo: spengy / Flickr

The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Alerts:

• $99 a person for four-day cruise! Carnival Cruise Lines has several Pack & Go cruises starting at $99 per person via coupon code “PUG”. Eligible deals include 3- and 4-night cruises from Los Angeles or San Diego to Catalina Island. Deal ends May 8. (via DealNews)

Gadgets and Gear:

• $529 notebook. Dell Small Business has the Dell Vostro 1520 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz 15.4″ Widescreen Notebook for $529 with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $637 notebook. Lenovo.com has its Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $636.65 (Orig. price: $1,091) with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $650 notebook. Dell Small Business has the new 6.8-lb. Dell Vostro 1720 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz 17″ LED-Backlit Widescreen Notebook in black for $649 with free shipping. (via DealNews)
• $968 notebook. Lenovo.com has the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 12.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $968.15 (Orig. price: $1,169) with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• 50 percent off notebook sleeve. PC Micro Store takes 50 percent its selection of netbook sleeves via coupon code “Dealnews50%NetbookSlv” with free shipping. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• iTunes free downloads. iTunes free download of the week, “No More”, comes from rapper Boaz. The free discovery download is the ambient “Light Through the Veins” by Jon Hopkins.

Odds and Ends:

• $20 coffeemaker. Newegg.com has the DeLonghi 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker in black for $19.99 (Orig. price: $49.99) with free shipping. (via DealNews)

Photo: Automania / Flickr

The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Gadgets and Gear:

• $450 notebook. Newegg.com has the Acer Aspire AS4530-6823 Athlon 64 X2 2GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $449.99 (Orig. price: $599.99) with free shipping. (via DealNews)
• $504 notebook. Dell Small Business has the Dell Vostro 1510 Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz 15.4″ Widescreen Notebook for $504 plus free shipping via the directions found at DealNews.
• $700 notebook. HP Home & Home Office has its HP TouchSmart tx2z Turion X2 2.2GHz 12.1″ Touchscreen Tablet Notebook for $699.99 with free shipping via the directions at DealNews.
• $600 notebook. TigerDirect.com has the Lenovo L3000 V200 Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83GHz 12.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $599.99 (Orig. price: $1,199) with $1.99 for shipping. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• Free Ziggy Marley song. The Amazon MP3 store has a free download of Ziggy Marley’s “Walk Tall”, featuring Paul Simon, from the album Family Time. Scroll to the end of this article for an awesome song from Playing for Change!
• More great deals from Amazon. Ben Harper and Relentless7′s White Lies for Dark Times for $3.99. The same 11-song album, which was released today, goes for $9.99 at iTunes. Keane’s Cherrytree Sessions for $2.24.
• 50 albums for $5 each. Amazon.com also has 50 hand-picked albums for $5 each during the month of May, including Ida Maria’s ‘Fortress Round My Heart, Utada’s This Is The One, and Death Cab for Cutie’s We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes.

Odds and Ends:

• Free KFC. According to Frugal Freebies, KFC has printable coupons good for two pieces of  chicken, two sides and a biscuit for free. Print the coupon here. And if you plan on saving money by using the coupons to take mom out on Mother’s Day, don’t. The coupons aren’t valid May 10, but even if they were I wouldn’t take mom out to KFC on Mother’s Day.
• $40 dinner for two. Participating P.F. Chang’s offer a four-course dinner for two for $39.95 .  The meal includes two cups of soup, one starter, two entrees, and two desserts. (via DealNews)
• 5 cent appetizers. From 4 to 7 p.m. today, Cinco de Mayo, T.G.I. Friday’s will offer select appetizers for 5 cents when purchased with a drink at the bar. Find your nearest Friday’s here. (via DealNews)

The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.

Gadgets and Gear:

• $439 notebook. CompUSA has the HP Compaq 6735s KS115UT Sempron 2GHz 15.4″ Widescreen Notebook for $429.99 (Orig. price: $499.99), but a $100 mail-in rebate brings the price down to $329.99 with $1.99 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• $480 notebook. TigerDirect.com has the Gateway T-1424u Athlon 64 1.9GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook in red for $479.99 (Orig. price: $549.99)  with $1.99 for shipping. (via DealNews)
• $800 notebook. Mwave.com offers the Lenovo ThinkPad R61 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook for $999.99 but coupon code “THINKPADHP!” brings the price down to $799.99 with free shipping. (via DealNews)
• $200 off HP notebooks. HP Home & Home Office Store takes $200 off most HP Pavilion notebook PCs of $1,049 or more via coupon code “NB5474″ and most orders qualify for free shipping. (via DealNews)
• $10 flash drive. Buy.com offers the Kingston 4GB DataTraveler 101 USB 2.0 Flash Drive in yellow for $9.97 (List: $32.25) with free shipping. (via DealNews)

Entertainment:

• Free pizza with movie. Best Buy has a coupon for a free Domino’s Medium Pizza with the purchase of select DVD movies starting at $8.99. Shipping adds $2.49 or choose in-store pickup. Available DVD titles include Mamma Mia!, The Bourne Ultimatum, Milk, and more. The coupon is good for a pizza via online ordering only. Deal ends May 9. (via DealNews)
• Free movie rental. Today only, Redbox.com has a free 1-night DVD rental via coupon code “BT73H9″. Find your nearest Redbox kiosk here. (via DealNews)

Odds and Ends:

• 5 cent appetizers. From 4 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo, T.G.I. Friday’s will offer select appetizers for 5 cents when purchased with a drink at the bar. Find your nearest Friday’s here. (via DealNews)

Welcome to the Frugal Finds Weekend edition! The Blawgirl shares frugal living ideas she comes across every Saturday morning.

Be sure to check back 11:30 (ish) Monday through Friday when The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper.

I’ve written before about all the wonderful lessons on frugality we can learn from those who lived through the hard economic times of the past. Which is why I was delighted to find YouTube show “Great Depression Cooking” hosted by 91-year-old Clara. Clara recreates recipes she learned as a child living through the Great Depression and intersperses her lessons with interesting tidbits (other than ‘It was depressing’) about what it was like to live at the time.

Many of the meals found at her YouTube channel are carb heavy – pasta, potatoes, rice – and when meat is incorporated into the meals it comes either in the form of hotdogs or really thin steaks. I’m pretty sure the foods don’t sound too healthy for all of you used to shopping at Whole Paycheck, but, dudes, she’s 91-years-old and can still cook without burning the house down in the literal sense. Sister sure does in the figurative sense though as her recipes are a breeze.

Last week, I tried cooking the ‘pasta with peas’ recipe she depicts in her first show. Preparation was a snap: throw everything in a pan, fry it up, add water and let it boil. In addition to the pasta, peas, potatoes and onions she recommends, I also threw in some leftover rotisserie chicken from Costco. After everything cooked down, I spooned some onto a plate and sprinkled some parmesan cheese onto it, and, by golly, it wasn’t bad. Even though there wasn’t any cream at all in the mix, the starch from the pasta and the potatoes gave a nice “creamy” texture to the hearty dish, which tasted like chicken pot pie. It was a hug for the tummy, and I could see myself making it while in law school where the civil procedure books don’t hug back.

If you haven’t clicked on the links above yet, be sure to check out this recipe and others at Clara’s YouTube channel.