Or are they? We found that it’s still possible to use the calendar to save money on major purchases. Our researchers combed industry surveys and publications, and consulted our in-house experts to compile the calendar. Consider it a general guide, and keep your eye on those sales circulars anyway because there will always be exceptions. Bear in mind, too, that the best time to save money isn’t always the best for selection. In some cases, your bargain might be a discontinued model without all the latest features.

Some other tips that don’t fit neatly into the calendar:

Airline tickets tend to be least expensive to buy on Tuesday afternoon through Thursday. Worst days to fare shop are Saturday and Sunday.
CDs and DVDs generally come out on Tuesdays and might be on sale for the first one to three weeks.

Jewelry sales are common, except around Valentine’s Day and the December holidays. So plan to buy early or hope that your beloved will settle for an IOU.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR YAHOO! SHOPPING AND CONSUMER REPORTS:

Mark Your Calendars: What’s on Sale When – Yahoo! Shopping.

“This is an excellent time to (find online bargains) because of the economy,” says Barb Webb, author of “The Mom’s Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet.” “Companies are trying to get your business, your attention and your money so they’re offering a lot of coupons, deals and reduced pricing.”

The trick is knowing just how and where to find fantastic deals in cyberspace. Deciphering today’s price comparison Web sites, e-mail newsletters and coupon codes can be daunting.

Fortunately, by following a few simple steps, you can take advantage of the best deals online. Here are nine secrets to finding online bargains.

Sign up for newsletters
One of the most convenient ways to score deals is to sign up for e-newsletters or updates from your favorite merchants.

By creating an account with an online retailer, you’ll receive e-mail blasts with special offers and coupons on an ongoing basis, Webb says. Better yet, many of these offers are tailored to meet your online buying habits and preferences based on your shopping history.

Don’t expect to be inundated with exclusive offers of dirt-cheap products, though. Less than 15 percent of online retailers offer exclusive deals through their e-mail lists, according to the Email Experience Council, the New York-based e-mail marketing arm of the Direct Marketing Association.

Visit coupon code sites
If you can’t wait for an e-newsletter to reach your inbox, take matters into your hands by visiting a coupon code site.

RetailMeNot.com, CouponChief.com and FatWallet.com are just a few of the sites that allow you to search for coupon codes by simply entering a store’s Web address or keyword into a search engine. Codes can then be submitted through a merchant’s online order form for special offers, ranging from discounts to free shipping, which are automatically deducted from your order total.

Discounts typically start at 10 percent and can skyrocket to upward of 70 percent, says Webb, an avid online shopper who recently scored “bras for $3 apiece from Lane Bryant because of a 75 percent coupon promotion.”

Experts agree that you’re likely to find better deals through third-party Web sites such as RetailMeNot than dealing directly with a merchant. However, Webb says that some online retailers won’t allow you to cash in coupons unless you hold an active member account.

“A lot of drugstores, for example, won’t let you access coupons unless you’re on their mailing list,” she says. “They’re specifically for members, and some even put your name on coupons to prevent nonmembers from using them.”

So make sure you read a coupon’s fine print before banking on a discount.

Give Google a try
It may not have the flash and pizzazz of a coupon code site, but Google also can stir up some pretty hot deals.

“Even FatWallet doesn’t have it all, so I always tell people to go to Google’s search engine,” Webb says. “It’ll automatically pull up coupon offers from thousands of Web sites that you may otherwise not have accessed.”

Lauren Freedman agrees. She is president of the e-tailing group, a Chicago-based e-commerce consultancy. “Always Google the name of the site you are shopping on and the word ‘coupon,’ as oftentimes it’ll lead straight to discounts,” she says.

Shop around
Price comparison Web sites such as BizRate, PriceGrabber.com and NexTag can give you a leg up in the search process.

These sites automatically compile information on the lowest-priced computers, home appliances, clothing and cribs. Visitors can search for specific products and sort by category.

Many shoppers also sift through merchant reviews written by other shoppers. Such reviews offer the lowdown on possible product defects or merchants with less palatable return policies.

But for all the bargain-hunting perks, there’s a time and place for price-comparison shopping sites, says Webb.

“They’re a great place to start for big-ticket purchases, but if you’re looking for particular clothing items or smaller gift items, it really pays to conduct your own search,” Webb says.

What’s more, she adds, many price-comparison sites enjoy affiliations with merchants that may preclude them from offering “the best buys.” So make sure you do your research.

Freedman also warns that when using a price-comparison site, be certain you’re comparing apples to apples. For example, one merchant may offer a lower initial price that quickly climbs once variables such as handling and postage are added to the final tally.

“Comparison shopping is valuable and can be a good starting point when shopping online,” Freeman says. “But consumers need to look at the total price of the product, including taxes, shipping and handling for a true comparison.”

Clean up your cookies
Because retailers base their promotions and price points on shoppers’ buying habits, your Web browser’s cookies could be condemning you to higher prices. Cookies are small bits of text placed by Web servers on your hard drive when you visit a Web site.

If you don’t delete your cookies, a Web site will recognize you as a returning customer when you make future visits to the site. This can hurt your bargain-hunting efforts because new customers are often treated to better deals than frequent patrons. For this reason, make clearing your cookies a regular part of your online-shopping routine.

“It’s a good and healthy practice,” Webb says.

Your Internet browser’s help menu should provide instructions for deleting cookies.

Check out secondary sources
Sometimes, secondary sources can actually sweeten an online bargain.

For example, Freedman says it never hurts to call a merchant’s toll-free customer service number to find out if any discounts are being offered in conjunction with online purchases. In other cases, deals you find in catalogs and direct-mail items may get even better when combined with online perks.

“You might get an offer for free shipping and a 20-percent discount if you enter your customer number on a retailer’s Web site,” Freedman says. “So be sure to look at the direct mail you’re receiving because it could be another quick way to a good deal.”

Even Facebook can serve as an excellent source for bargains, as more and more merchants flock to the social networking site to lure 20-somethings with coupons and discounts.

Get a little help from your friends
From blogs to discussion forums, consumers are banding together online to share deals, swap coupons and exchange money-saving tips.

For example, FatWallet claims more than 1 million registered users, 200,000 of whom visit the site daily.

“I equate FatWallet to going bargain-hunting with a couple hundred thousand of your closest friends,” says Tim Storm, founder of FatWallet, which is based in Rockton, Ill.

But while some peer-to-peer advice never hurts, it’s important to keep an eye out for incorrect information and expired offers before handing over your credit card number.

Consider your route
How you access a Web site can greatly influence the deal you eventually get. However, opinions differ on the best route to savings.

Often, the best deals can be found taking a direct path, Webb says. For example, online flower outfits are famous for offering varying costs on the exact same item depending on which link a visitor clicks to reach the site.

“I always recommend that people go directly to a Web site and not click through banner ads or links,” says Webb.

Storm disagrees. He says customers who reach a Web site directly are often recognized as loyal patrons and, therefore, aren’t always offered the lowest price possible.

“What you’ll find is there are some offers that your merchant won’t promote to you,” says Storm. “Some customers are not as price-conscious as others, so a merchant needs to be able to have full-priced customers as well as attract price-sensitive customers.”

So the next time a banner ad leads you to a sale, take the time to experiment and approach the Web site from a variety of starting points.

Read the fine print
Great online deals can save you bundles of money. However, if a particular promotion looks too good to be true, it probably is.

For starters, many Web sites offer price reductions on select items but carry cost-prohibitive shipping and handling charges that can offset savings.

Location can be another impediment to a great deal. Many Web-based businesses are scattered around the world. Make sure you’re dealing in U.S. dollars when making a purchase. If not, use an online currency converter to get a more accurate idea of what you can expect to pay.

Also, examine return policy details, such as whether returns are allowed, whether items can be returned in-store and who foots the bill for shipping returned goods.

“With a small mom-and-pop store, you can get some good deals,” Webb says. “But often they have a no-return policy and that can be difficult if the item is inferior (in) quality to what you expected.”

Nor are there any promises that a particular promotional offer will actually save you money.

“You’re not guaranteed a deal until the merchant accepts the promotion code and that money is taken off your purchase,” says Freedman.

That’s especially true if you’re using a coupon that isn’t necessarily “merchant-sanctioned,” so closely examine your order summary before submitting.  Article by Cindy Waxer for Bankrate.com.  For more news and financial information click the link below for www.bankrate.com

9 secrets to online bargain hunting.

Wine deals, bar menu specials and three-course, prix fixe meals for $25 to $40 are popping up in high-end eateries across the country to lure customers as business and leisure travel dips and diners stay closer to home and make more value-driven decisions about eating out.

For Manhattan restaurateur Paul Grieco, sticking to good food and the warm, hospitable philosophy of his East Village restaurant, Hearth, is key to devising dining promotions to combat a 20 percent dip in business from the same period last year.

“Every restaurant out there is leading with the discount, and the consumer — it’s become one big blur. We’re all competing against each other — none of us are coming out winners,” Grieco said.

To differentiate Hearth this winter, Grieco and the restaurant’s chef created five winter soups available at the bar for $5 each, paired with $5 glasses of sherry. This spring, Grieco plans to offer $5 spring salads.

Hearth’s Cucina Povera, a rustic $35 three-course, prix fixe meal featuring entrees such as braised lamb shank, is another offer aimed at budget-conscious diners.

“A year ago, to be honest, I didn’t have to hit that three-course menu at $35 a head. Now you have to,” Grieco said.

Grieco said he hopes the special menu items and prix fixe offering will attract more local diners to Hearth, one of the most expensive restaurants in the East Village.

“You need that neighborhood crowd, and because of our price point, maybe not everyone in the East Village was able to come to Hearth. Well, we need to change that,” Grieco said.

Taking menu price inflation into account, the National Restaurant Association expects the restaurant industry’s sales to decline by 1 percent in 2009. A similar drop in 2008 makes for the first consecutive back-to-back decline for the industry since the organization started tracking sales in 1970.

“This is currently the most challenging environment for restaurant operators in several decades,” said Hudson Riehle, head of research at the National Restaurant Association.

While the decline is relatively small compared with other industries, pricier restaurants take a bigger hit in a down economy, and establishments that rely heavily on travelers are likely to feel the economic slump acutely as total travel expenditures in the U.S. are expected to dip by 6.7 percent in 2009, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

At national seafood chain McCormick & Schmick’s, 35 percent to 40 percent of the customer traffic, on average, comes from business travelers, according to CEO Bill Freeman. Sales through the end of February were down 13 percent from last year.

The restaurant is offering a steak and lobster dinner with dessert for $29.95. Increased focus on local promotional opportunities around holidays such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and an enhanced preferred guest program also are part of the company’s efforts to drive sales. The preferred guest program allows diners to amass points that can be redeemed for food in the restaurant and some travel-related awards.

In Charleston, South Carolina, where many upscale restaurants rely heavily on tourism, those that are coping best are adding value without compromising their price integrity, according to Robert Frash, an assistant professor in the College of Charleston’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

“Rather than lowering their prices or offering coupons and discounts that are inconsistent with fine dining, they’re trying to give [customers] a better value. Perhaps where they were priced a la carte before, now it might be more of a prix fixe menu,” Frash said.

The Charleston Grill, in the Charleston Place Hotel, started a dinner at dusk promotion in January. The three-course menu for $39 is available seven days a week to diners who are seated before 6 p.m.

Similar value-driven promotions are available at other hotel-based restaurants. 606 Congress, in the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel in Massachusetts, will resume a popular “appetite stimulus” menu on April 13. For $25, guests receive an appetizer, entrée special, dessert and a glass of wine.

Wine promotions are another customer lure. Patina Restaurant Group, which operates more than 20 restaurants, is wrapping up a wine promotion at East Coast establishments March 31 that gives customers 25 percent off all bottles.

The promotion finished a successful West Coast run at the end of February, and the company is now waiving corkage fees at most West Coast restaurants.

“That is something that has been wildly successful … just getting people in the door,” said spokeswoman Amanda White. “We figure if people don’t need to pay for wine, they’ll spend more on food.”

Promotions and sales declines aside, Americans are still dining out, according to Riehle of the National Restaurant Association.

“Restaurants have become so ingrained in American lifestyles now, and the consumer reliance upon them in some cases deems it a much more essential experience than a discretionary experience.”

(Click the link below for related articles, video and more at CNN.com)

Article by Mamie Hunter for CNN

Upscale restaurants rolling out dining deals – CNN.com.

The annual cost of raising a child, including child care and education , runs $10,930 to $12,030, depending on the child’s age and where you live, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But cost-conscious families can easily save on everything from diapers to college tuition just by doing a little online coupon clipping.

Start your savings hunt by visiting the web sites of your favorite product manufacturers, which often offer exclusive coupons that you can print out or request to be mailed, advises Colette Frey-Bitzas, a certified financial planner based in Setauket, N.Y. Then hit up the membership sites of every group you belong to, from your employer to the local parent-teacher association to see what discounts and deals they have. (The Avery Elementary School PTA in Canton, Ga., for example, offers parents 10% off at the local Applebee’s restaurant chain, among other discounts.)

To really rack up savings, though, visit coupon-clipping sites offering online and in-store deals. Here are four worth checking out:

CouponMom.com

Parents looking for a crash course in effective coupon use should make this free site their first stop, says Todd Mark, a spokesman for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas. In addition to providing a host of printable grocery and dining coupons, the site lets you sign up to receive weekly coupon and deal alerts for any item on your shopping list. A page of sample and free trial offers yields coupons on diapers, free formula and deals on other baby and child-care essentials.

Sample coupons : Save $5 on any Leapfrog Didj educational videogame (regularly about $30) with a print-out coupon. Expires March 28. Save $5 on one Huggies Gentle Care diapers product (regularly $14 for a 40-pack) with a print-out coupon. Expires April 12.
Upromise.com

Take five minutes to register your credit cards and store loyalty cards online with this free rewards program, and every purchase you make at participating retailers will earn you cash back that gets deposited into a 529 college savings plan. Link to The Children’s Place through upromise.com, for example, and 4% of your purchase will go into a 529. “Is it a ton of money?” says John Pearson, a Norwalk, Conn.-based CPA who specializes in college planning. “No. But over the course of a few years, it adds up.” In the short term, membership can also yield savings on groceries and other purchases. The site’s eCoupons feature lets you click on coupons to load them onto a grocery store loyalty card . Just swipe your card at checkout to redeem them.

Sample coupons: Save $5 when you buy any two 23-ounce containers of Similac baby formula (regularly $27 each) with a print-out coupon. Expires March 31. Save $1 when you buy any two boxes of Post kids cereal, like Honeycomb or Fruity Pebbles (regularly about $4 each). Expires March 31.
RetailMeNot.com

Think of this free site as one-stop shopping for coupon codes , says Alan Fields, a consumer advocate. Special sections help parents track down coupon codes for kid- and baby-focused retailers. Users can indicate if a particular code works or not, quickly filtering out expired deals and duds. Sign up for an email alert to notify you when new codes pop up from your favorite retailers.

Sample coupons: Save $10 on your next American Girl online purchase of $30 or more by using code 161357 at checkout. No expiration date noted. Get free shipping (regularly $10) on your purchase at BabyAge.com with coupon code FUNFUR3 at checkout. Expires March 31.
Entertainment.com

Use an Entertainment coupon book wisely and you’ll more than recoup the $25 to $30 it costs to buy one. The book’s publishers secure deals with local restaurants, museums, stores and other services, as well as big-name fast food and movie theater chains. Each book is valid for a year. New Yorkers, for example, receive 20% off admission to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, a value of up to $25. In Portland, Ore., buyers get several buy-one-get-one-free coupons for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cones, Pizza Schmizza pizzas, and Mocha Express coffees, among other deals.

Sample coupons: New Jersey book owners can purchase up to a dozen movie passes at AMC Theaters for $6 apiece (regularly $9.50 for adults, $6.50 for children). In Los Angeles, book owners are entitled to specially-priced season passes to Knott’s Berry Farm for one adult and one child. You’ll pay $94.99 for an adult pass and $64.99 for a child. (Regularly, passes go for $139.99 and $84.99.)

(Looking for more coupons? View our list of all-around favorites here, and grocery sites here.)

via Parents: 4 Coupon Sites That Offer Big Savings at SmartMoney.com.

Coupon sites

• www.flamingoworld.com
• www.couponcabin.com
• www.couponmountain.com
• www.thecouponclippers.com
• www.savingsmania.com

Diapers

• Pampers
  Register at www.pampers.com for the Parent Pages email newsletters and you’ll also receive coupons and info on promotions for Pampers and other Proctor & Gamble products.
• Huggies
  If your child is 26 months or younger, you can call customer service at 1-800-544-1847 to get on their mailing list to get news on promotions and smaples sent to you at home.

Food

• Gerber
  Go to www.gerber.com or call customer service at 1-800-284-9488 to sign up for the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy program and receive a quarterly magazine and coupons.
• Similac
  Sign up for the Strong Moms program at www.similac.com for news on special promotions.
• Enfamil
  Enroll in Enfamil Family Beginnings at www.enfamil.com to receive newsletters and coupons.
• Earth’s Best
  Go to www.earthsbest.com for coupons and news on promotions. Join Earth’s Best Family to receive additional coupons.
• Beechnut
  Go to www.beechnut.com

Medicine

Please note: The FDA supports an industry-led change in labeling recommending that cough and cold medicines not be given to children 4 or younger. Many medical groups advise against them until the age of 6.

• Triaminic
  Go to www.triaminic.com and fill out your information to receive a $2 coupon.
• Wyeth
  Call customer service at 1-800-999-9384 to have coupons for products such as Dimetapp, Robitussin and Advil sent to you in the mail. You will receive two booklets of $1 coupons at a time.

Other

• Shopexclusivebaby.com, an online baby boutique with tons of great stuff from eco-friendly feeding tools, to books, toys, and way more, is offering Parenting readers 15% off their purchases. Discount code: parenting

Check out shopexclusivebaby.com

Coupon Web Sites: Never Pay Full Price Again?.

5 Reasons to Avoid Liquidation Sales – Yahoo! Finance.