I Made $31 on Craig's List Tonight!

This evening I sold some leftover things from our wedding through ads on Craig's List, and I made $31 more for our Travel Fund! It's amazing because I didn't have a lot of things from the wedding that I could sell. I know so people buy lots of vases, linens, etc. But we didn't have any of those things. I'm also keeping several things (i.e. my dress, veil, flower girl basket, ring bearer pillow). However, so far, I've made a total of $51 on Craig's List with wedding leftovers. Not bad.

There is apparently a pretty big market for wedding stuff on Craig's List. I suppose it's because weddings can be expensive, so people are looking for ways to cut corners. I've sold my things for about 60% of their regular retail prices. Most of this stuff you can get at craft stores like Michael's and A.C. Moore. The biggest discount I've ever seen on wedding-related items at one of those stores is 55% off, but usually 40-50% is the best you can do. So, by just undercutting the regular retail price, I'm able to move this stuff on to a new home.

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Wedding Full of Deals

I'm back from the wedding and honeymoon. They were both fantastic! There is so much to do to set up our new house, but I'm going to try to find a little time for the blog.

Not to worry - I won't fill Save 4 Fun with all kinds of wedding things. However, the other day on the bus on the way home from work I jotted down all of the things for the wedding that I got on sale, on clearance, with a coupon, or for a low price. There actually may be more, but this amused me...so I thought I'd tell you about it.

11 candles on the altar in honor and memory of family & friends came from the Dollar Tree.

The beautiful wedding cake was from Wal-Mart. (This was an amazing deal...I will probably have to post a picture of it when I get one because it was lovely.)

We got the wedding bands online from two different vendors (Blue Nile and eWeddingBands.com). Of course, we had coupon codes! And Blue Nile is a partner with Shop Discover, so I got an extra Cash Back Bonus there.

My wedding shoes were on clearance (for $13 -- regular $80) at the Naturalizer outlet.

I thought I was going to wear Mom's pearl necklace that I like, but it was too short for the neckline of my dress. Not wanting to spend much on a new necklace, we got one at Kohl's on sale and with a coupon for about $13.

The dress I wore for the ceremony was my grandmother's wedding dress. It did require some repair work; however, it was still less than a new wedding dress.

The frames I used to display pictures as centerpieces at the reception were from yard sales and Freecycle.

The baskets that I used to hold the favors and for the bubbles (that guest blew for our exit) were from yard sales, Freecycle, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army.

The silk flowers and ribbon used to decorate the bubble baskets and gift card holder were on sale.

The ribbon we used for the bows on the chapel pews, doors, and outside railings and lights were purchased with coupons.

My custom-made guest book (a Kodak Gallery photo book of pictures of Michael and me from birth through our engagement) was purchased with a coupon code, and I got Upromise credit.

The flower girl's basket and the ring bearer's pillow were on clearance. They were white, but everything else for the wedding was ivory. That wasn't working for me, so a very talented friend covered them in ivory lace. They were beautiful!

The chocolate lollipops that my sister made for favors were not only tasty and cute, but we got the supplies on sale and with a coupon.

The photographer gave us a 10% discount for paying in full up front.

The glass platter that the wedding cake sat on was a few buck from the DAV thrift store.

The knives and servers for the wedding and groom's cakes were purchased with coupons.

Our DIY invitations were on sale.

Our matching DIY programs were purchased with coupons.

I wanted the flower girl to use silk flower petals. I couldn't see paying $9.99 at the craft store for them. Even on sale or with a coupon, they were too much. The Dollar Tree had packages of the same quantity (300 count), obviously for just a dollar. However, all they offered were white. I needed ivory. So, I tea-stained them, and they looked great.

It was simply good luck, but I found the perfect necklaces for the bridesmaids at Talbot's -- and they were on sale!

I got the flower girl a monogrammed silver locket from Blue Nile with a coupon code. And again, I got an extra Cash Back Bonus from Shop Discover.

In the end, I was really pleased how everything turned out with the wedding. It was by no means inexpensive. We were blessed to have a generous budget from my parents and from my own savings. However, it was far less than the national average for the cost of a wedding. I really didn't have to sacrifice anything that I really wanted because of a tight budget. In fact I even got my top choices on several of the vendors...and ones I still really liked even if I didn't get the top choice on other things. And then things like the cake that I didn't actually care much about turned out far better that I could have imagined.

I will eventually be converting my blog for wedding guests into a blog about the tips and tricks I learned along the way...as well as my comments on the vendors we used. It will be a while to do that. However, once that's ready, I'll let you know in case you or someone you know is planning a wedding.

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I'll Be Back!

Dear Save 4 Fun Readers,

It's nearly wedding time! I'll return to writing in two or three weeks. I've had lots of saving ideas lately on all sorts of subjects. However, I have little time to write because of all of the wedding preparations. So, I thought I'd officially let you know that I'm temporarily signing off.

I hope you will return mid-August and read the new tips.

Take care!
Betsy

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Can You Tell It's from the Dollar Store?

As you can probably tell from my lack of daily or nearly daily postings, I've been rather busy lately with pre-wedding events. Yesterday was the bridal shower hosted by two bridesmaids for my immediate family and some friends.

Early on, I told the bridesmaid who was in charge of the shower invitations to make sure she didn't spend a lot of money on things like invitations. To me, it's just completely unnecessary (as you may remember from my save-the-date cards). I told Whit that I had previously done some baby shower invitations with cards I'd gotten from Dollar Tree, and they turned out very cute. And they were super cheap. She said she'd look into it.

When it came time to mail the invitations, Whit mailed one to me too so that I'd have it for my scrapbook. I looked at the really nice card she sent and thought, "Why didn't she listen to me and go to the dollar store?" I didn't ask her about it because it was her business, not mine. I just hoped that at least she got them on sale somewhere.

Then, Friday Whit came up to stay with me the night before the shower. She saw the invitation hanging on the refrigerator. I told her some friends of my sister had seen it there and commented that they thought it looked really nice. Whit finally said, "I have to tell you a secret about those invitations." She proceeded to say that she did take my advice and went to the Dollar Tree. She thought I was kidding. She couldn't imagine she could find something nice there, but she went to look -- maybe to just prove me wrong. :-)

Whit said she was surprised to find some invitations that she really liked. Still hesitant and not wanting to look cheap (even though I gave her my permission to do so), she bought a pack and took it to work. She showed 5 co-workers and asked them if they liked them and where they thought she got them. They named a bunch of nice stationary stores but never guessed the dollar store. When she finally told them the truth, they couldn't believe it. Their reaction convinced her it would be okay to use them.

It turned out really cute because she got matching gift boxes for the favors (pictured), thank you cards for me to use, and stickers for the invitation and thank you note envelopes. Of course, I know it cost much more, but the other hostess, who was in charge of the cake, had one made to complement all of the stationary for the shower. And they spent money on other nice touches, but hopefully didn't break the bank since they took the less expensive route on part of the planning...except you couldn't tell at all. Now that's my kind of party!

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Yard Sales: On a Mission

For really the first time in my life, I've started going to yard sales on Saturday mornings. Looking just to look isn't really my thing. However, I'm hunting for very inexpensive wooden picture frames that I will paint and use on the tables at my wedding reception.

Last Saturday was my first time out. I scored 8 frames for a total of $4.25. (Not bad considering the cheapest ones I found at Target are $2.99, and the ones at Goodwill are $1.99.) I need about 50 of them, so the cheaper, the better! Today I searched again but wasn't as successful in terms of the number I found. However, the one frame I found was just 25 cents!

Here's how I make my plan of action: I look on Craigslist under "garage sales" in my area. Then, I pull out 9 of the ones that seem like they could be the most promising. Multiple family/house yard sales are the best because I can hit a bunch at once. Then, I start plugging in the addresses into MapQuest, starting with my own address. It will let you put up to 10 addresses in to make one continuous route. So, you can go from Point A to Point B to Point C...all the way up to Point J.

In order to save time and gas, I then look at the map and start to move the stops around so that it makes a circle. I don't want to be crisscrossing the county or backtracking. I also have to make sure that if any open later (i.e. 9 or 10 AM) that I put them late in the route. Also, if I see any yard sales along the way on my route that I didn't already know about, I'll stop at those too.

Last night when I made my driving route for today, I randomly plugged in all of the addresses. MapQuest said that it would take me 1 hour and 21 minutes to drive the 28.29 miles. Once I reordered it to make a circle instead of the crazy zigzag pattern, it reduced the time to 45 minutes and the distance to 14.07 miles. So, the new route saved me 36 minutes of driving and 14.22 miles.

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Collection: How to Save on Wedding Gifts

I've written several articles on various ways to save on wedding gifts, and I thought it might be useful to pull the links together in one post. If you find any of these tips useful, let me know. I'd love to hear about your wedding gift deals. Also, tell me if you know of other good ways to save when giving to a bride and groom.

Comparison Shopping Between the Store & the Website

Saving on Wedding Gifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

More Ways to Save on Wedding Gifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Saving on Wedding Gifts at Target

Buy from a Wedding Gift Registry & Save for Charity

Saving on Wedding Gifts at Macy's

A Few More Ways to Save on Wedding Gifts

More Wedding Gift Savings: The Value of Shopping Early

More Wedding Gift Savings: Look Beyond the Registry

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Financial Teamwork

Michael and I went to our first pre-martial counseling session last night. Our pastor friend who is doing our counseling is having us read Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. I've found it to be pretty interesting, although it can go to the extreme getting some of the points across about pitfalls of which you should beware.

Of course, personal finance is a hot topic in marriages -- and divorces. And basically most things I've read about money and marriage in this book and a whole variety of other sources send a message of great caution about the subject (with good reason -- I understand). But I like happy, success stories, so it was good to read this guest post on Clever Dude's blog by Kevin of No Debt Plan entitled Spouses, Finances, and Teamwork, so I thought I'd share it with my readers. I'm glad to hear that things are going well for Kevine and his wife, and I'm certain they will for us too.

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Learning at Low-Cost

Learning how to do things yourself can be a big money saver in the long run. This spring I took my second series of flower arranging classes through my county's public schools' adult education program. A local florist teaches the classes.

At $134 for the first series of 3 classes and $149 for the second series, at first glance they don't seem like a great bargain - not cheap anyway. However, for what you get, it really is a deal. Those prices included the florist demonstrating how to make the arrangements, hands-on help in class when I made my arrangements, tips on how to do things like properly change the water in a vase, and all of the supplies. Each week I had a fun activity on Tuesday nights, and I also got to take home my beautiful creations to enjoy.

While I'm by no means a pro at flower arranging now, I do have some basic skills. A couple of months ago I even made a lovely arrangement that I took to a friend who had just had a baby. A similar arrangement at the grocery store would have cost $20. However, I was able to make the arrangement for my friend with enough flowers leftover to make one for me to keep for a total of $12 (including the vase I gave her which I had gotten from someone who was going to throw it away).

Below you can see pictures of the arrangements I made in my latest classes (wedding flower arranging). I'm not going to do the flowers for my own wedding, but this was good information to learn - and it was fun!

Check out what classes your local school district or parks and rec department offer. You might learn a cool trade and have fun for a reasonable price.

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Shoes from Payless

I've been working on some more wedding planning over the past week. One of my tasks was to find shoes for the bridesmaids. While I let them pick the style of dress they will each wear, I want them to all wear the same shoes. The dresses are tea-length, so everyone will see their shoes. It will look better if they are the same.

I have 5 bridesmaids who live in 3 different states, none of whom live in the same city. I needed to find shoes that they could all easily get. I wanted a style that looked nice with a heel that was no more than 2" (so they don't kill themselves trying to get down the aisle). They needed to be black. I wanted them to be under $20, so in the event they don't like them or have no other reason to ever wear them again, they didn't lose a ton of money on these shoes.

After much searching, I found shoes at Payless that fit all of the requirements, including only being $17.99! (There's a store within 8 miles of all of the bridesmaids.) The only problem was that I couldn't find these shoes in the store when I first started looking. So, my sister (roommate/maid of honor) bought them from Payless.com. They have free shipping to a store and easy returns/exchanges. Luckily, we liked them, and they fit. However, if they hadn't worked out, she could have easily gotten a refund at the store without the hassle or expense of returning them by mail.

So, if you are looking for shoes that may be for a one-time use (like for a wedding), look at what Payless has to offer because they have good prices and offer free shipping if you can’t find what you want in a store. Just watch out for the dyeable shoes because they can be more expensive (as much as $39.99). It’s much better to buy shoes that are already made in the color you need or to buy a complimentary color.

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More Wedding Gift Savings: Look Beyond the Registry

I am a fan of buying wedding gifts from registries because I know it will be something the couple likes and wants. However, sometimes you can find the exact same thing from their registry somewhere else for a better deal. Of course, the key here is to make sure it is indeed the exact same thing (brand, color, size, style, etc.). It's also best to send/give this gift early. Once they get it and realize it is from a store at which they did not register, they can mark it off their registry before someone else buys it. Also, make sure the recipient gets a gift receipt and/or the packing slip so that they can return/exchange it if need be.

Let me give you an example by looking at a 5-piece place setting of our fine china by Lenox.

If I were to buy the place setting tonight, here are the prices I'd pay at various online retailers where we are registered. (Note: I've chosen the least expensive shipping method in each scenario.)

Macy's (through registry linked with WeddingChannel.com)
Price: $158.00
Tax: $7.90
Shipping: $17.95
Total: $183.85

Bed, Bath, & Beyond
Price: $109.99
Tax: $5.50
Shipping: $11.95
Total: $127.44

Belk
Price: $109.99
Tax: $6.30
Shipping: $15.95
Total: $132.24

Now, let's look at the exact same place setting at retailers where we are not registered.

Macys.com (not through the registry)
Price: $109.99
Tax: $5.50
Shipping: $15.95
Total: $131.44

Amazon.com
Price: $109.95
Tax: $0
Shipping: $0
Total: $109.95

Lenox.com
Price: $109.85
Tax: $5.52
Shipping: $12.95
Total: $128.32

HomeClick.com
Price: $109.00 **Includes a free pasta/soup bowl from this pattern (value $70)!
Tax: $0
Shipping: $8.95
Total: $117.95

Now you can see that the lowest over all price is from Amazon.com and the best deal is from HomeClick.com because they offer a free bowl. (Lenox.com did have this deal recently but not currently.) Once again, it pays to shop around!

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If It Doesn't Fit, No Deal

At the end of this month, Michael and I will take our engagement pictures. It's an hour-long session that we'll probably do in a park. For me, getting good pictures for our wedding is important. I also really wanted to find a reasonable package that included an engagement session. Not only do I think it will be great to have these casual pictures of us, it's also a good way of getting to know our photographer, the photographer getting to know us, and getting used to the idea of being photographed for a long period of time. Hopefully, it will help us look a little more relaxed and natural in our pictures.

Anyway, I was looking for just the right thing to wear for this photo session. I knew I wanted a causal, but not too casual dress. I toured around the mall last night. I found some nice dresses on the clearance rack at Ann Taylor, but they either didn't fit just right or they weren't exactly what I was hoping to find. At 60% off, that was very disappointing. I thought long and hard about one of them. But the reality is that if it doesn't fit well or doesn't look right, I won't like it when I get it home, regardless of the price. So, that makes it a bad deal because I won't wear it or at least not many times and won't be happy with it.

I searched more stores -- the regularly priced clothes and the sale racks. Finding just the right fit for me can be difficult. And regardless of your size or shape, clothes that fit well look soooo much better!

I finally found a very cute dress at The Limited that fit like it was made for me. Why it couldn't be on sale, I don't know. I decided not to buy it right away. I thought I should think a little about it and try it on again. So, I went back tonight after work and decided I indeed really liked and it really fit. I bought it...but of course, I got a deal after all!

I looked on The Limited's website today and found a coupon! It's good until May 4, 2008, and you can save $30 on a $100 purchase or more (regularly priced items). Well, the dress I wanted was $98. So, I found nice necklace that I can wear for the engagement pictures too. It was reasonably priced and pushed me just over the $100 limit. Total savings was 24%. Not bad -- especially since this purchase was for a very specific purpose and I would have gotten it anyway. It is worth searching around for coupons!

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Postage Price Increase & the Forever Stamp

Have you heard that on May 12, 2008, the price of postage is going up again? The price of a first-class stamp will increase from 41 cents to 42 cents. (You can find all of the details of the new prices on the US Postal Service website.) Of course, the Forever stamps that the USPS introduced last spring will still work for first-class postage after the increase even if you bought them for only 41 cents each.

Are you going to stock up? With a one-cent increase, I may have normally considered getting an extra book (for a total savings of 20 cents), but I wouldn't have stock piled. However, my upcoming wedding is requiring a lot more mail than in an average year. So, I already have started to stock up.

Luckily, our wedding invitations are only going to require a regular first-class stamp. (And what better stamp to have on a wedding invitation than Forever?!) We'll also need stamps for the response cards that will go inside of each invitation. I'll also mail invitations for the bridesmaids' luncheon. Of course, there will be lots of thank you notes to send: wedding gifts, shower gifts, and friends and family who have helped with various aspects of this event. We will have a few payments that need to be mail after May 12th. And Mom says it's customary to send Christmas cards the first year after the wedding to everyone who was on the invitation list.

So, I estimate the grand total to be about 400 stamps! Wow! No, the savings won't be huge, but I'll take the $4 savings by stocking up on Forever stamps now.

I found interesting commentary and calculations on The Simple Dollar blog that might help you decide if you should stock up on stamps too.

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More Wedding Gift Savings: The Value of Shopping Early

I mentioned on Friday that on one of our trips to Macy's to work on our wedding registry, Michael and I overheard a couple complaining about how expensive something they were buying off of a wedding registry was. Don't worry -- I didn't ask them about this situation! But I did wonder about it.

I suppose their bridal friends may have only registered for very expensive gifts. But I'm willing to bet the real problem was that they waited until the last minute to buy a gift. If that was actually the case, then two things probably happened: 1) most of the items on the registry were already purchased and 2) they didn't have time to comparison shop or wait for a sale. No wonder they were bitter.

I read a blog posting on FreeMoneyFinance.com about selecting your wedding gift early. I suppose a gift card or check for the amount you were planning to spend on a gift is a good alternative, but Plan A is still a better idea -- shop early!

Actually, couples usually register 6 months or more before the wedding. Even if they haven't notified you of the registry, look them up at stores where people usually register (i.e. Macy's, Target, Bed, Bath, & Beyond) or a store that you know to be one of their favorites (i.e. Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma). Then, watch for coupons and sales. I've never actually done this for anyone I've known to be getting married and for whom I was going to give a gift. But watching the prices drastically fluctuate on my own registries, I will definitely start keeping an eye on these gift lists early for friends who are marrying in the future! In fact, just this weekend Belk dropped the price on our fine china by 46% off of the regular retail price. What a deal! (I sure hope people aren't paying full price.)

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Macy's Red Star Event Sale - this weekend

I have written previously about how to save on wedding gifts at Macy's. Based on the traffic on that posting, I can tell that it's a subject of interest! Also, a few weeks ago Michael and I were in Macy's finishing up our registry when we overheard a couple complaining about the price of something that they were buying for someone off of a wedding registry. Well, that's really a discussion for another time, but if they had just waited for a sale, like the Red Star Event happening this weekend, they could have saved on that purchase.

Anyway, now through Sunday, April 6th, you can save 15% off of regular, sale, or clearance purchases in-store and online! The sale includes Macy's online wedding registry through WeddingChannel.com! (The sale offers 10% savings on small electronics.) They do exclude a lot of name brand items that may be on a wedding gift registry (i.e. All-Clad), but they also include many of them too (i.e. Lenox). In Macy's stores, you can also pick up a game piece to win a trip to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Macy's July 4th Fireworks Spectacular, or a Macy's gift card worth up to $500.

Don't forget that Discover Card's 5% Cashback Bonus promotion this quarter includes department stores. So, between this bonus and the sale at Macy's, you could save up to an additional 20%!

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The Ads Are True to Life

Michael and I both got out of work early today, so we decided to swing by a jewelry store to look at wedding bands. They were having a grand opening in a new location downtown. While we were there, I had to laugh to myself because I thought I was in an ING or Feed the Pig commercial!

I don't need or want anything particularly fancy. Just a simple wedding band that will complement my very lovely engagement ring. It hasn't been easy since my e-ring isn't the standard solitaire. I want something nice since I will be wearing every day for the rest of my life, but not something outrageously expensive. Anyway, one of the designer representatives at this event was telling me that I "needed" something more fancy (read: expensive) than I was asking if they had available. "Oh, wow! Yes, that's lovely..."

No worries! We weren't planning to buy anything today anyway. But as I snapped back to reality, I had to laugh. It's just like this commercial on FeedthePig.org and ING's "Retail Therapy" advertisement.

I will be feeding my pig on the road to happiness! And a more modest wedding band will be just fine.

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A Few More Ways to Save on Wedding Gifts

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Comparison Shopping Between the Store & the Website. I was amazed to find some significant prices differences from the bricks & mortar store and the virtual version of the same company. This was mostly the case between a Macy's store and the online Macy's registry which is handled through WeddingChannel.com.

At the time I wrote that article, the fine china on our Macy's wedding registry was less expensive if purchased through the website. The sheets were less expensive in the store. However, that has flipped-flopped. Now, you would pay between 20% and 30% less for the china in the store than on the website. And right now, you will find the sheets are priced 25% lower online.

Of course, you do usually have to factor in shipping when thinking about buying something online. In the case of this set of sheets, the online purchase price savings is $20, but you would have to pay $11.95 for shipping. There's still a savings, but it isn't as great. For some of the less expensive, individual pieces of china, it would actually be a better deal to pay the higher price in the store than to get the discounted online price and have to pay shipping.

You also have to think about the sales tax when comparing your neighborhood store to the online store. You may pay less or you may pay more, depending on where you are shipping the items and where that company has stores.

Speaking of buying online and shipping, Target is offering free shipping through March 22, 2008, on select items in the following categories: furniture, patio furniture, bedding, bath items, slipcovers, rugs, window coverings, home décor, lighting, and kitchen items. Many couples register for wedding gifts in some or all of these categories at Target. See if you can save a trip to the store and get free shipping!

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Saving on Wedding Gifts at Macy's

Continuing with the series on finding ways to save when buying from wedding gift registries, let's look at Macy's. They offer a number of ways to save in the store and online.

Macy's is a partner with WeddingChannel.com, and it is how they manage their online wedding registries. If the bridal couple has linked a charity to their WeddingChannel.com registries, your online Macy's registry purchase will generate a donation to that cause! I've already gone into detail on this topic in my post entitled Buy from a Wedding Gift Registry & Save for Charity.

Like Target.com and Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Macys.com is a Upromise partner. So, if you are saving for someone to go to college through Upromise, link to Macys.com through Upromise's website to make your purchase. Currently, they are offering 4% of your total price paid to go towards your Upromise account. The unfortunate part about this idea is that you can't buy directly from the online wedding registry and get Upromise credit. However, you can look at their registry to find out what they want. Then, purchase an item from their wish list without going through the registry (because it's actually linked through WeddingChannel.com). If you are buying the gift and giving (or shipping) the gift to the couple right away, they can go into the registry and mark it off as purchased themselves.

Discover Card is offering a 5% additional cashback bonus April 1 - June 30, 2008, for purchases at department stores when you sign up for the quarterly 5% Cashback Bonus promotion. Of course, Macy's falls into this category. That will be a good time to buy for your spring weddings if you haven't already done so. It will also be a good time to get a head start on buying for summer and fall weddings if the couples have already registered. Like Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Macy's is also a Discover Cashback Bonus partner. You could get your Cashback Bonus to stretch even further by trading in $40 of bonus for a $45 Macy's gift card. Gift cards may be used in Macy's stores or online at Macys.com and macysweddingchannel.com.

Finally, if you are shopping in a Macy's store, you really should never go without first looking in your newspaper for current promotions and coupons. They offer some kind of deal nearly every week.

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Buy from a Wedding Gift Registry & Save for Charity

When buying a wedding gift, you may be able to help support the wedding couple's favorite charity. WeddingChannel.com is partners with a number of major stores and their gift registries. If you buy a wedding gift at one of these stores after linking to its website through WeddingChannel.com, up to 3% of the purchase price is given to the charity that the couple has designated.

Here's how it works:

The couple registers for gifts at one of the following places (in the store or online):
Macy's
Bloomingdales
JC Penney
Crate & Barrell
Williams-Sonoma
Pottery Barn
REI
Restoration Hardware
Amazon.com
Gump's
Tiffany & Co.
Neiman Marcus
Fortunoff
Barneys New York
Starwood Honeymoon Collection
Sandals Resorts
Charity Registry
Honeymoon Registry
Borsheims
Cloud 9 Living

Then, they go to WeddingChannel.com to select their favorite national charity to link to their registry at one or more of these places. There are about 100 different charities to choose from in the categories of children, youth, & families, community development, education, environment, health, and social justice.

After that is set up, each time someone uses WeddingChannel.com to buy you a gift from one of the registries linked with their site, WeddingChannel.com will make a donation to the couple's selected charity. There is no cost to the couple or to the gift-buyer.

If you know someone who has a gift registry at one of these stores but you don't see the name of a charity listed at the top of their registry online (accessed through WeddingChannel.com), let them know about this feature. Your gift purchased this way will generate a donation to a great charity!

You can read more about this program at WeddingChannel.com.

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Saving on Wedding Gifts at Target

This is the third post in my series on finding ways to save when buying from wedding gift registries. In the first two articles, I talked about Bed, Bath, & Beyond (20% off coupons and other ways to save). Now, let's look at Target, which is another popular, nationwide place to register for weddings.

If you have a Discover Card, you can receive an additional 5% cashback bonus if you link to Target's website site through the Shop Discover program which can be accessed through Discover.com.

The Entertainment Book offers discounts in their book and on their website for Target.com. Currently through the Entertainment Book's website, you can get $5 off a $50 purchase at Target.com.

If you are saving for someone to go to college through Upromise, you can save at Target.com. Access Target.com through the Upromise website and receive a percentage (currently 4%) of your total purchase in college contributions to your Upromise account.

If you have a Target REDcard (Visa), you can earn points for each dollar you spend at Target. Once you get to 1000 points, you get 10% off an entire day of shopping at Target. If you have earned one of these coupons, buying a gift from a wedding registry the day you use it is a good idea so that you'll get a 10% discount.

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More Ways to Save on Wedding Gifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

I've started a series on looking at ways to save when buying gifts from a wedding registry. First stop: Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Yesterday, I wrote about their 20% off coupons. Now, let's see what else they have to offer.

Upromise: If you are saving for someone to go to college with a Upromise account, Bed, Bath, & Beyond is a great place to consider buying a wedding gift because it is a Upromise partner. If you buy something from them in the store or on their website and use a credit card that you've registered with Upromise, you'll get 1% of your total purchase (including tax and shipping) in your Upromise account.

Discover Card Cashback Bonus: Bed, Bath, & Beyond is a partner in Discover Card's Cashback Bonus program. So, if you have $20 in Cashback Bonus with your Discover Card, you can redeem it for a $25 Bed, Bath, & Beyond gift certificate. That's a 25% savings! You can order as many of these gift certificates as you want, as long as you have enough Cashback Bonus in $20 increments to cover the number you want. For wedding gifts, you could either get the gift certificate(s) and go shopping yourself. Or you could give the gift certificate as the gift. (It's an actual gift card from the store, so they won't know you got it with your Cashback Bonus.) Gift cards from Bed, Bath, & Beyond do not expire and have no service fees. What's great about this idea is that whoever (the gift giver or the recipient) can also use one of those 20% off coupons and also use a Upromise registered credit card to get college savings. Here's an example: You want to get an item from the wedding registry that is regularly priced at $49.99. You go to the store with one of the Bed, Bath, & Beyond 20% off coupons, and the price is reduced to $39.99. You use a $25 gift certificate that you got with your Cashback Bonus, which brings the price to $14.99. You pay for the balance with a credit card you have registered with Upromise, and you save 1% (or approximately 15 cents, depending on the sales tax) for college. That means you get a $49.99 gift for $14.84 (plus tax)!

Gift Wrapping: If you order something from Bed, Bath, & Beyond's website, you can request to have it gift wrapped for free. They have nice silver gift wrap or gift bags, depending on the item.

Competitor's Coupons: Bed, Bath, & Beyond does accept unexpired competitor's coupons.

Price Match: Bed, Bath, & Beyond "will gladly match our direct competitors' price on identical items."

Gift Message: If you order something online from Bed, Bath & Beyond, you can request to have a complimentary gift message printed and put into a little envelope that they will attach to the gift.

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