5 Ways to Spend the Weekend on the Cheap: January 27-29, 2012
There are 
has so many awesome things going on each week that Cities on the Cheap’s calendar can be a bit overwhelming. To narrow it down a bit, try one of these five ways to spend the weekend on the cheap:
- Free Build & Grow Workshops at Lowe’s: Build-A-Saurus & Valentine Card Creator
- Free Crafts at Lakeshore Learning Stores: January & February 2012
- Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Coupon: Kids Eat Free through February 29, 2012
- P.F. Chang’s: Chinese New Year 2012 Red Envelope = Discount or Free Food
- Regal Coupons: $2 Off Popcorn or Free Drink with Popcorn Purchase
Limiting my list to five means that I must leave out things…overwhelming or not, it’s worth skimming the calendar to make sure you don’t miss the “I’ve been meaning to get to that” events on your list.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Valentine’s Day Gift Deals
Looking 
for Valentine’s Day gift ideas? Check out these offers on the daily deal sites. For the full list of deals, check out the Daily Deals page on Cities on the Cheap.
Though it’s Friday, January 27, you have a day or so to take advantage of most of these deals:
- On Tippr, $19 = $40 worth of floral arrangements from The Enchanted Florist.
- On Loclly, $15 = $40 worth of flowers from Flowers-Nationwide.com.
- On Saveology, $45 = Valentine’s Day strawberries & chocolates box from Better World Brands. Free shipping.
- On Groupon, $24 = Little Bit Of Love or Key To Your Heart gift-wrapped Valentine’s Day cookie box.
- On Plum District, $23 = Wine for Lovers Valentine’s Day sampler from TastingRoom.com. Includes Shipping.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Daily Deals: Movie Tickets, VHS & Audio Transfer Equipment
A few 
of the online-only & multiple-location deals on the daily deal sites…for the full list of deals from several sites, check out the Daily Deals page on Cities on the Cheap.
Though it’s Friday, January 27, you have a day or so to take advantage of most of these deals:
- On Goldstar, $24 + fees = 2 AMC Gold Experience tickets, 2 drinks & one popcorn.
- On Saveology, $14 = two movie tickets from MovieTickets.com
- On Half Off Depot, $12 = two AMC movie tickets from WhiteGloveDeals.
- On Groupon, $25 = Honestech Audio Recorder 2.0 Plus or $35 = Honestech VHS To DVD 4.0 Deluxe. Includes shipping.
- On Eversave, $40 = Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 HD video converter. Includes shipping.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Free $5 Instant Video Credit with Device Registration, Kindle Daily Deals + 100 eBooks for $3.99 or Less on Amazon.com
Through March 31, 2012, you can get a free Instant Video credit on Amazon.com when you register an eligible Amazon Instant Video-compatible device with Amazon Instant Video for the first time.
And if you got a tablet during the holidays, you may want to keep an eye on this page:
Amazon.com offers a Kindle Daily Deal. For 24-hours, you can buy the Kindle version of a book for an extra-low price. Today, January 26, 2012, you can get A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz for $0.99 (reg. $6.15).
Even better: You can shop a selection of 100 Kindle books priced at $3.99 or less; the discounted titles change monthly. And you don’t need a Kindle to read them; you can download free Kindle Reader apps to read them on your phone, tablet, PC or Mac.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Regal Coupons: $2 Off Popcorn or Free Drink with Popcorn Purchase
Last week, 
Regal gave us a new way to access coupons, opening up some deals to people without browser-enabled phones, too:
If you sign up for a Regal eNewsletter, they’ll send you a weekly coupon. For a limited time, you can download & print this week’s coupon to get a free small soft drink with purchase of a small popcorn. The coupon expires January 31, 2012. I think the coupon is shareable, but there’s a chance that it’s coded for one-time use, so YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). You’ll need to print the coupon, as no mobile versions will be accepted.
On Regal’s Facebook page, you’ll see a Regal Weekly Coupons tab. When you click on it, it’ll show you the current week’s deal (through January 29, 2012, you can get a $2 off any popcorn). If you want the coupon, enter your cellphone number, and they’ll text you a link to the coupon. You will need both a browser-enabled mobile phone + Facebook to get the deal. And there’s no way to skip that; no printed version will be accepted.
While you’re on Facebook, be sure to “like” Cities on the Cheap, too.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Smokey Bones: Coupon for $5 off a $15+ Purchase
Through January 29, 2012, 
you can download & print this coupon to get $5 off a $15+ purchase at Smokey Bones.
As always, the coupon can’t be combined with other offers or redeemed toward gift cards, etc.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
2012 Entertainment Book Sale: 35% Off + $1.99 Shipping
If you’d like to have as many months as possible to cash in on the deals in the 2012 Entertainment Book, this is a good time to buy, as you still have almost a year to use the coupons. Since it’s filled with 2-for-1 coupons, %-off discounts and often a few freebies, it’s a good deal if you actually remember to use the coupons.
Through February 1, 2012, all 2012 Entertainment books are 35% off, plus shipping starts at $1.99. And you’ll often find extra coupons for some of the in-book merchants online. When I bought my 2012 book, my online membership activated immediately, so I could start saving the same day.
A few more details worth knowing:
- The online deals can save you quite a bit. I was able to save almost 50% on Level 1 tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s “OVO” by ordering via Entertainment, and it’s an easy way to buy Regal & AMC tickets on the cheap.
- There’s now a companion mobile app for the iPhone, Blackberry, & Android devices. It doesn’t replace the coupon book, but it offers location-based features that may make it much easier to maximize the deals in the book.
- The book now comes with a keytag that’ll score you extra savings at participating merchants. You can use the app to find the deals while you’re out.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
80% off Restaurant.com Certificates through January 31, 2012
Through January 31, 2012, Restaurant.com’s cheap discount certificates get even cheaper.
You can save 80% on restaurant-specific discount certificates on Restaurant.com
by using promo code “DATE”.
As for the discount restaurant certificates themselves, you’ll find a variety of deals on Restaurant.com: $25 certificates for $10, $10 certificates for $3, and more, and the 80% off deal applies to your purchase price.
Not all restaurants participate in the sale, and all of the vendors apply their own restrictions to each certificate’s redemption, so read the fine print before you check out to make sure it’ll be a good deal for you.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Daily Deals: Movie Tickets, Flowers, & The Body Shop
A few 
of the online-only & multiple-location deals on the daily deal sites…for the full list of deals from several sites, check out the Daily Deals page on Cities on the Cheap.
Though it’s Thursday, January 26, you have a day or so to take advantage of most of these deals:
- On Saveology, $14 = two movie tickets from MovieTickets.com
- On Half Off Depot, $12 = two AMC movie tickets from WhiteGloveDeals.
- On Living Social, $12 = two movie tickets to Man on a Ledge from Fandango.com.
- On Groupon, $6 = one ticket or $12 = two tickets to One for the Money.
- On Tippr, $19 = $40 in floral arrangements from The Enchanted Florist.
- On Living Social, $10 = $20 worth of products from The Body Shop.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
Papa John’s Pizza: Super Bowl XLVI Coin Toss Experience = Chance at Free Pizza & Soda
You’ll
need a bit of luck to get this deal:
Papa John’s is leaving an awesome freebie up to a coin toss. If America calls the Super Bowl XLVI coin toss correctly, Papa John’s will give all Papa Rewards Members a free large one-topping pizza & a 2-liter Pepsi Max.
Want in on it? Go to freepapajohns.com to call the coin toss & register to become a Papa Rewards member. If you don’t register to become a Papa Rewards member, you won’t get the deal.
Papa John’s will announce whether America calls “heads” or “tails” on February 2, 2012, so vote soon if you have a preference.
–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap
