Whenever the subject comes up, I always tell people that I should have had glasses years ago — and it’s true. My sight isn’t horrible but things would be a little clearer if I wore them, especially when driving. This is part of the reason why I do not like to drive at night. A few years ago, I got a prescription and I visited at least four eye glasses stores but I either couldn’t find anything that I liked or within my price range. I couldn’t see myself paying upwards of $100 for glasses I’d only wear some of the time. I wish I had known about sites like Zenni Optical then. They offer prescription glasses with a variety of frames for bottom-line prices. One of the lowest-priced options are $6.95 prescription eyeglasses. That’s less than I spend on Mountain Dew in a week! Some of the more “expensive” frames are $12.95. That’s not a price about which I can complain!

Plus, Zinni offers options like Oleophobic coating to deter fingerprints, oil and dust so that you can spend less time cleaning your lenses. This same coating also reduces reflection, which is always a plus. That would be great for me, if I were wearing glasses while driving at night. The coating itself isn’t that expensive either.

Even though I need a new prescription, I cannot help but browse the site and I’m surprised at how many frames I like. I’m definitely going to be playing on the site before I go to bed.

So it’s kind of cool that EdenFantasys is now carrying a whole bunch of fragrance options. I also love that they’re carrying the entire cake line. I still love my Milk Made body froth and I want to try both of the scents of their Supremely rich bath and shower froths. I’ll probably get some of the Milk Made sugar scrub, too.

Principessa Beauty is another new company and while I have not yet tried its products, the lotions, lip glosses, body washes and perfume oils all call to me. When did I become such a girl? So whether I want to spruce up my hair and skin or show off the girls or invest in some sex toys, EdenFantasys definitely offers a variety of options this Valentine’s Day.. even if it’s likely I’ll be spending it alone. d=

I’m pretty set in my ways but I took the time to check out some nomorerack reviews and a lot of people, like me, enjoy the idea but haven’t signed on yet. I know I’m always hesitant to sign up for another website because I have so many accounts on the Internet already and I already receive soo many emails. If I had heard of the website before Chritmas, I probably would have signed up and kept my eye on some of the high-end items. We know how I’ve been wanting an iPod Touch for just about forever (and I have yet to win one in any giveaway).

Have you signed up for No More Rack Yet?

Except not because, even when something seems interesting, like a fragrance or lotion, it’s some no-name brand that is absolutely the cheapest quality ever. The shelves are filled with other things that are even less useful. Cheap plastic massagers. Bath kits. Men’s cologne.  Aftershave.  Pjs. Knock-off candy. Hot chocolate with year-old marshmallows. “Collectible” tins and bowls and cups. Pencils. One hundred million count makeup palettes. Pooping reindeer.

Basically, it’s stuff that no one would ever buy during the rest of the year and I sure as hell don’t want you to buy it for me the rest of the year. Most of this stuff gets regifted, thrown away or lost in the back corners of closets, attics or basements to collect dust until you have to move. If you honestly think I’d really like any of that cheap stuff, you don’t know me well enough at all and, if for some reason you are obligated to buy me a present, I will find it more practical of you to simply purchase me a gift card that I can use for either something practical or that I can use to splurge on myself.

There’s nothing worse than being stuck with something that is not only impractical but also says “I don’t know enough about you to purchase something you’d like and I don’t care enough about you to ask.” It’s downright offensive because if it’s the thought that counts, there’s nothing to count there.

Collin and I had planned to do some Black Friday shopping but scaled down plans because everything we wanted and would be available would be here in town so we headed to the hopping district that includes Walmart, Best Buy, Kohls and a few other stores. We intended to hit up Best Buy first but it was just shy of midnight and the line wrapped around three lanes of cars in the parking lot.

So, We stopped in by Walmart, which he had already visited, so he could look at TVs and purchase some HDMI cables on the cheap ($10, yo!). I wound up purchasing a cardboard scratcher for the cats since, hey, I was there and they needed a new one. Lines for the checkouts were long and we were told we might have better luck in lawn and garden. I’d say we waited maybe 30 minutes tops in line there. During our visit, employees handed out both 5 hour energy drinks and bottles of water, which is thoughtful. It wasn’t awful and there was enough space to move. Collin didn’t find a TV, though.

Then, it was back to Best Buy, which was now open. The parking lot was full, the store was full. Navigating was super difficult but we found a few TVs and Collin decided on one he wanted. I didn’t see anything I particularly needed so we headed to the line, which had wrapped around 2.5 of the walls of the building by then. I decided to hop over to Kohls to see if there was anything I wanted. It was amazing to see the bustle between the parking lots of all the stores at one or so in the morning. Unfortunately, everything I’d seen online I didn’t like in person and their selection of jeans seems to have shrunk.

I headed back to Best Buy to find Collin, who had moved to a completely different corner of the store and we stood in line until three or so, slowly moving forward. On our journey, I ran past several carts of pillow/blanket pal type things and picked up a mini Pillow Pet cow. It’s the only one I liked and it was a good price so I was happy!

When we finally reached the check out, when it seemed like the end was in sight, the couple of guys in front of us only had two freaking items but took like 15 minutes to check out. It was ridiculous. I was exhausted after a long day and ready to be home. I couldn’t get out of the store soon enough, even though we’d chatted with the ladies behind us in line.

It seems as though moving up the releases to midnight makes a lot of sense. People are much more likely to stay up late than to get up early and, if you can go home and sleep so the rest of the day is yours, why not? It makes sense financially, for stores to try to beat their competitors by opening earlier, too. Still, this consumer isn’t the Black Friday type.

I’ve learned a couple some lessons anyhow:

• Black Friday is only for people who have the money to spend on specific items.
• The two hour wait in line is not for the weak of heart or those who are picking up things that only offer a meager savings.
• Bring headphones and your own snacks, if you remember. Getting to the soda machines is damned near impossible. Make sure your batteries are charged.
• Have a plan of attack. It’s better to bring multiple people, split up and find the merch as soon as possible.
• Get there early so you can get in the check out line faster. That’s really worse than the waiting outside, IMO.
• No matter how much you study the ad, some things will elude you in person. Don’t have your heart set on a specific color.
• People buy a lot of shit they don’t need. A PS3 and a Blu-Ray player? Why?!
• No matter how close you are to the end, it’s still further away than you think.

Did any of you brave the crowds this morning? Is anyone else so over Black Friday like I am?

The following is an incomplete website of Black Friday deals.

• BlackFriday.name
• BFAds.net
• The Black Friday
• BlackFriday.us
• BlackFriday.info
• 2011 Black Friday Ads

Head over to Facebook to vote for your favorite Black Friday site. Let me know, in the comments, if you plan to shop on Black Friday!

UDPP's New Look

The new tubes are a soft, squeezable kind, like toothpaste. This means no more wasted product which is a plus for something that costs nearly $20 per tube. Nevertheless, you can tell I enjoy the product enough to purchase it again!

It’s hard for me to sustain excitement over long periods of time.

RetailMeNot

Retailmenot is the one website that I usually remember to check when shopping online. It includes coupon codes for hundreds of stores and I always use it when I buy something from Victoria’s Secret. I also use it when frequenting department stores like Sears or Kohls as well as when I renew my domains with GoDaddy. In fact, the coupons on Retailmenot usually make it so much more sensible to shop online, especially if I’m familiar with what I’m buying. I pretty much never shop at Victoria’s Secret if I don’t have an actual coupon or if it’s not an emergency.

Ebates

I’ve talked about Ebates before and well not a coupon site, it saves me money with rebates. I first discovered it when a customer cashed a check from them at the Enlisted Club in Japan. Sadly, I’ve not saved nearly as much as I could have with Ebates because I forget about it. I could have used it tonight on Amazon and the last time I purchased shoes from Sears. Luckily, I did use it when I bought my laptop but I should add it to my bookmarks toolbar or something so I remember to use it. It’s really as easy as clicking a link to the store where you want to shop and earning cashback — how much depends on the store you choose — with qualifying purchases. They offer PayPal as a payment option now, too.

Coupons.com

I’ve started looking into couponing a little bit more seriously and this is the one coupon printing site that I like. To be honest, there’s not so many that apply to local stores and I can’t even use any of those fancy loyalty card coupon programs. Still, I hope on the website every few days to look for new coupons, “clip” them digitally and print them. I haven’t had any problem with stores accepting them either and that’s awesome. Coupons.com is actually the reason I installed my printer on the laptop and I’m glad I did.

Note that Coupons.com powers the coupon sections of several manufacturer websites like Pillsbury and Walmart so you might as well go to Coupons.com instead of the individual sites to get all of your coupons in one place. Otherwise, you’ll be staring at the same coupons repeatedly.

Target

Target’s website is awesome because it partners with Amazon so I can place one order at once from both places. Plus, I can use Ebates (look up!) to get cashback on those purchases. I don’t recall if Target orders qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping but I’m happy enough that I don’t need to sign up for another account. But the real money saving comes from Target’s printable coupons pages. Although there is some overlap with Coupons.com, Target includes some more unique coupons that you can only redeem at a Target store (the coupons themselves say this). I am completely impressed with a store that makes it so easy to save. They accept all sorts of printed coupons, as well as normal coupons, price-match and allow you to stack coupons or discounts in-store. I now understand why everyone loves Target so much.

What would your “top 4″ list include?

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