When I was in college, I was fortunate to be in an area with great music.  Every where you turned in Madison, there would be a show I had to catch.  Most of them were free, or super cheap!  One day crossing the street on my way to class, I passed Nikka Costa with her crazy hair.  I got my cheesy signature pose from Tim in Ok Go.  Selling merch, I met Matt Nathanson and Howie Day.  During a small show at the union, I realized I was standing next to James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins.  I miss those days!

Now that I'm old, concerts are a real treat.  Since tickets are so expensive, I have to REALLY like an artist to even want to consider going to a crowded show. 

Did you know that around 40% of concert tickets go unsold each year?  In this economy, I'm really not too surprised!  Score Big is a great new website that offers tickets at a reduced rate--up to 60% off!  Almost like a Priceline for event tickets!

How does it work?

You can search by location for selected events.  It's not just concerts, you can get theater and pro sports tickets too!  Unfortunately, there isn't much in the Grand Rapids area, but I don't mind making a trip to Chicago or Detroit for a fun show!

Not every concert in the area will be available, just ones they have tickets for.  I check about once a week to see what's new.

Before you get to pricing, you select what seating area you would like.  Sometimes only one area will be available and other events the whole stadium will have options.  No matter what area you pick, seats will always be together, which I love!  You just won't be able to pick exact seats.

There are two options for pricing: pay the fixed price, or make an offer.  I always try making offers, you never know how low the price can go!

It's definitely worth checking out!  I have found they are adding more and more each week.  Ricky is keeping tabs on some Bears tickets for fall.

What's the best concert you've ever been to?

Disclosure: I received a gift code as compensation for this review.  All opinions are my own!

Favorite Things: Websites I Love

Obviously being a blogger myself, I love to give shout outs to other sites that I love.  These sites range from my favorite foodie sites to deal sites that help me save tons of money!  Check them out and please share your favorites with me!!

• Totally Target  gives all of the current deals and finds at the best store on earth: Target.  I love to see what coupon combos are hot before I head out shopping.  I usually make a list and print off coupons when I read the deal.
• Saving Addiction is great to watch the Meijer deals.  They are local to GR and one of them is a fellow twin Mama.  They also write about drug store deals.
• Mrs. Weber's Neighborhood is a great site for finding things to do in SE Michigan (including Lansing!) and I love her parenting stories.  We have met up a few times and Lauren is such a sweetheart...I can call her a real life friend too!  
• Sarcastic Cooking is a site I found on Pinterest over a year ago.  I subscribed because Stefanie's recipes are all AMAZING and she always has a funny story to go along with her posts.  I have tried at least 10 of her recipes and they are all tasty and nothing is too complex.
• Sally's Baking Addiction is my go-to site for anything sweet.  I seriously have no clue how Sally stays so thin with all of the delicious looking treats she makes every week.

Other non-blog sites:
(This includes some referral links)

• Swagbucks is my go-to search engine.  It's powered by Google and you get points for searching.  You won't make a ton using it, but I save up my points for Amazon gift cards.  I also print all of my coupons through Swagbucks to earn more points (it's powered by coupons.com).   There are various other ways to earn points, including surveys and shopping.
• Ebates has been my favorite shopping site for years now.  You get money back for shopping online, plus they list many of the current coupon codes!
• Twice is a site that sells gently used clothes.  They carry a lot of labels like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor or Limited.  Many items even still have tags.  With frequent sales and a $10 sign up bonus, many deals are to be found.  Last summer I found a super cute dress to wear for wedding season!
• A Full Cup is a user forum where people list deals at local stores.  I use it for Target, Meijer and drugstore deals.  You can also ask coupon questions on there.  

I'm sure there are many, many more I'm forgetting...that's for next time!  If you are new to coupons, check out my Coupon Help tab above and feel free to ask any questions! 

What websites do you love?

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Love shopping SecondHand? Check out Twice!

Check it out & get $10 credit!

I will admit, I am not the best thrift store shopper. Back in high school I loved to get old "vintage" tees or purses...but that's about it.

A few weeks ago I ventured out to our local Goodwill and it was not my cup of tea.  Some items were more than they would have been in the store!  There were items with tags from Target that I got for the girls last summer WAY cheaper than the Goodwill prices.

I feel like they are hit or miss in this area.  I know some people find amazing deals...I'm always jealous!

On a random search, I came across this site Twice one day and I really liked it.  As with any secondhand site, it can be hit or miss but I love the dressier clothes.  I don't think I would buy the casual clothes, since those are a bit pricier...I'm not one who cares much about labels.  

We had two weddings in a row this summer and I couldn't find anything I liked at the mall.  I live in yoga pants rarely wear dresses, so I'm not going to spend a ton of money for something that is going to collect dust in my closet. Plus, while I'm losing weight, I don't want to waste money on something that I can't use for a few years.

Twice focuses on designer clothes and you can even get a free bag sent so you can sell your own gently used clothes.  They are very particular with their brands, I didn't have anything I could sell!  I am happy they are adding new accepted brands frequently, including Gap and J Crew.

Not only is this a great site to browse for wedding attire (I found an awesome $200 dress for $23!), Twice is a great place to check out if you have a new job or conference coming up.  

They have fast shipping and just for signing up, you get $10 off! They frequently send out 15% off coupons you can also use! 

Here's the dress I got for wedding season.  I loved it so much!

Check it out and let me know what you find!!  I'm already eyeballing a few sweaters and pants for the fall now that I'm down another size (holllla!).  Remember, items are first come, first serve so buy quickly when you see something you love!

Disclaimer: Some of the links included in this post are referral links, yet all thoughts and opinions are my own.  I was not paid to write this post, I just love this website so dang much!

Have you checked out Hungry Girl?

I love my daily Hungry Girl emails.  Quick & informative!

Have you been hit by the Hungry Girl bug yet?  I was very skeptical at first as I watched her show on Food Network.  The meals looked, well, gross.  But, as I continued to watch and actually try some of her recipes, I am hooked! 

She has a great daily email with quick tips, recipes and meal suggestions for restaurants.  Sometimes you can find out some scary facts about what you are eating at popular places.  Note: never eat ANY appetizer from Chili's.  Wow!

Lisa, aka Hungry Girl, has a series of books as well.  I found the cocktail book to be my favorite, she uses Crystal Light in a lot of drinks like I do.

Check it out!!

Save AND earn money with Ebates!

I have been doing a bit of online shopping lately and I love to use Ebates.  If you have never heard of it, Ebates is a website which you can get cash back from your online orders (usually 2-15%), plus they share great promo codes.  I have saved so much money, plus I have gotten over $15 back!  Every little bit counts! 

Quick tips:

• Always search for the website first on Ebates and click on the link "shop now", otherwise they can't track your order and you can't get your money back.  Don't worry, no payment info is visible!
• Try a few different promo codes listed, you never know how much you can save!

I know there are a lot of options like this site out there, but this seems to be the one with the highest payout!

Sign up and do yourself a little spring shopping! 

Note: The link is my personal link.  I was not paid to promote this, I just love it!

Want a freebie?

Who doesn't love chocolate?  Especially FREE chocolate!  I never used to crave sweets like I do now before I had my girls.  Maybe it's a motherhood thing. 


SheSpeaks, a great freebie and information website, is sending out bags of Milk & Truffle Ghirardelli squares. Click here to find out if you can get some sent to your doorstep, plus some coupons!

Enjoy your weekend!  We are having a rockstar party for the twins' 3rd birthday.  I am going to try to make a guitar cake tonight...and not eat all of the batter.  

Don't forget about Swagbucks!

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  I am finally caught up on my sleep and now we move into crazy birthday month.  Everyone in our family has a birthday (except Miss G) within 3 weeks of each other.  Whoa!

I'm sure you have already heard how great Swagbucks is, but I thought I would remind my new readers! Basically when you search the web, you can use this website and get points.  The points add up and you can cash them in for gift cards.  Since the search is powered by Google, it's very reliable. 

There are other ways you can earn from the website: printing coupons, taking surveys and buying daily deals.  I will be honest, the points don't always add up super fast, but I have gotten quite a few free gift cards.  Well worth making it your home page.  I do tons of searches daily and this is always my main search engine.

Here's the link once again. Once you have joined, spread the word and earn points!

Happy Searching!

Gofobo.com: free movie screenings!

Do you love to see movies?  I will admit, we barely have time to go enjoy a movie, but I love this website Gofobo!  Sign up here and they will send you RSVP codes for free screenings in your area.  They go super fast, so if you are interested check-in quickly.  This is awesome, since I think the prices at theaters now are ridiculous!

Lately, they have had a lot more opportunities in my area.  If you find out there aren't any screenings in your area right now, still sign up.  They are expanding quickly. 

Every time I get offers, we seem to already have plans.  They have a lot of great ones coming up that I hope to see though!  This would be a great opportunity for a cheap date night.


Have you been to any free screenings in your area?