|Insider Tips on How to Maximize Your Dollar

Advance Notice for Gen-A Members!  On Wednesday, Sept 29 and Thursday, Sept 30 ONLY, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is having a WOW Sale: Get 50% off ALL deposits plus an on-board credit of $50 – $200 on all cruises starting Jan 1, 2011 through August 2012.

This is only the second time this year that Royal Caribbean has offered reduced deposits and onboard credits for ANY sailing.  This sale applies to every cruise, from every port, on any date to any destination!

Call Gen-A Travel to take advantage of this incredible offer:  1-877-650-4545.

Right now, Gen-A members can book an AMA Waterways European cruise and receive a shipboard credit of $300 – $400 per couple (depending upon the cruise that you choose) and as a bonus receive an additional, exclusive $250 shipboard credit if you book by November 30th!  These 2011 cruises are sure to sell out quickly so don’t delay!

AMA Waterways mission is to deliver an exceptional vacation experience with everlasting memories onboard their elegant vessels. Their ships are the top river ships cruising Europe’s legendary rivers and the Russian waterways. AMA provides superior service to ensure your river cruise experience is a most pleasurable one.

For more information, please visit the Gen-A Travel Exclusive Offers page or call Gen-A Travel at: 1-877-650-4545

Celebrate the Holidays Tropical Style with a Free Cabin Upgrade—an exclusive offer from Star Clippers just for Gen-A members!

 On select sailings, you will receive a FREE cabin category upgrade (category 3 thru 6 only). Purchase a category 4 cabin and sail in a category 3 cabin or buy a category 3 cabin and sail in a category 2 cabin!  Just reserve your sailing before Oct 15 to take advantage of this free cabin upgrade offer.

Again, please visit our Exclusive Offers page for more information on this and other offers, or call Gen-A Travel at: 1-877-650-4545 to speak to a Gen-A Travel Specialist.

I’d like to introduce Gen-A’s newest discount partner, Golfsmith (who just happens to be having a big Labor Day Sale!)

I could tell you all about Golfsmith’s 40+ years in business and how they have nearly 30,000 individual golf and tennis products in stock and ready to ship, but in my moneysaving mind, all you really need to know is that they have a big Pre-Owned section!  This week’s feature: save $200 on a pre-owned Callaway X-22 Tour Iron Set.

 If you are a Gen-A member and would like access to their sales and specials, just log in to the Gen-A site, click on the Benefits tab, scroll down and click on the Golfsmith logo.

You will see a banner for the Golfsmith Outlet store where they are having a Semi Annual Sale and Clearance Event; you can save 10 – 60% off original prices + free shipping on orders of $99 or more!

Here’s a sampling of some of the items currently on sale at their online outlet store:

• TaylorMade 2009 Burner Tp driver was $399.00, now $129.98 (save $270.00)
• Nike Dymo Squared Driver, was $299.99, now $129.99 (save $170.00)
• Never Compromise Gm2 Exchange Putter was $229.99, now $59.99 (save $170.00)

 Plus, you can save up to 60% on golf apparel, as well as additional savings on golf shoes, accessories, balls and bags.

One thing you should know about Golfsmith is that they’re extremely customer oriented.  Here’s why I say that:

• They have $5.99 flat rate shipping every day.
• 115% Low Price Guarantee:  Golfsmith.com will match 100% of a published price on a stocked item PLUS an additional 15% of the difference from a competing web site on any identical, in-stock item.
• 90/90 Playability Guarantee:  If for any reason you are not satisfied within the first 90 days after your club purchase, return your clubs to Golfsmith and receive a credit of up to 90% of the original purchase price toward your next club purchase.

 GO FORTH AND GOLF!

For 3 Days Only!  Get $100 in free dining when you spend $100 at Advance Auto Parts.  This offer will be valid Saturday, August 28 and will end after Monday, August 30th .  If you are a member of Gen-A and would like to take advantage of this offer, or to find out more information, simply log in to the Gen-A website, click on the Benefits tab, and then click on Advance Auto Parts.  Remember, since it doesn’t start until tomorrow, it’s not yet posted on our site . . . but come Saturday morning, grab your cup of coffee and log in to get your deal!

It’s called Group Discount Buying and it’s become a favorite of Internet bargain hunters.

My first experience with this: When I lived in LA I used to get a particular type of facial that was difficult to find here in Austin; and when I finally did find it, I also found that it cost twice as much here as it did in LA! 

That is, until I found out about Group Discount Buying.  I was able to buy it at a 50% discount, which brought it down to the price I was used to paying.  It was about this time I decided to make these discounts available on the Gen-A website, these are the types of deep savings that I like to pass on to our members!

On the Generation America website  (you will need to be a member and be logged in to access these) we have links in our Benefits section for Groupon and LivingSocial. 

LivingSocial offers one fantastic deal every day with discounts of up to 90% at local restaurants, bars, spas, theaters and more.

Groupon features daily deals from top local businesses in over 140 cities around the world. It has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and was named the #1 Hottest Website for 2010 by Fox Business News.

How it works: you will need to sign up to get on their email lists—each day they’ll email you what their daily deal is, which is always at least 50% off on some of your favorite restaurants and activities.  They aren’t in every city however—although both of them are adding new locations all the time—so check to see if your city is included (if it’s not you can send them a request to add yours ASAP!).

For example, today’s deal (for Austin, TX) on LivingSocial is: two private horseback riding lessons for $49, which is 62% off the regular price of $130.  Groupon’s deal today is: pay $10 for $20 worth of Mexican Brunch or Lunch at Carlos Santana’s restaurant: Maria Maria.

As a final note, I’ll share my thoughts on using coupons—they only really work to save you money if you use them on things you already buy, or have budgeted for in advance.  In your efforts to “save money”, you could be easily enticed to purchase things that you don’t normally consume–resulting in frivolous purchases that eat up your available cash, so please proceed with a certain amount of caution!

These days it’s easy to spend upwards of $50.00 – $100.00 on a haircut and manicure, so if you’re interested in a $5 haircut and $7 manicure . . . two words = beauty schools.

I first learned about this when a friend of mine, Jennifer, was studying to become an aesthetician.  She asked if I’d be willing to come and be her “customer”; of course I jumped at the chance when I heard I could get a facial for around $15.00.  As soon as I walked in I found out that it’s definitely not the “spa experience” you may be used to if you’re used to paying a higher price, but it was fun, everyone was very friendly and there was a lot of buzz in the air . . . and it felt good to help out a friend.

To find beauty schools in your area, just do a Google search.  I typed in “beauty schools Austin TX” and got 7 schools listed immediately at the top of the page.  I visited each website and found that 3 of those schools will let you come in and get services as a customer.

Most of these schools offer everything from shampoo + haircuts, to manicures, pedicures, waxing and facials.  I’m pretty picky about who cuts my hair so the haircuts wouldn’t be for me, but if you want to get one, Jennifer told me that you can ask for a more experienced student.  Remember to allow a little extra time as these are students and can take a bit longer than what you might be used to.  It also might help to know that all services are performed by students under the supervision of licensed instructors.

Here are just some of the services and prices from one of the three beauty schools I found in my area:

hotels.com is having a HUGE Friday the 13th SALE! One Day Only for last minute summer travel. This Lucky 13 Sale is good on travel between August 13 – 31, perfect for end of summer savings!  Log in to the Gen-A site, click on the 2nd Benefits tab, click  on hotels.com and then on the special Friday the 13th sale banner; but HURRY This banner will be removed tomorrow!

Tip #1:  I’m sure we all know by now that you do NOT want to exceed your amount of allowable minutes in your cell phone plan, as the per-minute charges are pretty astronomical and add up quickly!

If you’re ever curious about how many minutes you’ve used in your billing period, all you have to do is dial: #MIN# (or: #646#) and push the Send button; after a few seconds you’ll get a report of how many minutes you’ve used so far in the current billing period, as well as the date of when your billing period closes. [I’m with T-Mobile, so this information may not be exactly correct for other cell phone providers, although I’m sure they all have this service available. You may need to call Customer Service for your provider to get their exact instructions.]

If you’re running low on allowable plan minutes, call Customer Service (611) and speak to them about it.  There have been a few times when I’ve had special circumstances (family emergency, out of town trip, etc.) that resulted in a spike of my normal cell phone usage and I was given an additional 150 minutes so that I wouldn’t have to pay the per-minute charges for going beyond the 1,000 minutes a month in my plan.  I have since found out (because I was nosy and asked) that they can grant you these exceptions up to 3 times in a calendar year, so by all means, take advantage of it!

Tip #2:  For those of us with “old fashioned” cell phones that aren’t able to access the internet, here’s another money-saving tip: instead of calling directory assistance (411) when you need the phone number of a business—which costs upwards of $1.50 for each call—simply type the name of the business and the city it’s located in in a text message and send that message to Google (466453), after a few seconds you’ll get a text message back with that businesses address and phone number.  Most text messages cost approximately 15₵ if you don’t have it included in your plan.  (I pay an extra $5.00 a month for unlimited texting and have saved a bundle.)  If you don’t know how to send a text message, ask your kids, grandkids or any kid in the neighborhood for that matter–they’d probably be very happy to show you how!

Brushed by the cool trade winds of the South Pacific and in the very heart of Polynesia, lies the Samoan Archipelago. These are islands of extraordinary beauty; where turquoise lagoons lap onto unspoiled white sand beaches lined with coconut palms, where cascading waterfalls, rich green rainforests, and mist enshrouded mountain peaks are all contained within a sparkling necklace of reefs.

Another super deal exclusively for Gen-A Members.  This vacation includes round trip airfares with Air New Zealand: Los Angeles/Apia/Los Angeles, meet and greet upon arrival, return airport transfers, 5 nights accommodation in a Junior Suite, 3 meals per day plus selected wine, beer and soft drink with meals. From just $1599 this is an amazing value and represents a savings of over $1200 per couple! Prices are per person based on twin share, are valid for travel 16 Sep – 01 Dec 2010, must be booked by 30 Sep 10. (For departures from New York please add $400 per person.)

For more information or to book this trip, call Gen-A Travel: 1-877-650-4545