Archive for the 'Netflix' category

Reinventing books as movies is a long-standing Hollywood tradition.  From the classic reinventions like this year’s Alice in Wonderland to the chick-lit-turned-chick-flick­ powerhouses from Nicholas Sparks, the fascination with works of literature coming to life on the big screen is staying strong.

This year, Twilight fans were treated to the movie version of Eclipse; women came out in droves to see Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love; and Harry Potter fans are already buying tickets for the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows this holiday season.  But I discovered a handful of other great books taking their own turns in the cinematic spotlight, due out this fall. 

The American, releasing in theaters on September 1, 2010

Starring George Clooney

Based on the book A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth

Get the special edition “The American” at Amazon for $10.08!

Like most people, I made a New Year’s Resolution to save more money this year. The current state of our economy has me shaking in my boots a bit, especially with layoffs and unemployment at an all time high. I’ve decided that it’s in my best interest to take the experts’ advice and try to keep approximately three months worth of expenses in a bank account in case of emergencies. I have to say, so far so good! I’ve opened up an ING Orange Savings Account and I’ve been socking money away on a weekly basis. The best part about it is that I’ve been able to save without having to sit in the house every night watching basic cable over Ramen Noodles. As a matter of fact, I haven’t even given up the things I love to do – going to the movies, eating at my favorite restaurants, getting regular pedicures etc. What’s my secret you ask? It’s actually not a secret at all. I do it by making ample use of the current coupon codes and promotions listed on our site so that I don’t have to sacrifice doing the things I love to do. When I book a spa visit through Spafinder, or purchase movie tickets through Fandango, I take the extra money I would have spent had I not used the ShopGala coupon and transfer it directly into my ING account.

How much money did you (or do you currently) spend on textbooks? I shutter to think of what the total is but I'm sure $3000 - $5000 is a fair guess for my meager 4 years of undergraduate work. I can't even imagine what that number balloons to for people in graduate school. I'm sure it can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

These days there are options out there to save you money. You can save some money and buy discount new textbooks from Barnes & Noble or Amazon. You could also buy used textbooks and save a lot more money at sites such as eCampus.com, Texbooks.com, or Textbookx.com. I would have loved to have that opportunity to save cash. Check out Coupon Guy's recent post on textbook coupons.

Stock up on the tissues… “Blue Monday” is coming up quick. Experts say this year’s Blue Monday will fall on January 25^th, 2010 and is touted to be “the most depressing day of the year”. The date is scientifically picked each year with a formula based on six factors that most affect people’s general moods this time of year:

1. First off are the weather conditions; come mid-winter we’ve had enough. It’s freezing, it’s gloomy, and the appeal of the first snowfall has long since passed.
2. Second is finances; after the holiday spending, this is the time that the credit card bills start rolling in.
3. Third is the time elapsed since Christmas and being back to reality after all that holiday cheer.
4. Fourth is the time elapsed since New Years and the probability that you’ve probably already given up on your resolutions.
5. Fifth is just our general seasonal motivational levels, or lack there of, and sixth is that we have nothing to look forward to; January has no federal holidays.
6. Lastly a bonus factor: January 25^th is a Monday. Go figure.

Depressed yet? I am just thinking of it! This year I’ve made the decision to battle Blue Monday depression by booking a vacation to somewhere sunny for a quick weekend getaway. By making use of our flight and hotel travel coupons, combined with the myriad gift cards I’ve amassed over the holidays, I can take a break from the weather (factor #1) without adding to my financial gloom (factor #2). Secondly, it will give me something to look forward to (factor #6) and maybe the idea of donning a bathing suit will help me keep that new years resolution (factor #4). Another idea to help ease the Blue Monday depression is to take charge of your finances (factor #2) before the bills roll in.

Recently, my local Hollywood Video location closed its doors for good. I pulled up on a Tuesday, the day new releases came out, only to find a dark, empty store with a sad little note on the door “Gone out of Business”. Consider it a sign of the times, with Comcast On Demand, Netflix, Redbox and a host of other ways to download movies on the internet, movie rental shops are slowly and sadly going the way of the travel agency: unnecessary in today’s user-friendly digital era.

I had been a member of this particular location for nearly a decade, and over the years I’d amassed what probably amounted to the gross per-capita income of a small nation in late fees. I’d just been a member of Hollywood Video for so long that I considered it par for the course in the world of movie rentals. Every time I walked out of the store, new release in hand, I always promised myself that THIS was the time I’d bring the movie back on time. A week or so would pass and I’d notice the corner of the DVD case on the floor of my car and my stomach would drop. Once again I was returning late!

Over the past year or so, I’ve also been supplementing my movie rentals with RedBox’s service. Conveniently located in most drugstores and supermarkets, I find RedBox’s service to be incredibly handy and at only $1 per rental, incredibly cost efficient. Of course it never ends up just costing a dollar…Once again I am forever returning the movies late with an on average bill of $4 a pop. I knew it was time for a change when I realized that I was spending about $40 a month in movie rentals – and on average only renting about four a month – but it was definitely the closing of the Hollywood Video that finally spurred me to action.

Prior to this, I had been toying with the idea of opening a Netflix account for the past year or so. My friends and family were forever touting its excellence, and the idea of never paying a late fee again intrigued me.

Looking to buy a BluRay Disc player? Well if you also have a passing interest in: streaming Netflix movies over the internet, singing Karaoke, playing video games or surfing the internet on your TV, then a Sony PlayStation 3 is the device for you.


There is a built-in BlueRay player in every PS3 and the PlayStation 3 also up-converts DVDs. The Sony Style Store is selling them at $299 now we have a bunch of Sony Style Store Coupons here. At $299 you get the video game machine, Netflix streaming movies and internet surfing for free. Visit our Buy.com coupons page, it has tons of deals for PS3 games and bundles.


If you are feeling frisky check out our GuitarHeroStore.com coupons page and rock out. Once you have a PS3 you open yourself up to a wider range of entertainment options than a standalone BluRay Disc player.