In addition to coupon clipping, I have found some other great ways to save money on fun stuff I want to buy. Two of my fave ways to save are Groupon and Swag Bucks! Groupon is SO FUN and a great place to get smokin’ deals. Many deals on Groupon are for local businesses looking to advertise to new customers but sometimes you can find internet based deals too. Every day (excluding weekends) they post a new deal at 50% off OR MORE! Most deals are only active for 24 hours… so you gotta act fast! 
I bought 3 gorgeous, vintage inspired MODEST dresses from Shabby Apple at 60% off through Groupon (I get lots of compliments when I wear them to church). I also have seen spa treatments at 65% off, laser hair removal at 80% off, and even family zoo passes at a smokin’ price! Granted, there is no Groupon dedicated to OUR area here in the Gila Valley, but I like to take advantage of the online shop deals when I can. Also, we make it to Tucson and Phoenix every now and then, so I keep an eye on the deals for those two cities. And to make it even more awesomer (yes, awesomer is a word…hehe), Groupon has a great referral program where if you refer a friend and they purchase a Groupon within 72 hours, you’ll get $10 of credit to use on Groupon! I bought one of my Groupons to Shabby Apple with referral credits – so essentially I just paid for shipping for that one dress! If you sign up and nothing looks good to you today, you can always subscribe to a city near you and you’ll receive the deals in your email inbox (the subscribe box is on the very top of the page).
Today there is a deal for Grand Rapids for hand stamped, customized jewelry from Love Stamped. You pay just $12 for a $25 gift certificate! I LOVE Etsy so I was really excited to see this deal today… seriously, almost all my play money gets spent on Etsy. This deal is for an online store so this is one of those kind of deals anyone can snag… even if you don’t live in Grand Rapids. This jewelry would make an awesome present for a mom or grandma, don’t you think? 
With Swag Bucks, you basically just change your search engine to theirs and you will randomly be awarded virtual money that you can redeem for REAL prizes in their Swag Store! I always redeem my Swag Bucks for Amazon gift cards. You can stack these gift cards in your Amazon account and then buy whatever you like from Amazon with them! I started in March and so far I’ve redeemed $290 in Amazon gift cards – and they were completely FREE! I “bought” a Flip HD camcorder, tripod, and remote shutter release for my camera with my free gift cards and now I’m saving up for a new lens! It is completely legit and it works! They also have a referral program and when you refer someone, you will get matching SBs whenever a referral wins SBs through searching (up to 1,000 SBs per referral). Read up more on Swag Bucks here.
Any of you have any hidden secrets for saving money on FUN STUFF?
