Say it ain't so....

Although I was able to secure the coveted Facebook e-mail address, I was unable to take advantage of the ATT discount as they became wise to this rub.   There are other ways to secure an ATT discount other than working for a company.  As an almnus of a University with an .edu domain as my alumni address, I was able to secure a discount from ATT.  If you have an .edu e-mail address, go to https://www.wireless.att.com/business/enrollment/ and check to see if your university is involved in the program.   I do not know if the same goes for Verizon...but it is worth some research to check it out.  

12-13% off monthly bill AT&T and Verizon

12-13% off monthly bill AT&T and Verizon YMMV As most of you are aware, Facebook has recently launched a new messaging service. This service assigns you a @facebook.com email address which can be used on your respective carrier's website to make you eligible for a 12% AT&T discount and/or 13% Verizon discount.

1. Sign up for Facebook's messaging service [facebook.com]. Note that they are slowly rolling this service out so if you do not have a @facebook email you can opt in for the service, in which after some time your request will be processed (some are receiving immediately while others have to wait a week or more). Eventually this service is supposed to roll out to all Facebook users. YMMV
2. Go into your privacy settings, then click View Settings for Connecting on Facebook. From there set "Send you messages" to everyone. You can change it back afterwards.
3. Once you obtain your @facebook email address, enter it at your respective service provider's website in which you want the discount for.
Enter Email Here for AT&T [att.com]
Enter Email Here for Verizon [verizonwireless.com]
4. Check your message inbox on facebook (Make sure to check the Other section and Junk Section which is at the bottom of the page when looking at Other).

For those trying to get AT&T discount, You may get a message stating the wireless number you entered is not associated with this organization's account, but there should be a link you can follow through to complete it under "Individual Responsibility" basically saying you are a member or employee of Facebook.

I understand many of you get better discounts through your employer, but for this is for those of you who may not be eligible through other means. Also this is only confirmed to work for wireless service, not sure if it works for anything else.

FAQ

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=19031

"How do I set up a free @facebook.com email address?
To set up a free @facebook.com address, go to your Messages view and click the "Claim your Facebook email" link.

Your email address will match your public username, for example:

Profile: facebook.com/username
Email: username@facebook.com

Once you set up your email address, people can email you using any traditional email system (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail), and the emails will be delivered to your Facebook Messages. When you send messages to external email addresses, the emails will be formatted to look like Facebook messages, including your name, your profile picture and your message."

GROUPON KILLER!!!!!!!!

Will Google Kill the other group buying sites?    Time will tell, but it is rumored that Google is creating Google Offers since it was unable to buy the biggest player in these markets.    Let's all hope there are more LivingSocialesque offers coming to grab as much market share as possible prior to the Google Offers launch.   Happy Deal hunting.    

These are my favorite sites.  There are to many others in the market to name.   Please post others in the response section.  

http://www.groupon.com

http://www.livingsocial.com

http://www.buywithme.com

http://www.coupme.com

http://www.eversave.com

http://www.tippr.com

http://www.plumdistrict.com

http://www.bloomspot.com 

http://www.weforia.com

please forward these on to like minded individuals...

 

Get one over on the U.S.P.S. (Legally)

 

 Free Flat Rate Priority Mail Envelopes, 
Legal size XL:  Only $4.95 to ship!!!!

Here is a little trick  for mailing things via the US Postal Service Priority Mail.

The normal, advertised size for flat-rate envelopes is 12-1/2" x 9-1/2". These are $4.95 to ship anything that fits.  The unadvertised, LEGAL SIZE envelopes also cost $4.95, and are  considerably larger at 15" x 9-1/2". You must ask the postal workers behind the desk for these envelopes, as they are usually not on display.  This doesn't sound like a big difference, but I have been amazed at how much can fit inside the legal size envelope.  You might consider that for shipping a box or thick object inside of an envelope you need a great deal of width to stretch around the sides. For a given object, the small envelope may fit a 6" wide item, and the legal size could fit an item of the same girth 9" wide which is a considerable difference and probably a cheaper way to ship.  I think you can also save on the prepaid international shipping rates this way as well.  But you would need to confirm this. 

Great for saving on shipping with eBay!

Get them online and shipped for free to your doorstep.  Here is the short link:

http://www.USPS.GOV/LEGAL

HootofLoot

Hey Moms!  Hey Dads!  Hey Teachers!  Hey Students!!!
Let's make some money...and help others.  Hoot of Loot is a free website designed for everyone to buy & sell used or new school supplies, books, furniture, anything that is used in a classroom or education. Their revenue is derived when retailers place their wares on the site...but everyone else is free.  This is a great resource that no one knows about YET.

 

Free Entry!!!!

Here is an awesome deal to take advantage of....

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

NPS/Dan Ng

Yosemite Falls is visible from numerous places around Yosemite Valley, especially around Yosemite Village and Yosemite Lodge. A one-mile loop trail leads to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall.

America's Best Idea – the national parks – gets even better with several fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees.*
Mark your calendar for these fee-free days in 2011:

• January 15-17
  (Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)
  
• April 16-24
  (National Park Week)
  
• June 21
  (First day of summer)
  
• September 24
  (Public Lands Day)
  
• November 11-13
  (Veterans Day weekend)

Making the fun even more affordable, many national park concessioners are joining the National Park Service in welcoming visitors with their own special offers.
Here’s a tip – many of your 394 national parks NEVER charge an entrance fee. So start Planning Your Visit!

*Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

Amazon Mechanical Turk

Saw this great new tool on Amazon in Fast Company Magazine.   MTurk is an online marketplace for digital piece-work where a company or individual can hire Low-Income workers.    Do you have a survey for your company?   Do you want to take an inexpensive non-scientific poll?  This is the place.  Amazon calls each piece-work role a human intelligence task.  The jobs offered are very simplistic and hardly pay a living wage...but it is an interesting concept.  Take a look to see where it can help you.  On a side note, Check out the Fast Company Link above for a 1 Year subscription for under $5.00.   HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Happy New Years

Don't forget to stop at your local pharmacy, grocery, or convenience store on the way home from work this afternoon to pick up your qualified medical products with the help of your pre-tax medical savings account.    When the crystal apple falls in Times Square at midnight, any unused funds in this account are lost and are reverted to the your state.  There is no recourse to get back these lost funds.  Check out the Amazon link in the last post for some items on this list.  

Here is a link to some included expenses.   

http://www.cigna.com/our_plans/medical/fsa/fsa_health.html

Last minute Printable Gifts

The Last Minute Gift.
Amazon makes it very easy with .....

No other deals to report.  Happy Holidays and Safe Travels.

GROUPON

OK....back to Science class for you all.
Lets start dissecting some deal sites & study to the King of the group buying today...

A friend told me about this site upon its Boston release...and I didn't immediately see the value.   But I definitely do now...especially as there are so many copycat sites capitalizing on the model. Groupon negotiates huge discounts—usually 50-90% off—with popular businesses. They send the deals to tons of subscribers in their free daily emails, and they send  businesses a ton of new customers. That's the Groupon magic.   If you use the link at the right to sign up for Groupon for the first time, you get an immediate  a $10 account credit.  Groupon has great relationships with large national chains as well as the independent local retailer.    I have purchased Groupons for The Gap as well as many many local restaurants, movie theaters, and museums.  Groupon is a true Pioneer in group buying and in every major U.S. Market including New York, Boston, Miami, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago.....
If you are already a member of Groupon and you wish to check out today's deals, please click this link instead.  

SHHHHHHH......Now, here is a little secret that many people do not know.  
You can get 3% additional back in rebates on Groupon by going through Ebates on your purchases.
.
Some of the other sites as noted in the first post have rebate opportunities with Groupon as well. Here they are: