Happy Cyber Monday, bloggies! 
What the heck is Cyber Monday, you ask? According to Wikipedia: “Cyber Monday is a marketing term that refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday being the busiest day of the year for retail electronic commerce.”
Are you taking advantage of the online sales today?
Speaking of Cyber Monday, here are some online deals:
- Banana Republic, Piperlime, the Gap, and Old Navy have 20% off + free shipping today.
- 15 % off entire order + free shipping at New Balance today until midnight!
- 15% off any order at Kohls. Enter Coupon Code CYBER15 at checkout.
- Spend $50 at Target and get free shipping.
- Remember this post? Get 25% off at Flogg Daily. Coupon Code: CYBER2009
- 25% off at Spreadshirt where you can get all of your CNC gear. Just enter CYBER9 at checkout.
- And, my friends at Open Sky have implemented a coupon for $25 off ANY item! There’s no minimum purchase and free shipping, which means you could potentially get a product for FREE from Open Sky! (Limit one per customer.) For instance, you could get this Thomas Paul Pouch totally FREE with the coupon! This is a limited-time offer, so if you want to use the coupon, you shouldn’t wait. Just enter the following coupon code at check-out: tina2509
If you know of a coupon or promotional code, please leave it in the comment section for other readers. I think we’d all appreciate saving a little dinero on our holiday shopping!
Breakfast
This morning’s breakfast featured a long lost love of mine: almond butter. Oh, how I have missed you!
I spread about 2 tablespoons of MaraNatha Creamy & Raw Almond Butter on my toast.
And then topped it with banana slices.
Mal made me an iced coffee before he left for work, which definitely helped get my day started.
NuVal Giveaway
I don’t have my own NuVal blog (yet!), but it doesn’t mean that I can’t host a NuVal giveaway! 
Here’s what you can win: a breakfast-inspired Healthy Start Prize Package!
- A full box of Post Shredded Wheat
- A travel-size container of Kashi GoLean High Protein and High Fiber Cereal
- A box of Heart To Heart Oatmeal – Golden Brown Maple flavor
- A stainless steal NuVal water bottle
There are 2 ways to enter the contest:
- Become a fan of Nuval on Facebook.
- Follow @NuVal on Twitter and ‘tweet’ about this giveaway. Be sure to RT @NuVal so I know you entered.
Feel free to enter the contest both ways!
I will randomly pick a winner tomorrow morning. Good luck! 
Operation Chocolate Covered Kindness
Katie is hosting a pageview charity drive over on her blog. Be sure to check it out as today is the LAST day of the drive. Katie will be donating all of her money earned through Foodbuzz to The Enough Project. The more pageviews she receives, the more money she donates, so get clicking!
Champagne & Cheese
For the locals: There’s a few spots left for the Champagne Gosset (with French cheeses) event at Gordon’s.
I love champagne and cheese, so, of course, I’m really looking forward to it. I thought some of you guys might be interested as well.
Question of the Day
How do you stay on budget during the holidays?
{ 71 comments… read them below or add one }
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wow tina thank you so much for the deals!! you are awesome
local champagne! wow thanks for the info as I am a fellow local!
have a great monday! and I am a fan on FB and wrote on the wall!
I am totally trying to buy that pouch right now! Thanks for the code! It’s so cute!
Don’t forget to go through ebates(or similar sites) to save additional $$ today
Love these Cyber Monday deals!
I’m trying to have a look around OpenSky to take advantage of the gift certificate, but I think the site is overloaded because it’s being REALLY slow. I guess I’ll just have to keep trying!
yeah it’s super slow =[
I love cyber monday! It’s my favorite way to shop!
My little store, http://www.BayingHound.com, has deep discounts on stainless steel water bottles, earth friendly bags, and more. Discounts are automatically applied and US shipping is automatic for domestic orders over $40.
I’m also waiting for Open Sky servers. I can’t wait to use that coupon!
Just added & commented of Facebook!
thanks for the deals! I am new to cyber monday but plan to take full advantage!
what great deals! Too bad I spent all my money this weekend
Yeah, Open Sky won’t even open for me!
I usually try to stay within my budget by making a list of who I need to give a present to and how much I want to spend. I do this way before December. Then I slowly start to look around. I try to not leave anything past mid-December because after that the last minute panic gets me, and I end up spending more than I had planned. I also usually try to cut down on the other expenses that I can for that month: no bus pass this month (this saves money AND makes me get more exercise right before Christmas), cut down my cell package for a few months, and don’t use the holidays to buy ‘extras’.
i’m having the same problem w/ open sky.
hopefully it gets fixed soon! sounds like a great offer! also, i’m suuuuper excited for cyber monday discounts!
We’ve really cut down the gift list, and try to spend $15 – $20 per person. My family has quit presents all together, so currently we only buy for my boyfriend’s immediate family. I also try to scrimp in other areas in December, (going out to eat, extra treats at the grocery store, other random/miscellaneous purchases,) so those gifts don’t overload the budget!
I cannot get into the whole Black Friday/Cyber Monday thing. Often its sales on a lot of stuff our families don’t need/want. I’d rather wait and get their wish lists, which also helps me put together a budget.
We only do cash, not credit. (Our credit card is purely for emergencies and traveling.) By planning a cash budget and then paying everything with cash or our debit card, we are forced to stay on budget!
Thanks for the heads up on the Cyber Monday sales!
I’m trying to do some Christmas shopping on opensky but maybe your code overloaded it! Anytime I try to look around the site it closes!
I can’t get on open sky.com.
Awesome giveaway!
I stay on budget during the holidays by writing out a list of what I “need” to buy before Thanksgiving even gets here. I also put a dollar amount by each person’s name and total it up at the end.
We also cut up all of our credit cards and that has helped a lot!
Thanks for the Sales’ tip offs! I’m not much of an online shopper, but I will indeed check those out.
I’m trying to check out your Open Sky store but it won’t let me on. Hopefully i’ll be able to come back later!
These are so cool! I’m budgeting this year by making more semi-homemade gifts (like cookie mix in a jar) that are also more personal.
Oh my GOSH, Tina, I was so surprised/excited/happy when I saw my google reader today! I read your blog all the time and love it, but I didn’t even know you knew about mine! It means so much to me that you mentioned the charity drive on your blog; I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you took the time out of your obviously-busy life to help others. You are so awesome, girl
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Staying on budget is hard during Christmas time! My friends and I make deals to only buy gifts within a certain price range, usually $15. And some of my very close friends and I just agree to not give gifts at all. It certainly helps, being that we are all college kids!
A good budget list is a necessity this time of year.
I think I’m going to check out borders.com now to see what deal I can score
Wow that opensky coupon is awesome! Thanks!
The Open Sky site isn’t working for me either
It’s probably overloaded…
Hmm, maybe I should do some online shopping……….. My inbox is flooded with reminders. I don’t recall Cyber Monday existing before this year though.
Thanks for reminding me about Cyber Monday. I totally forgot!
EEEEK!! I need to think of something good to get my dad!!!!
Staying on budget is going to be tough this year since this is the first holiday season being separated from my (ex)husband. I’ve already made a gift-list and am going to carefully evaluate every purchase that’s not on that list!
I create a detailed budget in advance. It may seem a little OCD, but it’s just my way! Excel is my friend… I make a spreadsheet with everyone I have to buy for, assign them a $ amount, and then keep track of what I’ve ordered / received and what it cost and how much I have remaining. It’s a great tool!
Cool store!
i added and commented on nuval!
Cyber monday means lots of people not doing work while they shop
I stay on budget buy only buying for my two young cousins and my mom. We don’t share gifts with everyone because of tight finances. I’ve done that since college and it is just the norm in my family.
NuVal giveaway looks awesome!! I can’t wait to add a comment tonight (darn company blocking facebook at work – boo). To stay on budget, I make a list and outline my estimated spending for each person. It helps me a ton to be able to refer to my list and check things off. I’m going to go check out some cyber deals now! Thanks for the sale info.
amazon.com has Real Simple 1 year subscription for $5!!! awesome deal!
Honestly, I don’t think that I do stay on budget during the holidays. But I do try! Doing things like making great meals and parties at home make a huge difference compared to going out all the time. Also, there is usually always a “free option” so I opt for those. Such as going to the free skating rink in Bryant Park instead of Rockefeller Center.. Every little bit helps!
budget, what budget? i definitely don’t stick to one. although i should…. sounds like there’s a lot of good deals online. this is why i don’t stick to the aforementioned budget….
I typically stay on budget by stretching my resourcefulness and creativity with gifts. Fortunately, in my family we only get the youngins’ presents 18 and under, then we usually do a lottery in which each adult brings one present uner $20, draws a number out of a hat, and chooses their mystery present from the table of gifts. All that helps greatly reduce the overall costs. I make baked goods for friends and acquaintances.
I am not taking advantage of the online sales today. Ever since that employee got trampled to death at a Wal-Mart last year on Black Friday, I’ve really grown to loathe the consumption that drives the holiday season. So, I make gifts and try to focus on charity instead.
Tina thanks so much for the promo code! I ordered the silicone oven mits for my mom for Christmas! She’ll love them!
I tried to access open sky but couldn’t either. I plan on doing some online shopping later today!
aww I missed the OS promotion! bummer!
Thanks so much for opportunity, though. Also, thanks again for the cyber monday codes…I am going to do some online shopping after my classes tonight
have a wonderful day
I’m so bummed I missed the Open Sky promotion! I’m kicking myself for not checking this earlier! Oh well. I’ll have to try again soon! Thanks for the tips though. I’ll definitely be checking out some online retailers tonight for some good deals. I’m almost done xmas shopping! Woohoo!
Budget and the holidays. I try and usually manage to not go over too much. Lists! I create a list with everyone’s name, the item I want to get them and the price. Helps to have it all down on paper instead of just walking around the mall looking at things. Preparing ahead of saves tons of time too!
Hey Tina! I mentioned you this morning on my blog
I’m so inspired by your pics!!!
I budget during the holidays by spreading out my purhcases, spending less on people and concentrating on spending time with them, and eating in as much as possible. I planned out all of my meals this week in order to save money. I spent 60$ on groceries from Trader Joes and plan to pull from the pantry. Not bad for a family of 4!!!
I’m am terrible with budgets so I don’t really have one, I’m just going to buy just what I need to for gifts and that’s it. I’m also making myself wait until after the holidays to go shopping for me, which is hard because there are some things I really want/need and of course everything is on sale right now!
I just saw this contest posted on Chic Runner, it’s not a deal per se but it seems cool: Onlineshoes.com, is giving away FOUR $100 gift certificates if you become a fan of them on facebook. The contest runs from 8 am to 4 pm PST so make sure you become a fan early.
Hey Tina, thanks for the cyber Monday details. I befriended NuVal on Facebook today.
Have a great week!
Cool deals! Thanks for sharing!
P.S. Wanted to let you and your readers know about a spa-themed giveaway on my blog! Just leave a comment about your favorite way to relax or de-stress and you’ll be entered to win!
http://www.fabanddeliciousfood.com/?p=10930
Thanks!
I’m foolowing NuVal and I tweeted about the giveaway.
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