How to Ensure You Use Your Groupons and Other Daily Deals

Meg Favreau — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:36:19 +0000

I have an embarrassing admission — when I moved across the country six month ago, I left a small wave of unused daily deals vouchers in my wake.

I felt awful about it — I hate wasting money! But as my life got busy preparing for a cross-country move, I found myself forgetting expiration dates, meeting friends for goodbyes at non-coupon restaurants because they were more convenient, and in the end, leaving some vouchers because I simply ran out of time and couldn't find anyone else who wanted to use them.

Granted, I did have a lot going on at the time. That said, no matter how calm or busy your life is, it can be easy to buy a Groupon, Living Social, or other daily deal coupon on impulse and forget about it. If you're the sort of person who loves purchasing daily deals, but isn't always great at using them, follow these techniques to make sure you get the most out of your coupons. (See also: Do Daily Deals Make Good Gifts?)

1. Put Deadlines on Your Calendar — More Than Once

For months I put the expiration dates of my daily deals on my Google calendar, thinking that would be enough to remind me to use them. And sure, I'd remember...two days before they expired. This left me scrambling to use the coupons. Now I also put a two-week warning on my calendar as well so I have plenty of time to plan.

2. Get Deals With a Buddy

My friend Chantal is my exercise buddy. When I see an interesting deal for dancing, spinning, or another type of exercise, I'll forward it to her. If we both decide to get it, we're able to keep on each other to make sure we use the deal. This technique works for just about any deal, too — before you buy, find an interested friend to check out a restaurant with you, do a spa day, or take a tour.

3. Use the Voucher Immediately

Why procrastinate? If you're a strike-while-the-iron-is-sizzling type (or a forget-that-the-iron-is-on type), use your deal as soon as you get it.

4. Keep an Entertainment Folder

If you don't want to use your voucher immediately, you can at least print it immediately. Keep your unused vouchers in a folder somewhere prominent in your home, and when you're trying to think of where you want to eat or what you want to do, flip through your entertainment folder, grab a voucher, and go. You can also keep vouchers in your bag or wallet if you want to impulsively use one when you're out and about — just make sure it's not one that requires a reservation.

5. Remember — You Can Use Your Vouchers After Their Expiration Dates

Even if you pass the deadline of the "promotional value" of your deal, you can still redeem the purchase value of it. For example, if you paid $15 for $45 of sushi and you forget to use the deal before it expires, you can still get your $15 with your voucher. It's always best to check the terms of your individual deal, but generally, this is the case.

Do you have any techniques for making sure you use your daily deal vouchers? Share in the comments!

This article is from Meg Favreau of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

When Good Food Goes Bad Part IV: Black Beans

Andrea Karim — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:28:44 +0000

Feijoada (pronounced "fayj-wada") is Brazil's national dish. Although it's simple enough to be eaten on a daily basis, feijoada is often prepared in huge batches for big parties. It's basically a big, salty, tasty pot of black beans cooked with smoked meats and herbs, served over rice with a side of collard greens and sliced oranges.

And it is one of the most delicious meals that I can think of.

You can try feijoada if you are lucky enough to have a Brazilian restaurant in your area. Unfortunately, many Brazilian restaurants treat feijoada like it's a very fine dish and charge exorbitant prices for it. My local Brazilian haunt, for instance, charges $40 for a two-person serving — for a dish that costs next to nothing to make!

There's a fairly big controversy as to how feijoada originated. A lot of people think it's a very "common" food, owing to the fact that the least choice pieces of meat are used (feet, ears, tails, hamhocks) to flavor the food. Others claim that the food was a variation of a Portuguese delicacy that was, in fact, enjoyed by the upper class Brazilian population, but modified by their servants. There are a lot of class arguments involved, but my main interest in the dish is that it's yummy and cheap.

I found a great recipe in my favorite foodie magazine, Saveur, and tried it out at home (the recipe is not found on the website, unfortunately). To my delight, it was better than the stuff that my local place makes. Not only that, but I was able to use up many bags of black beans just as they were getting a TAD too stale. Now, feijoada takes a long time to cook, but the results last for DAYS.

There are many, many different variations of feijoada recipes. I'm posting some of them here, but my basic recipe is this:

Ingredients:

2 onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bag of dry black beans
Misc. salted meats to your liking
2-3 bay leaves
Rice

Method:

Sautee the onions and garlic in a large pot with some vegetable oil until soft. Rinse the bag of black beans and toss them in the pot with as much water as is recommended (I start with six cups and add more if needed). Add a bunch of salted meats (traditional meats include salted hamhocks, linguica or kielbasa sausage, and maybe a pig foot). Throw in a couple of bay leaves. Cook for about four hours. Add water and adjust heat as needed. Once it's a big, starchy mess, put it in a pretty bowl and serve over rice.

There are even vegetarian versions of feijoada, but honestly, I think you can simply replace the meat with some Boca products, toss in a little liquid smoke, and you're golden.

Feijoada is served with collard greens that are sliced confetti-thin and sliced oranges. I also like to top mine with a mouth-burning hot sauce. In Brazil, feijoada is also accompanied by a capirinha or two, but it's good sober, as well.

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: