Most of us could use some bargains, especially now with all that has been happening in America's financial world. I am still planning on investing in my IRA as usual, there will be some bargains out there in stocks and stock funds.

COUPONS:
I have always used coupons, and now am using them even more. I recently joined couponmom.com
These sites require you to register. I opened a new email address with yahoo.com in case this was a site that shares a person's email address. I have checked now a week later and have not gotten any spam since joining.

BARTERING:
Do you have something to trade? A skill, service, craft or many other things are possible. If you want to swap a service you can look for a local barter exchange or go to irta.com and select membership.
If you want to meet people and exchange personal belongings then www.freecycle.org may be the spot to check out. Another is u-exchange.com .
Maybe you are even looking to exchange a home in a down housing market? http://goswap.org/ I recently read about this site in the Readers Digest. Many people have exchange homes.

BARGAIN SITES:
As time goes by, I will be searching for websites that have deals. A few are below:

http://www.smartbargains.com/
http://www.amazing-bargains.com/
http://www.overstock.com/

Searching your local Craig's List is a great place to find bargains. I found much of our granddaughters newborn items on there. http://www.craigslist.org/about/cities this page is the starting point to select the city you want. It is not available in all cities. Also Ebay is always a great place to search for bargains. There are even more now with people listing anything and everything to make some money. Many people who have never sold anything are now selling and buying on Ebay. A place I use often to buy and sell used books and other items is Amazon. Many people I have talked to did not realize that you can sell items on Amazon. One thing I like about it, is you item is listed for 60 days. You set the price. There is a commission taken by Amazon, but not if it does not sell. It is a great way to get rid of books, software and other items you no longer have use for.

sheboome@sheboomers.com
Sandy