My Social Life on a Budget

Brick Wall: balancing the fun stuff with my checkbook

Every job seeker needs a plan, not just for their job search, but a financial plan as well. Even though I'm freelancing, I've got to watch every penny and be even MORE mindful of my finances. What does this mean? My social life is on a budget (a more disciplined budget than before at least).

My closest friends will tell you, I always seek out a great deal. My mother insists I have "the magic touch." She recalls times we have shopped together, picked up a few items, and they are magically on sale once we check out. There was no sign or tag to indicate so. As she says, it's my magic touch. Sorry to break it to you mom, but for the most part, my magic touch just comes from good planning.

In my efforts to seek out great deals, I compiled the list below of all of the group coupon web sites that I subscribe to for Chicago. Many of these are also active in other cities. These are the kind of deals that allow me to keep my sanity and my social life during times like this. And I'm not even including Restaurant.com on here because I could write a novel about how much I love that site.

Groupon: http://bit.ly/6xYEpO

Pricebunch: http://bit.ly/b307oq

YouSwoop: http://bit.ly/c3dg2N


ChitownDeals: http://bit.ly/azRe0m

SocialBuy: http://bit.ly/bQpZ1E

TownHog: http://bit.ly/dsWi5J

Specials Agent: http://www.specialsagent.com/

Two Buck Duck: http://www.twobuckduck.com/

WeGivetoGet: http://wegivetoget.com/

Living Social Deals: http://bit.ly/biwN5G

3oclock Club: http://www.3oclockclub.com/

You've Gotta Get It: http://youvegottagetit.com/

BuyWithMe: http://www.buywithme.com/

Foxling: http://www.foxling.com/

And here's a fantastic site/newsletter that I recently found:


http://chicagofree.info/

And for any women out there who are currently looking at options to review your finances/financial plan, I recommend a great book that I just read: Live it, Love it, Earn it: A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom by Marianna Olszewski. I love her holistic approach to dealing with your finances. (You'll have to read the book to see what I mean!)

Enjoy saving $$$!