With only 16 days until Christmas, I wanted to send everyone a friendly reminder that with MasterCard's "Here's to Mom" promotion, you can stretch your holiday budget even farther than before AND never have to battle those overcrowded malls and stores to do it!

Relax, sip a steaming cup of coffee, do some online shopping in your pajamas and GET REWARDED FOR IT!  You'll even enjoy an easy way to stay on top of your holiday budget with simplified online tracking of your purchases.  Just visit http://bit.ly/MasterCardHolidayRewards and enroll either a MasterCard credit or debit card of your choice.  Then you have until December 31st, 2011 to spend $200 at any combination of online merchants.

Once you've spent $200, you will automatically receive an email containing information about how to redeem your $20 MasterCard gift card!  It's like getting a 10% discount for something you would be doing anyway! :party:

Here's hoping you have a happy and healthy holiday season!

Disclosure: I received a promotional item from MasterCard to thank me for my participation. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own and have not been influenced at all by any form of compensation.

Dealers want to clear their lots of excess inventory around this time of the year.  They do this by offering sizeable cash-back rebates, super financing discounts, and special lease deals, which equals discounts of up to 30% on some models for new car shoppers who want to buy a vehicle before January.  Most consumers are aware of this, so the car dealerships can get just as busy as the malls during the holidays.

Here are some great tips from TrueCar.com on how to survive holiday car shopping at the automotive dealership:

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When you're on a slim fashion budget, versatility is a must and since becoming a stay-at-home mom, I have to find creative ways to get more bang for my fashion buck.

That's why I was so intrigued by the Endless Top to Bottom from Diane Kroe.  This stylish accessory claims to be able to bring you 7 different looks, ranging from a scarf to a poncho to a dress.  Now that's what I call versatility!  Keep reading to find out whether or not the Endless Top to Bottom helped successfully expand my wardrobe!

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This post brought to you by Gift Card Weekend. All opinions are 100% mine.

Gift cards are one of the newest and most versatile holiday presents on the market and Gift Card Weekend is making it super easy to win your share of more than $10,000 in gift cards through the month of December!  For your daily chance to win some fabulous gift cards, head on over to the Gift Card Weekend page on Facebook and like it.  If you share this contest with your friends, you'll be entered for even more chances to win.

This week, (12/5-12/9) you can nab a $20 Regal Cinemas gift card, but make sure to stay tuned throughout the month for tons of different gift cards will also be given away! The contest will end on December 31st, that is, if poor Gilbert's heart doesn't give out first!

In case you're not familiar with Gift Card Weekend, it is an event that's held once per year and every participating retailer will feature fabulous offers for gift cards that are purchased during the holiday season.  They are then only redeemable January 6th through the 8th.

If you're a big fan of giving gift cards for special occasions, such as the holidays, this is an excellent opportunity to give a much bigger gift than you might have otherwise.  Gift Card Weekend allows the recipient to really stretch their gift card even further as long as they use it during that weekend.

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All of the holiday shopping hype seems to surround Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but a recent study from Consumer Reports indicates they're not necessarily the best days to find holiday deals. As it turns out, many popular items are at their lowest prices in the first two weeks of December.

Even though we're heading into prime shopping times, you can still save even more money using the Holiday Coupons page on CouponSherpa.com.  The following list details just a few of the top coupons for December:

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When I was a kid, long before the mega bank of candy dispensers at the mall and large, plastic swirling gumball machines which light up and make noise, there was the classic red gumball machine with glass globe and large metal coin mechanism on the front.

This antique gumball machine brings back fond memories from when I was a kid, for they used to be everywhere...grocery stores, restaurants, malls and discount stores.  You'll be hard pressed to find one of these classic dispensers in public anymore, but thanks to Gumballs.com, you can now have your very own for proud display in your home or office.

I recently had the chance to review the King Carousel Gumball Machine with Stand Gift Set from Gumballs.com.  Keep reading to learn more!

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