Housing Works

Housing Works is the queen mum of thrift stores. It sells the same basic goods as other second hand stores, but it has the atmosphere of a debutante's dressing room with the brands and style to match. Plus all proceeds go toward AIDS research and support in NYC. Stop in any of the six locations in Manhattan or the location in Brooklyn Heights or check out their window auctions online. Hold out for their seasonal sales, too. For a $10 entry fee (tax deductible, as are all purchases at Housing Works), you can browse the top selection of goods they hold on to for months. And if you're really thrifty, resell your finds on eBay. I've seen never-worn Manolos, fur coats, beautiful vintage furniture and clothing from Versace, Prada and Gucci, all at far below retail prices. The more often you stop in, the more likely you'll be the first to spot a great deal.

Better yet, donate your gently used chic goods to Housing Works. According to this month's Elle Decor magazine, restaurateur B. Smith donates samples from her home-furnishings line to Housing Works. Ever think you'd find a one-of-a-kind designer sample at a thrift store?

Bottom Line: Finally, style comes cheap
www.housingworks.org

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Ten Web Sites...

...that will save you tens and tens of dollars.

1) Airfare Watchdog
Updated daily, this site combs the web for the cheapest flights out there. Combine Airfare Watchdog with Travelzoo, and you shouldn't ever have to pay for a full-price vacation again.

2) Top Button
Fashion savvy cheapskates will love this site, which provides information on local sample sales, online sales, and budget-friendly fashion events.

3) Housing Works Auctions
Think eBay on a much smaller, more philanthropical scale. Bid on gently used clothes and furniture, then feel good about the fact that all proceeds from sales go to charity.

4) Restaurant.com
Download coupons to use at select restaurants in the area.

5) Etsy.com
Need an inexpensive but interesting and most likely one-of-a-kind gift? Look no further than this online craft fair, brought to you by talented do-it-yourselfers throughout the U.S.

6) Craigslist
I know you know Craigslist. But the possibilities here are endless -- Furnish your apartment, buy a new [to you] TV, score some free plants... You can even find a cheap date if the need arises.

7) Overstock.com
Check this site out for discounted goods ranging from luxury sheets and towels to cheap barstools and, even, I kid you not, wedding rings.

8) Open Table
Make your life easier by making restaurant reservations online, then rack up points to earn free dining dollars.

9) All Recipes
Come on, kids; cooking's cool. It's also a whole lot cheaper than takeout or, of course, dinner out. Use the ever-so-useful ingredient search on All Recipes to figure out what you can whip up with the ingredients you already have lurking around your pantry.

10) eBay
The queen of shopping sites. If you want it, chances are eBay's got it. Plus, a little healthy bidding competition never hurt anyone.

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Dining for Dollars

I am a sucker for rewards programs. I sign up for frequent flier offers, I have a frequent flier credit card, I eat at restaurants that give me double points on said credit card and order flowers off of their online frequent flier mall. It's a sickness. So you can imagine why I love opentable.com. Not only can you make restaurant reservations without ever picking up a phone, you earn points with each completed reservation. Once you've racked up enough of those points, opentable.com will issue you a gift certificate good at any participating restaurants.

If more than 700 restaurants in New York aren't enough to pique your interest, opentable.com has restaurants in 47 states (I'm pulling for you West Virginia!!!) and seven other countries. I used the points I gathered from NYC reservations on a posh dinner in Las Vegas. Even better, you can make reservations for other names. Perfect for all of the administrative assistants out there (ahem).

Normally, 20 reservations gives you the points for a $20 gift certificate. But some restaurants offer up extra points for off times. Dine at one of those spots twice and you have enough points for the $20 gift card. Brilliant!

Bottom Line: Frequent restaurant diner rewards across the US and beyond!
www.opentable.com

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Watch out, Barnes & Noble

There's a new bookseller in town.

Though it's actually not in town. It's online.
And it's not really a seller, either, because all of the books and CDs and DVDs and video games available there are free.
Yes. Free.
Thanks to the brilliant minds behind SwapTree, bartering has reached an all new level.

Think of the site as a sort of Match.com for your books and CDs. Once you sign up (there's no fee), SwapTree's algorithms calculate what you can get for the items you want to get rid of. The site shops around to find your perfect trade, and once the match is made, all you have to do is stick your item in the mail and wait for your own new "purchase" to arrive.

Bottom Line: Free books? Yes, please.

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I Want My (Free) TV

Sometime around when cable TV became a necessity and when flat screens popped up in cars, someone neglected to cater to those of us who don't want to pay for TV. Maybe it's just my apartment, but every channel comes in fuzzy and it isn't worth the trouble to adjust the antenna (which I purchased from a guy at Radio Shack who clearly thought I was a hermit stuck in the stone age) to watch reruns of Friends where you can only see shadowy blurs of color. I was convinced I didn't need TV. What a waste of time! It's so lazy. Then I got bored. And desperate for mind-numbing entertainment. That is how I found TV Links.

TV Links is a website full of, you guessed it, links to TV shows. There are mainstream network shows like Seinfeld, The O.C. and Heros. There are even HBO shows like The Sopranos, Deadwood and Six Feet Under. But the best part (I think) about TV Links is the weird, random shows on there. When's the last time you saw an episode of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Maybe you've been craving a little Fraggle Rock or 21 Jump Street? Keep in mind many of the links only have a few select episode and the quality isn't exactly crystal clear. But it's free after all, what did you expect? Now, if you watch nothing else on the site, you must watch a few episodes of Peep Show, a sort of British version of Arrested Development and The Office. It's become my new way of testing my friends. If they like Peep Show and become immediately obsessed, then we can remain friends and live happily ever after in Peep Show euphoria. If they can only muster a little chuckle...well you can guess why I've been bored recently.

I actually have neglected to post anything on cheaptricksnyc about TV Links out of fear. I love TV Links. I do not understand how it exists and live in constant fear it will be shut down. One night a few weeks ago I sat down to enjoy an episode of Peep Show and it appeared to have been taken off the site. I vowed never again to take TV Links for granted. Once it started working again I feverishly watched all of the episodes of Peep Show one after another all night like an old lady playing the penny slots in Atlantic City. I don't want to go back to that place. Use this knowledge of TV Links for good and, for my sake, not evil.

Bottom Line: Free TV that's almost better than cable

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Restaurant.com. Oh, the magic.

Imagine a plentiful world where the sky rains cocktails and savory appetizers grow on trees. It's a stretch, I know, but after discovering Restaurant.com, I feel like I've found the next best thing.
Here's how the Restaurant.com magic works: The site sells gift certificates to various restaurants throughout the city. These certificates are worth much more than they actually cost.

So, say you're jonesing for a dinner out.
You go to Restaurant.com, find a restaurant that suits your craving, and pay $10 for a $25 gift certificate. Print it out, and get yourself to the restaurant for a meal that's $15 cheaper than it should be.

Drawbacks (besides looking cheap when you hand your waiter that lovely little coupon)? There are restrictions, so read the fine print carefully. Often you can only use the certificate at dinner, and there's usually a minimum purchase.

It's still a deal, though. And the restaurants participating aren't all mediocre places that are just desperate for customers. A quick search of NYC locales brings up Chow Bar, Zaytoons, Kellari Taverna, John's Pizzeria, and Apartment 138, to name a few.

Bottom Line: These dining dollars are practically falling from the sky! Eat out more. Pay less.
Restaurant.com

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