5 Veg-Friendly Deal Sites

The Topic: Becoming an online-coupon-user extraordinare with Assistant Editor Anna Peraino

The Dish: We are Savvy Vegans–we buy in bulk, we wait for sales, we DIY, and we are most definitely familiar with the coupon. With the onslaught of group-based coupons out there (Groupon, Living Social, Scout Mob, and roughly one bazillion others), it's never been easier to save 40 percent on a CSA basket or 65 percent on a haircut at a salon we'd otherwise never afford. But what happens with your daily coupon is to a steakhouse, or that salon uses products that are tested on animals? A major bummer, that's what. Luckily for us, many vegan- and vegetarian-friendly deal sites are popping up, saving us cash on cookbooks and dough on (vegetarian) dim sum. Make sure to subscribe to these five deal-givers to save on every aspect of your life (not to mention upcoming holiday gifts)!

1. Time to Veg Out. This just-launched deal site is pretty much the vegan version of Groupon. Featuring both nationwide and location-based deals (the site currently covers towns like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, with more cities to come), it's a great way to save. The site is still getting started, but we can't wait to see more.
2. Vegan Cuts. "Shop Vegan. Save Money. Save Animals." Is there anything better than that? Not really. Vegan Cuts helps you save on cookbooks, skincare, jewelry, purses, and basically everything else you'd ever need. (Tofu presses! Energy bars!)
3. Daily Gourmet. If you're obsessed with food, this is the deal site for you. While not 100-percent vegan, Daily Gourmet lets you choose what kind of deals you want to get in your inbox, including vegan, gluten-free, and kosher items (and nut-free, and soy-free…). The site's first offer was a dozen Cinnaholic buns. If that's not reason enough to sign up, I don't know what is.
4. Vegan Coupons. If you're on Facebook 24-7 like we are (side note: like us on FB!), you'll love getting Vegan Coupons on your news feed. Offering printable coupons on everything from cookbooks to loaves of bread, Vegan Coupons will help you out in all your spending endeavors. And don't forget to follow Vegan Coupons' sister site, Vegan Deals, on Twitter (not to mention VegNews on Twitter!).
5. Deals on Twitter. From free Rice Dream to natural foods discounts, Twitter is a great place to save serious cash. It's so effective, in fact, that we wrote a whole post about vegan coupons, tweeted. Click and save!

The Final Word: In this day and age, paying full price gets to be as infrequent as eating a bad slice of vegan pizza* and we couldn't be happier. Sign up, follow, and check these sites to save serious money and enjoy some really awesome vegan stuff. Do you know of other great money-saving coupon sites for vegans? Let us know in the comments!

*Just kidding. It is scientifically impossible to eat a bad slice of vegan pizza. Trust me. I'm a professional.

Decorating on a Dime

The Topic: Decorating your home without spending all of your hard-earned money by VegNews Associate Editor Jennifer Chen.

The Dish: I recently helped my wonderful yet woefully style-challenged friend decorate her new home. She and her husband are on a tight budget—$200 to redo their living room and bedroom—so she asked me to come over and lend my design skills. Now, I'm not a decorator, but I am known amongst my friends for designing on a dime. If you walk into my house and admire my turquoise blue distressed coffee table, I'll happily share that I got it from a flea market for less than a $100. While the stereotype might exist that vegans live in yurts or hippie communes, I know that our community has some serious style. Here are some ways to decorate your humble abode without distressing your wallet.

1. Score good deals. My favorite websites to hit first? Craigslist and Freecycle.org. On Craigslist, towards the end of the month (when everyone is moving out and wants to get rid of their furniture ASAP), search through the furniture sections. If there's a catalogue item from Crate & Barrel I'm eyeing, I'll try to find the same exact piece on Craigslist by entering "Crate & Barrel coffee table" as a search term. You can easily score IKEA items the same way. I love shopping this way because not only are you recycling an item, you can also get it for half the price. My tip: If you like an item, ask for pictures so you know what the condition is of the piece you're buying, and have a game plan for how you're going to transport it home. Search for your local Freecycle group and signup for the Yahoo group to join. Everything under the sun is on the list. For both sites, reply quickly if you want something or else some other lucky person will score your deal.

2. Coupons. I am the queen of coupons, and something I learned about the ubiquitous Bed, Bath, & Beyond (BBB) coupons that I get in the mail is that they never expire. Seriously. I found this out at while checking out at a BBB and the cashier asked me if I had my stack of coupons. I did not, but now I do. So save those 20 percent off coupons for your big purchases like new bed spreads, curtains, or kitchenware.

3. Gather three objects you love. I stole this idea from Style Network's show Dress My Nest with Thom Filicia because I think it's genius. What Filicia does for each of his style-challenged couples is ask them to give him three objects that they love. He takes the objects—framed photos, dresses, souvenirs—and creates their style from their own personal objects. So that's what I did with my friend. Her wedding invitations had a nice red Asian theme and a photography book she picked out as one of her objects had beautiful black-and-white portraits. So when I saw a $25 table lamp with a red, white, and black flowered lampshade at Target, I snagged it immediately. It's so much easier to shop when you know what you're looking for instead of just grabbing random furniture pieces you like (and racking up a huge bill). Bonus tip: Target has some amazingly cute designs for cheap. And if you grab items out of season, you'll land some hot deals like red-and-white place mats for $1.33 each.

4. Flea markets. Haggling might not be your thing, but even a gentle, "Can you do better?" will often help lower a price on a piece. Even better, try this tactic just before the flea market closes. Vendors don't want to haul all of their wares back so bargain-bidding is easier. One of my favorite flea markets is the Melrose Trading Post in Los Angeles. When you find a great flea market and your favorite vendors, visit their stalls often. I scored so many deals at the Melrose Trading Post from a furniture guy who makes the most adorable vintage-looking furniture pieces (like my writing desk that was originally a sewing machine table). I visited him so much that every time I did, I got better prices. Vendors want you to keep coming back so tell them how much you love their pieces, bring friends (which is the best word-of-mouth for them), and gently ask what they can do for their best customer (that's you!).

5. Design blogs and magazines. Design magazines like Blueprint and Domino were my go-to mags for design ideas but in the wake of those publications' closure, a whole slew of drool-worthy design blogs have popped up. (Check out these mags for great ideas: ReadyMade, Anthology, and Dwell.) While you don't have to go and buy a suggested $1,000 bed frame, you can collect great ideas and styles (try the free website Evernote.com to store your ideas on the go). Here are some of my favorites, along with some picks from the VN staff (VN Editorial Assistant Anna Peraino was particularly exited to share her fave design blogs.): Apartment Therapy, Craft, Design Sponge, Craft Gawker, and California Home + Design's blog.

The Final Word: It may take extra effort to find the truly great decorating finds out there, but once you do, you can happily brag to your friends just how little you spent. You don't have to redecorate an entire room, but finding key pieces will help bring your whole place together. With a good eye on deals, you too can dress your nest for less!

Twitter Deals

The Topic: Tech Tips

The Dish: When you're on a tight budget, saving money can feel like a full-time job. Frugal living shouldn't be a constant worry, and I'm working on making my methods habit rather than chore (Yes, even I succumb to convenience-store snacking and weeknight events more than I should.) Thanks to fancy modern technology, finding a network of like-minded people is easier than ever. If you're a Twitter fan, like millions of other people, near-constant updates on hot deals and useful coupons has never been easier. I've briefly mentioned the benefits of Twitter before, but now I have to share a few great sources.

In addition to keeping up with the dribble of your favorite celebs and, more importantly, the latest news in veganism (from VN's lovely tweets to your favorite veg companies), there are a number of accounts devoted to tweeting savvy steals. Vegancoupons is a great place to start, doing the dirty work of weeding out the irrelevant, non-veg updates. Mambosprouts isn't exclusively veg, but for natural food products, it's a great resource. Ever seen those little coupon books at your local health food store? That's Mambo Sprouts, and they put out some great discounts on delicious veg products. HealthyLifeDeal also focuses on whole foods, including Trader Joe's tips, free Rice Dream, and more. Sign me up.

The Final Word: Frugal tweets are many on Twitter, on everything from travel deals to grocery steals. A little digging can help you find lots of amazing resources, and a quick "follow" guarantees reliable updates. Just remember to check it daily! And by daily, I mean every five minutes, because it's crazy addictive. Are you a twitter fiend? Who are your favorite tweeters?

21st Century Coupons

The Topic: Living the good life, half price

The Dish: When I was little, my mom used to cut me a deal when it came to cutting coupons: For every penny-saver I snipped that was used, I pocketed the difference. Sure, it didn’t really save us any money on groceries, but Mom broke even and I walked away with a few dollars to my name (you can get a lot of banana Laffy Taffy for $5.) Today, I never manage to clip coupons, partly because I’m pressed for time and partly because finding relevant products is a rarity.

While I recommend keeping your eyes open while flipping through the Sunday paper (assuming, of course, you still read the paper), there’s another option for the city-bound and tech-inclined—Groupon, a website focused on daily deals offering around 50 percent off a huge range of goods and services, from restaurant gift certificates to discounted dance classes. San Francisco even had a deal recently where buyers received $50 worth of organic groceries for $25. If we were playing NBA Jam right now, that would certainly get a “Boomshakalaka!”

Currently, Groupon operates in 52 cities across the US and offers a handy request form to get your city on the map. There’s one deal a day, and a certain number of people have to buy in before it’s finalized, so passing the word along to your cash-strapped friends is encouraged. If you manage to wrangle some referrals, you can even earn account credit—real-live spendable dollars—and score more savings.

The Final Word: Registration is free, and it's a simple way to score a great bargain with minimal effort. Get registered, sign up for daily e-mail alerts, and embrace all that is Groupon.