Groupon How I love Thee

What is a Groupon you ask? Essentially it is a coupon, a deal, a steal, a magic cheese wheel. Companies approach the website (http://editorial.thepoint.com/) with a proposition that goes something like this, “If you guys can get 20 people to sign up to get LlamaRides©, we’ll give them 60% off.” Then the website puts this amazing opportunity up and waits to see if there are 20 people interested in riding llamas. Here’s the catch, if only 19 people sign up for the Groupon, the deal is cancelled, no one is charged anything, but they also don’t get their quality time with a member of the Camelidae family.

Unfortunately Groupon is only catering to Chicago, Boston, and New York. But if you live in one of these cities (and probably others soon, the Boston site has only been operating since mid-March) there are some opportunities to get awesome deals on activities and services you use anyway.

I find there are great ways to treat myself without breaking my budget. A haircut and mani-pedi for 70% off at a shi-shi salon? Comes out to about what I’d normally be willing to pay for just a cut at the place in the strip mall. I’m not paying more, but I’m vastly increasing the quality of services that I’m getting. Now, 40% off radial tires? Not my thing, but if you need radial tires I bet you’d be stoked.

As always don’t get caught up in the deal. Just because something is cheap that doesn’t mean you need it. If, however, you need it and it’s cheap then you’re golden. Happy saving!