Take the Gourmet Foods Pop Quiz

Ritz crackers are good, but they just don’t compare to those gourmet crackers (ever-so-slightly seasoned with pepper and sesame seeds) that are laid out with fine cheeses at weddings and other fancy functions. If I could afford to snack on those crackers regularly, I would. Same applies with everything else in the gourmet aisle at the supermarket. Ever tried Das Caramelini Salted Caramels? Oh. My. Goodness.

I just got wind of The Nibble, a free online gourmet food magazine, that offers its readers the chance to win something that's normally reserved for special occasions – i.e. chocolate marzipan dusted with confectioners sugar, imported honey mustard...hmm, you get the point. Every week, take a four-question quiz (that you don't even need to answer correctly) and you could win that week’s gourmet gift. This week it's a box of 36 assorted bags of Popchips.

P.S. A little birdie tells me that since the contests are still an undiscovered gem, your odds of winning are quite high.

Take Flight…On the Cheap

With airlines digging deeper into travelers’ wallets (on some aircrafts we now have to pay extra just to fly with a suitcase? Puh-lease!), the days of cheap flights are long gone. Right? Not quite.

My favorite airline (because they have TV’s in the backs of every seat and for a nominal fee they let pets fly coach!), JetBlue, just slashed their autumn fares to start at the VERY low price of $39 each way for travel between September 3rd and October 31st that is booked by June 26th.

What are you waiting for? The season finale of So You Think You Can Dance? Watch it on the plane...with your cat!

p.s. Enter the promotion code OCTJET2 when booking for an extra 10% of JetBlue flights.

With its rising costs, what are the other ways you plan to save on flying? Click here to tell us!

In the Bag

Nothing says summer like a great beach read and great bag. Put the two together and you’ve got double the fun.

Enter Avon Books, the leading women's fiction publisher, and The Sak, a celebrated handbag maker, who have joined forces to launch "Book in a Bag," a year-long giveaway of chic handbags filled with the newest fashion fiction.

Enter to win HERE.

The Lost Art of Bartering

There’s a weekend flea market in the school yard across the street from my apartment. Vendors sit under umbrellas selling the usual fare – antique furniture, hand-crafted jewelry, homemade cookies.

Then there’s “The Lady in Red.” She is dressed in, well, red and sits cross-legged in the center of a large white sheet surrounded by a variety of baubles (cups, candy, mini-heart pillows). Her wares have no rhyme or reason (other than the fact that they're mostly red) and I recently found out why after trying to buy a cute pair of crimson hope earrings from her. “The Lady in Red” does not accept money for any of her items. If you see something you like, you trade her something of yours – as long as it’s red and/or white.

I ran home and scrounged around for something worth trading and decided upon a red and white popcorn bowl I’ve had lying around, but have yet to use. The Lady in Red was pleased with her new acquisition – as was I!


What’s the best barter/trade you’ve ever made? Click here to tell us about it!

Voluntary Blackout Day

It started on Valentine's Day. My honey and I decided to splurge on dinner at one of those super swanky French restaurants where the prices go up as the portion sizes go down, plus two tickets to see my all-time favorite crooner, Rufus Wainwright. Needless to say, it was a budget-busting night. Fearing a month's worth of ramen-noodle dinners to undo the financial damage, I was relieved when toward the end of an amazing set, Rufus introduced Blackout Sabbath (blackoutsabbath.org), a master plan to help the environment — and your electric bill.

Here’s how he explained it working: On June 21, from noon to midnight, pull the plug on your household appliances (especially that money-guzzling air conditioner!), grab a picnic blanket and head outside! Then sit back, relax and enjoy the savings. (You'll find me celebrating with a cooler and some sandwiches at the beach!) When the clock strikes 12:01 Sunday morning, reflect on all those nonessential gadgets that suck up power — and your hard-earned dollars — all day, every day. Is that 24/7 slideshow on your digital photo frame really worth the cost?

What fun energy-saving activity will you be enjoying this summer?

[Our guest Discount Diva of the day, Nicole Sia (pictured to the left), is an assistant editor at Quick and Simple who spends her freetime cruising the deal sites for bargains. Best score to date? "When I moved into my new apartment two years ago, I managed to scout a gorgeous 65-piece flatware collection for $20 and a classic white dish set for $25 on slickdeals.net -- with free shipping! Obviously, we hosted a dinner party to celebrate!"]