(Ed. Note) It’s no secret that the unemployed like to or have to save money where they can.  As such an important component of our lifestyle it was only right to team up with FrugalNYC, a premier resource for frugal city living, as we present Frugal Fridays! Enjoy.

If you didn’t get a chance to grab the great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, there are some other strategies that you can use to save this holiday gift season.  A recent twitter personal finance chat inspired some of the below ideas.  Some ideas are just common sense.

1. Focus on those who matter most in your life and get them great gifts they will like.  You know who they are because you actually know what to get them.
2. Do Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchanges instead of getting everyone a gift.  These events may end up being more fun than the gifts themselves.
3. Use Groupon to find gift ideas and great deals.  Each day, Groupon emails you one exclusive, unbeatable deal on the best things to do, see, eat, and buy in New York.  Some past deals are: $18 for Three Games of Bowling and Shoes at Chelsea Piers & $15 Historic NYC Pizza Walk (Half Off $30 Value).  Check out other past Groupon deals.
4. Don’t buy last minute.  Plan ahead and use sales and discounts to your advantage.  This is one of those common sense things I mentioned.  When you wait till the last minute, you end up with a bad gift or paying too much for a decent gift.  Always plan ahead.  Write your list and check it twice - for sales and deals!
5. Purchase Gift cards at a discount.  This was a suggestion from the #bp twitter chat.  Some sites you can check are Citydeals and Gift Card Rescue.
6. Use coupons or online coupon codes.  There are numerous online coupon codes sites.  Just search google for them and you’ll never pay full price again!  I recently bought an online gift and save $10 on the shipping, which I would have paid if I didn’t do a quick search for a coupon code!

What strategies do you use to save on your holiday shopping?  Please share your ideas and let everyone benefit!

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

I love NYC this time of year, I truly do.

You know what I even love more? How countless holiday delights are free-free-free or in some instances, next to nothing! For starters, Gen Art is having their annual Styles 2009 Presentation/Awards on Wednesday, December 2nd at 7W (7 West 34th Street). They’re combining it with their Shop NYC event which means one thing: delish. For $15/ticket you can get full access to the shopping main event with complimentary drinks and spa treatments from 7 to 10 pm. http://www.genart.org/shop/shop-nyc-with-styles-awards

Secondly, if you haven’t seen the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center in a while, whatcha waiting for? I haven’t seen it since ’05 which means I am due for a little bit of splendor before they stop bedazzling the stage (show goes dark on January 3rd). Tickets start at $10 for standing room only and if you actually go on foot to the box office you’ll save a few more bucks by not paying ticket fees. http://www.nycballet.com/ticketing_info/nutcracker.html

As for freebies in the city that never sleeps?

1. The tree at Rockefeller Center. This one’s a no brainer.

2. The spectacular light show inside Grand Central Station.

3. The tree at Lincoln Center.

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First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all the 405ers out there working hard in their respective job hunts. It’s tough out there, we know it better than anyone.  Some days are better than others but at the end of the day here we are, still unemployed, hoping and praying that some day in the near future someone out there will want to pay us to work for them.

“Am I good enough? Smart enough? Have I made bad career decisions? I’m still unemployed after all these months and I’m really starting to get down on myself.” I’m sure we’ve all looked in the mirror and had these thoughts — it’s quite natural to have self-doubt in these times.  So what do we do? Let’s take this moment to think about what we do have as opposed to what we do not have.  Although a welcome addition to one’s life for support, income and intellectual stimulation, jobs are just a small piece to the proverbial puzzle of life.  Let’s take a day, Thanksgiving, to focus on the rest of said puzzle.

What The Unemployed Are Thankful for:

• Your health. This is always numero uno.  If you’re healthy you’re really ahead of the game whether you believe it or not.
• Family & friends. I’ve lumped these into 1 because it’s all about your support system.  Employed or not, these people will be behind you no matter what.  Tell them how much you appreciate their support.
• A roof over your head.  Walking around as an unemployed 405er in NYC it’s kind of scary how in an odd sense you feel a new compassion for the homeless.  They’re jobless, just like you.  But, you’ve still got an apartment to go home to. Be thankful for that.

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