💰The Deal Guy Newsletter - Issue #65

🧾 INSIDE THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER:

**These deals could end or sell out at ANY time. If you buy something through any of the links featured in this newsletter I may get a small share of the sale.

🛍️ Walmart Now Delivers Right Up Until Christmas Eve: Serious procrastinators now have an extra life line. You can now place Express Delivery orders from Walmart.com as late as 5 p.m. on December 24 and still get your gifts by Christmas Day.

🎯 Up to 50% OFF Toys! If you’ve kept my prior advice of avoiding major toy purchases until the two weeks that precede Christmas for the lowest prices, there’s now a huge up to 50% OFF promotion over at Target right now on select toys until December 20th!

⭐ Starbucks for Life Is Back: Now through the end of this month, every purchase made with the Starbucks app or registered card earns a game play and a chance to win everything from free drinks to bonus Stars to the big one, free Starbucks for life.

🛒 Start Looking Closer at Your Delivery App Pricing: If you use Instacart for grocery delivery, a interesting new report reveals shoppers may not see the same price on the same product.

According to the report, orders from the same stores on the same day shows up to five different prices for the exact same item. I can’t verify this personally, but if you use Instacart, it always pays to cross-compare your prior receipts.

🧾 Extended warranties: Stores are going hard on these at checkout right now, but I usually pass. Most products already come with solid return policies or a basic manufacturer warranty. Ff you take the amount of money you’d pay for the warranty and put it into a high yield savings account, over time, you might be pleasantly surprised!

💳 Store credit card sign up discounts: That 15% off today sounds tempting when the cart is full, but high interest rates and a possible hit to your credit score for the application are not worth a quick discount.

📦 Add more for free shipping prompts: Spend $13 more to get free shipping is the classic trap. Enhanced premium “add on” white glove shipping services often deliver at the exact same time as standard shipping so I always pass on this offer.

🎮 Accessory markups: That $20 HDMI cable at checkout is a mark-up I’m always happy to avoid especially when you can find the same accessory for $8 elsewhere. I skip upsell bundles and shop separately for the essentials.

🧠 Free trial traps: Extra checkout offers like free buyer protection sound useful but often auto renew. I pass on any pop up deal that wants a card for a 30 day freebie.

🧴 Buy more, get one free: With a few exception like beauty BOGO and candle sales that all get consumed and enjoyed in my household, those buy 2, get 1 sales are risky. If I only wanted one, I am not saving anything, I am overspending by two.

Want to see more shopping secrets in future newsletters? Reply to this email and let me know!

Here are some recent subscriber submitted money-saving tips:

Rebecca from IL writes: “I switched all our subscriptions to annual billing during promo periods. Same services, lower monthly cost, and fewer surprise price increases.”

Brandy writes: “To add to that calendar tip (from last week)…I purchase an 18 month calendar in very early spring. That way, I have January through May/June of the next year to be able to put things on the calendar toward the year end. And then I don’t have to buy a new calendar until into spring again when they are on sale for the current year..”

Juan from PR writes: “I used to replace small kitchen gadgets when they broke, but now I check the manufacturer’s website first. A lot of them will send replacement parts or even a free replacement if it’s a known issue.”

Reply to this email and share it with me! If I feature your tip, I’ll give you a shoutout in next week’s newsletter!

(Include your first name + the state you live in so I can add it to the shoutout)

This portion of the newsletter is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Home Depot is running a huge sale right now on some of their most popular Home Decor finds and essentials. Here are all of my favorite deals!

🟠 Huge Selection of Rugs UNDER $100 (Up to 50% OFF!)

🟠 13 Piece Ceramic Cookware Set for $83! ($38 OFF!)

🟠 Up to 60% OFF Wall Shelves!

🟠 20" Carry On Suitcase for $31

🟠 3 Piece Luggage Set ($173 OFF!)

🟠 Up to 60% OFF Mattress Toppers

🟠 Gray Leather Power Lift Recliner for $250 (50% OFF!)

🟠 Arched Gold Decorative Wall Mirror UNDER $50!

You can check out the entire sale here!

*These are affiliate links. If you buy something through these links I may get a small share of the sale.

🎉 Chili’s: Buy $50, Get $10 bonus eCard

⛳ Topgolf: Buy $50, Get $20 bonus card through December 24

🍕 California Pizza Kitchen: Buy $50, Get $15 bonus or buy $100, get $30 bonus

🍰 The Cheesecake Factory: Buy $50, Get $15 bonus eCard through December 31

🚗 Uber or Uber Eats (via Costco): $100 eGift card for $79.99

🛍️ Bath and Body Works (via Sam’s Club): $50 Email Delivery Gift Card for $39.98

To get your question answered, simply respond to this email with any money-saving related question and feel free to include your first name so I can address you properly.

💡 Grace Asks: “I don't know how you make it through the holiday season! We are finally taking a real vacation and going on a cruise. I'm going to check out snorkeling and hope for some nice photos of vibrant ocean life. What do you recommend for a camera that can take nice, bright photos underwater? I was thinking of something to take good-quality videos from where we could cut still images.”

Hi! I’m an avid scuba diver and we snorkel with the kids so thank you for asking a question right up my alley. I’d go with any recent GoPro HERO (they’re all waterproof) although the GoPro Hero 13 is on sale right now. It’s made for bright underwater video, and if you shoot in 4K, you can pull still images from the footage later that look great for sharing. and memories. Just add a floating hand grip so it doesn’t sink, and you’re set for both video and photos on the trip.

💡 Michael Asks “Hi Matt! I love your YouTube show! My wife and I are going away for Christmas and need a good video doorbell with no subscription fees in time for our departure. I think Ring and Blink have monthly fees so I don’t know want to get.”

Hi Michael. Thanks for watching my channel and you’re correct.. both Ring and Blink video doorbells are accompanied with subscription fees which is the case for many other brands. My favorite video doorbell that will arrive in time for Christmas with no subscription fees is the eufy E340. It has fantastic clarity, wonderful features and it’s on sale right now.

💡Darcy from CA asks: “Hi Deal Guy - I haven't purchased a new camera in 20 years, but I know nothing about video. I know I can do video on my phone but have only used it for short <1 min clips and need to do some longer form recording in the future. So what might be a decent affordable digital video camera, and when is a good time to buy?”

Hi Darcy! Since you haven’t purchased a camera in 20 years, I’d like to at least recommend one that will last you for the years to come and for that to be the case, “affordable” is something under $600 if you want 4K capabilities. The best one I can possibly recommend that also happens to be on sale is the DJI Osmo Pocket 3.

Every week in this section of the newsletter, I share some of the most interesting and helpful money-related articles I’ve read over the past week. I hope you find these as valuable as I did!

💵 “Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report” - READ HERE.

💵 “Best budgeting apps of 2025” - READ HERE.

💵 “The first step you should take if you’re laid off” - READ HERE.

This is my second-last newsletter before our year wraps up so if there’s anything I’ve missed that you want to see in next week’s edition, please let me know. I’m collecting requests for deals, topics and Q&A. It’s been awesome to have you here!

Happy Savings!👋

The Deal Guy (Matt Granite)