Have you ever heard radio commercials saying something like: “Visit Pine Bluff Retirement Community and get a free set of PING Golf Clubs just for visiting!” Why do they do this? It is because they know that if they get enough people to visit they will convert some of those “visitors interested in free golf clubs” into home buyers. They have a formula built out: 1 out of every 100 buy a house. Well, 100 sets of golf clubs = $5000 maybe? ( i’m assuming they get a deal for bulk purchase ) How much profit is in a new home? Exactly! Alot!

So, today I stumbled on a new site called Trooval.com that helps you locate these “Deals with a Catch”. The only “catch” is that you have to sit through a presentation. Here is an example from the website:

So, if you are willing to sit through a high-pressure, 90 minute sales tour they’ll give you a 4 day/3 night free vacation.

Really, it is that easy. Other deals I saw on there were:

- Amusement Park Fun and Accommodations in Pigeon Forge!
- Experience the Stratoshpere in Las Vegas!
- Fun at Table Rock Lake on a Pontoon for 4 hours
- Napa Valley, California Wine Tasting Vacation
- Stay for 4 Days and 3 Nights and Enjoy a Relaxing Spa Massage

To sign up just visit THIS LINK. Now, let me warn you. You have to put in a credit card to sign up which they will ONLY charge IF you don’t follow through on your end. They are trying to make sure those that sign up are legit. What that means also is if you book the vacation and don’t follow through on the 90 minute presentation ( or whatever you have to do ) then your credit card will be charged. So, DUH!…make sure you do what you said you were going to do to get your free vacation!

Hey, do me a favor! When you do one of these vacations, come back here and comment on it so we can all benefit! Awesome!

What: RushCard Prepaid Visa
What: How to rebuild your credit so you can save money

What the heck does “RushCard” have to do with saving money? Yeah, I asked myself that same question when people kept telling me I should check it out. I told them, “this blog is about random deals found on the Internet and tips to save money.” Well, that second part is the key.

From the RushCard website: The credit reporting agencies we report to use your transaction history to create a positive credit file for you. When you apply for credit, lenders may use your positive credit file to qualify you and offer you lower interest rates.

Most Americans were effected by the recent downturn in the economy. Some lost jobs, some had to take pay cuts, some got behind on bills and mortgage payments. All of this can result in negative outcomes for your credit score. Your credit score in-turn determines what interest rate you are awarded and even whether or not you can even get the loan. So, when that credit score starts dropping your credit cards ( usually with balances ) start raising  your rates. How the heck are you supposed to get outta debt when they keep raising the rates? Uh…yeah…they figured that out when they issued the credit cards. You see, they don’t want you to pay it off so they make it difficult for you to do so.

OK, so back to RushCard. This program was created by Russell Simmons and is a way where you can start rebuilding your credit. When I started reviewing this it started making sense. It builds or restores your credit, it is safer than cash, there are no overdraft fees, it helps you manage your money, and best of all, 100% GUARANTEED APPROVAL! with no credit or ChexSystems® checks.

So, I’m giving this a thumbs up. You should check it out. To get the details I mention above you need our special link in the banner below: CLICK HERE

What people are saying about their RushCard

I got my RushCard because I couldn’t get a bank account. I heard that you could have your tax refund directly deposited to your RushCard. I knew that would be easier and faster than going through the pain of getting my tax refund in a check and then trying to cash it without having a bank account. – Cynthia W.

RushCard has truly been a blessing for me and my family. It’s really a lifesaver. I decided to get a RushCard because the fees of those check cashing businesses were ridiculous. I wanted to save money for my family and my kids, so RushCard was the best option. – Nicole J.

I have had many accounts with banks, and no matter what I did, I’d end up with huge overdrafts, which then affected my credit rating. Unfortunately I find bookkeeping tedious…it’s a discipline I just don’t have. I use my RushCard for paying bills. It was easy to set up, and now, every month on the 3rd I pay all my bills and I don’t have to worry about it again. – Jamil B.

Click here to get your Rush Card today!

Full disclosure: If you decide to take advantage of this credit rebuilding tool, I’ll make a small commission for referring you. If you don’t think I should get this you can just bypass me and just go directly to RushCard.com

What: Free Flip Ultra Camcorder
Where: Hotels.com
How: New booking of 4+ nites with Price Match Guarantee between May27-June29

Hey OffCost’rs – This is a pretty sweet deal if you are planning a vacation anyway. How about 100% OFF COST on a Flip Camera. You know what the Flip is right? Remember, we gave one away a couple months back. Well, if you visit Hotels.com and book your stay between May27th and June 29th you’ll get a free Flip camera! That is a $150 value! COUPON CODE IS FLIP4 and you go HERE for more details.

Book today. Save up to 40%. Plus, at select hotels, worldwide, receive a FREE Flip™ Camcorder, just for completing a 4+night stay.

What: Know in advance what bids are likely to be accepted at Priceline.com
Where: biddingfortravel.yuku.com

Hey Offcost.com visitors you are about to be let in on a secret way to get great deals on Priceline.com. I’ve used this for years and now you’ll get the scoop!

The problem with Priceline.com, for most people, is you can’t choose the hotel you want to stay in. Also, how do you know what is a “good” bid for a hotel? How would you like to get a 4 Star Hotel for $35? Duh…who wouldn’t! Well, the secret is a website called Bidding for Travel. The detailed instructions are below. Yeah, it looks complicated but it really isn’t. They whole process takes less than 5 minutes.

Let’s go through a sample for a Hotel in Dallas.

Step One: Visit biddingfortravel.yuku.com

Step Two: Scroll down to USA Hotel List and the City ( in this case Dallas ) or just click this link.

Step Three: Do some research – Near the top will be a link ( DALLAS HOTELS LIST (INCLUDING FORT WORTH) ). This will show you what hotel chains are in what geographical area and what their rating is ( 4-star, 3-star, etc.). This is key because you don’t get to choose what hotel you are going to get on Priceline.com but you can choose the amount of stars ( the higher the better ) so you can determine by looking at the list if you would accept one of the hotels listed in that area. For his demo we are looking to see what Hotels are in the Downtown Dallas area. We see that if our bid for a 4-star hotel in Dallas is accepted we should expect to either get the Westin City Center (formerly Le Meridien), Hyatt Regency, or the Fairmont Dallas. Each of these hotels would suit me just fine…just not at retail!

Step Four: More research – Now let’s see what other Priceline.com bids are being accepted. Back on this link you will see where people are posting their winning bids. Looking through this I see someone posted they got the 4* Galleria Westin 2/1-2/2 for $45! So, this should be the max we bid on Priceline.com. Searching more you can see some people paid more and some less.

Step Five: Go to Priceline.com, click the Hotel Tab, type in your city ( Dallas ) and the dates you want to stay. You will notice that you get a list of available hotels with RETAIL pricing. To the right of this screen is an ad where you can “Name Your Own Price”.  That is where we want to go.

Step Six: Now we are going to really save on Priceline.com. On the “Name Your Own Price” screen we are going to click the area we want to stay ( important! only check one box! ). We choose Downtown Dallas. Now, scroll down and choose the 4-star cuz we know the 3 hotels we are going to be choosing from rock!

Step Seven: Name Your Own Price. Getting nervous yet? You are about to get a sweet deal! The screen is now asking us to “Name Your Own Price”. They have a nice little suggestion there of $145 for our choice. WHAT-EVER! We know people have gotten this for $45 bucks! So, we got a choice to make. We can enter in $45 bucks and probably get the hotel or we can go lower and maybe get it. If you don’t get it you have to wait 72 hours before you can choose that location and star level again or you can choose another location ( remember we only clicked one box in step six ) and we can rebid.

That is a general overview. There are even more tweaks to this method available on the Bidding For Travel website like how to get free rebids. I recommend you read through that site and educate yourself on all the possibilities. This works great on Rental Cars and Airfare too! Some things to note. The reason you are getting a good deal on a hotel room is because these hotels would rather rent out the room for the night at a discounted rate than just let it sit empty. The closer you are to the date you are looking for the better chance you have to get it because the hotel is realizing they aren’t booked up yet.

Using this method I stayed right across from The Alamo in San Antonio in a 4-star hotel for $38/nite. The hotel’s website wanted $109 for the same room. Oh yeah, we also drove around in a luxury rental car for $8/day!

Please comment and let me know how this works out for you…or if you have any questions. Good luck!

What: Southwest Airlines Fare Sale
Where: Southwest.com
The Deal: $39 fares – Must book today or tomorrow ( 2/11/2010 )

Southwest Airlines is having a $39 sale for select markets and select flights throughout the USA. Most of the flights under 500 miles per leg are included. Travel must be booked by 2/11/2010 and completed between March 15 and May 25 2010.