Groupon

If you haven't heard about it before, I highly recommend looking into Groupon.  Each day they publish a great deal in your community and/or online.  You can search by city so if you're planning a vacation, you can look it up.  Deals include restaurants, entertainment, spas, shopping, and more.

The basics on how Groupon works is that they advertise gift certificates or pre-paid offers on their site, often for half price or more.  As long as the minimum specified amount of people sign up for the offer, you will get it.  If not, your credit card will not be charged.  Groupon is able to offer consumers these great deals because they guarantee the businesses a minimum number of customers. It is also a form of advertisement for the business so they want to give you a deal to get you in and prove that you should return for future business.