Update: This offer is sold out/expired. I expect some sort of similar short-term deal to pop up again before April 15th.

The benefit of “old-school” desktop tax software is that it doesn’t require your Social Security Number and financial details to be stored in the “cloud” at at time when everything is being hacked. Here’s a limited-time deal on TurboTax 2018 that includes a $10 Amazon gift card. That brings it down to an effective net price of $29.99 for TurboTax Deluxe Fed/State and $44.99 for Premier Fed/State. Found via SD.

TurboTax 2018 Tax Software (Deluxe) $29.99

• PC Download w/ $10 Amazon Gift Card
• Mac Download w/ $10 Amazon Gift Card

TurboTax 2018 Tax Software (Deluxe + State) $39.99

• PC Download w/ $10 Amazon Gift Card
• Mac Download w/ $10 Amazon Gift Card

TurboTax 2018 Tax Software (Premier + State) $54.99

• PC Download w/ $10 Amazon Gift Card
• Mac Download w/ $10 Amazon Gift Card

TurboTax is rarely cheaper than this, and I like TurboTax for their wide list of 1099-B import partners that can save you the time and effort of manually entering lots of tax lots for stock or ETF sales.

TurboTax Deluxe is recommended if you own your own home, donated to charity, have significant education or medical expenses, have child-related expenses or have a lot of deductions. Deluxe lets you enter stock sales manually, but TurboTax Premier includes “additional help” on stock sales and capital gains taxes and also includes guidance on rental properties. Home & Business includes guidance for the self-employed or small business owners, including the creation of 1099s. (If you just have a couple of 1099-MISC forms to report, you don’t need Home & Business.)

Keep in mind that for these products 5 Federal e-Files are included but State e-File is extra ($19.99 per state). I would personally just print the (usually shorter) state return out and snail mail it in if you don’t have a free State e-File option.

ETA (Executive Travel App) is an app that scans your calendar to automatically suggest travel options (hotels, flights, Uber) based on your calendar and personal travel preferences.

They still have a new user offer of 3,000 United or American miles when you are referred by a friend and you book your first $300+ trip with ETA (hotels, flights, or car rentals). The referred person also gets 3,000 miles. That is my referral link if you wish to use it, thanks if you do.

If you already signed up previously, they are offering existing users 1,000 United or American Airlines miles after you book a hotel/flight/rental car reservation of $300+ value through their app. You get 1,000 miles for every $300+ booking, up to 30,000 miles total. You must make the booking by December 31st, 2018, and you get the miles when you complete the trip. Full terms.

Seems worth a shot if you compare prices and it’s the same price or less on the ETA app.

Movies Anywhere is running an anniversary promotion where you can get three free streaming movies for syncing two more accounts. The Martian, Happy Feet, and Fast and Furious 8. You can even get these free titles if you already have a 5 (add 1 more) or 6 (the max unless you have Xfinity) synced accounts. Note that the new links must occur by 11:59pm PST ON 12/27/18 to qualify. Details:

* Movies Anywhere users with four or less synced Digital Retailers as of 11 am PST on 11/07/18 must sync for the first time with one participating Digital Retailer to receive Happy Feet (2006, HD). Syncing for the first time with a second participating Digital Retailer required to receive The Martian (2015, HD) and The Fate of the Furious (2017, HD). Movies Anywhere users who have five synced Digital Retailers as of 11 am PST on 11/07/18 and sync for the first time with one additional participating Digital Retailer will receive all three eligible titles. ALL SYNCING MUST OCCUR BEFORE 11:59 PM PST ON 12/27/18. Users who have or had six synced Digital Retailers at any time between 10/10/17 and 11 am PST on 11/07/18 will receive a non-transferrable digital code with further instructions via their Movies Anywhere registered email, which can be redeemed for all three eligible titles.

Here’s another quick Starbucks deal. Buy a $25 Starbucks Digital Gift Card (email delivery) and get a free $5 Amazon credit with the promo code SBUX. You should see the code accepted at checkout. Promo Credit is valid through and expires on February 15, 2019, 11:50 PM (PT). Limit one Promo Credit per customer/primary email address.

For a limited time, get a $5 Amazon promo credit when you buy at least $25 of select Starbucks Digital Gift Cards offered by ACI Gift Cards Inc., an Amazon company. Enter the code SBUX at checkout to receive special offer. One per customer. Enter code SBUX at checkout.

I was flipping through my Car and Driver magazine when I came across Why Getting Paid $50 to Test Drive a New Car Is Easier Than It Looks. Car manufacturers have offered gift cards for test drives off and on for years. I once test drove a Maserati and got a bunch of free Omaha steaks as well.

Yes, all you really have to do is walk in the dealership. Nearly every salesperson will simply let you have the gift card without a test drive if you tell them honestly that you just want the gift card. It’s simply the smartest use of their time. That’s exactly what the Car and Driver journalist found when he signed up for the Hyundai test drive offer. Right now, you can get a free $50 Visa prepaid card, $50 Amazon gift certificate, or $50 Target Gift Card.

The most interesting part of the article was these numbers from Hyundai:

Dean Evans, Hyundai Motor America’s chief marketing officer, says the gift-card offer has driven about 175,000 people to Hyundai dealerships. “We have been doing the program now nationally for about a year and a half. [It has] sold 76,000 cars. And we’ve had 500,000 people fill out the forms on in-market websites.”

Let’s crunch those numbers. 500,000 people provided Hyundai with their personal information (to be used for future marketing). 175,000 of those actually showed up in the dealership (and presumably got their $50.) The other 325,000 got nothing, but still gave up their info. 76,000 cars were sold as a result. That works out to $115 per sold car, plus they now have a huge marketing list for the future. Hey, that IS a good ROI compared to traditional advertising.

I think this is working out for Hyundai because their new cars appear a lot nicer in person than you might think and are significantly cheaper than the competing models from Hondas and Toyota. They just need to give people a little nudge to get in the door. I don’t think this is as likely to work out for “respected” brands like Audi or even Toyota. (You could argue about what corners are quietly being cut to get to that lower price – their Consumer Reports reliability ratings are lower than Toyota but higher than Nissan and Honda.)

Bottom line. If you are shopping around for a car, many places are offering $50 or more for a simple test drive. You really do get the free stuff just for walking into the dealership. But be careful, apparently nearly half of people who walk in for a free gift card, walk out with a new Hyundai!

Back again through 12/20. Here’s another Starbucks caffeine promo. Buy a $10+ Starbucks eGift Card with Masterpass, get a free $5 Starbuck eGift card. Masterpass is the online checkout system for Mastercard (like Visa and Visa Checkout).

Offer good through 12/20/18 or while supplies last. Limit 1 promotional eGift per person. Usually my wife and I both send each other a gift… If they run out of free codes, they usually will take down the offer page. However, if you’re interested I’d take advantage of this offer as soon as possible. Full terms.

You should see both the $10 gift card and bonus $5 gift card at checkout, while the total should be $10. If you see the Capital One Masterpass option only and your Mastercard is not with them, look for a link on the bottom labeled “Change Your Wallet”. Alternatively, try the process again in a new Incognito/Private window.

Amazon has a $5 off $20+ of print book purchases with promo code GIFTBOOK18. Can be one book or multiple. Offer expires at 11:59pm Pacific on December 21, 2018. Must be sold by Amazon.com. Here are some newer books that are on my to-read list. I’m on somewhat of a memoir kick.

• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear.
• Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover.
• Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rimes.
• The Magnolia Story by Joanna and Chip Gaines.
• Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff by Chip Gaines.
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat.

Here are my standard suggestions for those looking to gift a financially-related book:

• If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly by William J. Bernstein. A short primer on personal finance with a focus on investing.
• The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. Short and very easy to read. Teaches the merits of living below your means and investing the rest for the future.
• Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. A good starter book on breaking out of the earn-spend cycle and regaining control of your life. A first step down the path to early or semi-retirement.
• Work Less, Live More: The Way to Semi-Retirement by Robert Clyatt. More explorations into the idea of an earlier, more gradual retirement that balances work and other interests.

A friend of ours told us about the Colorado Ski Passport that lets 5th and graders from any state ski for free at several Colorado resorts, and I thought that was a great concept to promote this fun outdoor activity. If you can get even a single free lift ticket (and possibly even a free lesson with rentals), that can be a big savings these days. This led me to more digging and I found that several other states have similar programs.

I tried to find all of the state-wide programs and listed them below. I am excluding single-resort promotions, but many resorts do have family or kid specials where you get discounts if you stay for a certain number of hotel nights, etc.

Canada

• Epic Schoolkids Pass Whistler Blackcomb (Kindergarten through 5th graders in Canada)

Colorado

• Colorado Ski Passport (5th and 6th graders from ANY state)
• Epic Schoolkids Pass Colorado (Kindergarten through 5th graders in Colorado)

Idaho

• Ski Idaho 5th & 6th Grade Peak Season Passport (5th and 6th graders from ANY state)
• NW Rockies 5th Grade Ski Free Passport (5th graders from ANY state)

Maine

• Winterkids App (Annual membership is $35 for a family of 5 and includes “generous discounts” to kids 18 and under” in Maine and New Hampshire)

Michigan

• “Cold is Cool” Fourth & Fifth Grade Ski & Ride Passport (4th and 5th graders from Michigan)

Minnesota

• Minnesota Ski Areas 4th Grade Passport (4th graders, unsure if limited to MN residents)

New Hampshire

• Ski New Hampshire 4th & 5th Grade Snowsports Passport (4th and 5th graders from ANY state)
• Winterkids App (Annual membership is $35 for a family of 5 and includes “generous discounts” to kids 18 and under” in Maine and New Hampshire)

New York

• I SKI NY Free for Kids Passport (3rd and 4th graders from ANY state)

Pennsylvania

• SKI PA 4th and 5th Grade Snowpass (4th and 5th graders from ANY state)

Utah

• Ski Utah 5th & 6th Grade Passport (5th and 6th graders from ANY state)
• Epic Schoolkids Pass Colorado (Kindergarten through 5th graders in Colorado)

Vermont

• Ski Vermont 5th Grade Passport (5th graders from ANY state)

Washington

• NW Rockies 5th Grade Ski Free Passport Program (5th graders from ANY state)
• Epic Schoolkids Pass Whistler Blackcomb (Kindergarten through 5th graders in Washington)

Some programs do have capacity limitations and/or strict deadlines. If you know of any that I have missed, please let me know in the comments.

Update: This offer has expired.

Expedia has a new coupon code THANKYOU which will get you $30 off $40+ in experiences booked through Expedia Activities. Officially it expires 12/31/18, but it will probably end early, and your activity has to occur by 12/31/18 anyway.

“Buy experiences, not things!” Well, you can book a lot of experiences on travel portals these days. Disney and Universal are excluded, but there are a lot of options in nearly every city. Here are some examples:

• Zoo tickets
• Escape Rooms
• Legoland
• Six Flags
• Seaworld
• Hop on Hop off Bus Tours
• Fishing, Boat, Segway, or Helicopter Tours
• Dinner Shows

How to use your coupon code:

During the booking process, on the payment page you will see the link ”Enter coupon code” where you can enter the coupon code.
Enter the coupon code in the relevant field and then click the “Apply Coupon” button. If your booking is eligible, the applicable discount will be subtracted from the price of the travel reservation before the application of any taxes, applicable fees or additional costs.

If you like to send out holiday greeting cards, I thought I’d throw out a quick tip that Mrs. MMB uses each year to save a bit of money.

First, you can buy a custom digital design off of Etsy. Search for some combination of “photo Christmas card” or “holiday card template” and look for a design that you like. The prices and inclusions can vary, so click around. Ideally, you’ll find a template where you can customize both sides to your liking. For example, a Minted or Shutterfly template might force you to put exactly 3 pictures on the back. On Etsy, you can put 4, 5, or 6 if you want. If you have Photoshop skills, those are usually the cheapest, sometimes less than $5. You can usually opt to pay a few bucks more and they will edit it for you and provide a ready-to-go file. All-in cost: under $20.

Second, upload the digital file to Costco Premium printing at $0.69 each. Costco used to only do the cheaper “Photo Greeting Cards” that are basically just one-sided photos with nothing on the back, but now they do “Premium Stationery Greeting Cards” on heavyweight 5×7″ stock. (Some of their other stuff looks identical to Snapfish, so maybe these are outsourced to Snapfish as well?) However, their template options are still relatively limited. Note that the following is included in the $34.50 for 50 cards price ($0.69 each).

• Free rounded corners
• Free envelopes pre-printed with return address

If you compare to a site like Minted.com, their basic 5×7 card costs $167 for 100 cards ($1.67 each). On top of that, you would get charged additional for the following:

• Rounded corners +$35
• Envelopes pre-printed with return address +$45

That makes the total cost $247 for 100 cards ($2.47 each). There are usually some coupons, for example the Cyber Monday deal was 25% off, which would bring the price down to $185 for $100 ($1.85 each). Compared to Etsy + Costco, that’s still roughly a $100 price difference for every 100 cards.

Obviously there are even cheaper options (like not sending out cards or handwritten cards) but these types of cards are rather popular. I like this option because it’s actually more customized at less cost.

* Remember that you can save a bit extra on your Etsy purchases (or Minted, or many other sites) with cashback shopping sites like TopCashBack, eBates ($10 new user bonus after any $25+ purchase, $5 mininum cash-out), Mr. Rebates ($5 new user bonus, $10 minimum cash-out), and BeFrugal.com ($5 new user bonus).