Cool Mommy Product Reviews

Buying in bulk or in a co-op isn’t a new idea. I’ve been part of a health food co-operative for years. Twenty or more of us join together to buy organic veggies, bulk rice or coffee and snacks a plenty. My cost conscious soul rejoices to be able to buy organic food (carrots, potatoes) at  prices equal to regular produce. Jasmine rice in bulk is less than its cheaper (and less tasty) tradtional long grain version in grocery stores. But a new trend, born of some evil genuis in marketing, has taken buying in bulk to a new level. 

Now you can buy in bulk, via internet sign-up,  entertainment, foods, jeans, golf, discount seats to sporting events,  and yes, even candy.  What makes this idea trendy? A deal is posted, with a given number of people needed to secure the price. If enough folks sign up, the deal is secured. Not enough to meet the requirements, the deal vanishes.  A caveot-  less packaging of hard items, thus saving on the environment.

And with the delightful entertainment offerings via “bulk or group buying”,  your family saves a bundle and gets to experience some great food, music or events at a greatly reduced price.

Take this one,  a “Golden Passport to New Englands Most Prestigious Golf Courses”. 

Here’s the deal, taken from one of the more popular Boston Bulk Buying Sites, “Buy With Me”:

Seriously, golf all summer and fall for just $150.

How often do you play golf? Whether it’s twice a year, or every other day, this is the greatest golf offer you’ll find anywhere.

For just $150, you’ll have exclusive access to some of New England’s most prestigious courses. That’s right, after the $150, this Golden Passport to New England Golf includes 25 free rounds of 18-holes at 25 different courses; with the packages designed to save you thousands.

But no one wants to play golf alone, right? Round up some of your best friends, because each course you play includes packages for between 2-4 people; and most include carts too. It’s the perfect chance to go out with some buddies, hit the links, and check out some courses you’ve never played before.

But act fast, because there are only a limited number of passports available. Click here for the complete list of courses and restrictions.

Twenty people are needed for this opportunity. 

One of those nasty issues with loving great clothing is the up-keep cost of dry cleaning. By virtue of a deal on Buy With Me, (Boston) you can save up to 88% of the cost on dry cleaning, with enough fellow souls enmasse that is. 

This trend is taking off in major cities, such as Chicago, Boston, Philedelphia, LA, etc.  It’s projected that smaller cities will soon  follow. Due to the economy,  dining is down, entertainment is suffering and deals such as these are flourishing.  It’s a great way to add value to your budget, take advantage of these group rates and network with others.

Here are some of the recent online bulk deals, offered from various cities:

The Denim Lounge- $50.00 buys $125.00

Healthworks, $19.00 for 24 Classes

Coupons, Finance, Health, Introduction, Travel boston, bulk buying, buy with me, candy, chicago, deals, dining, family, food, golf, grocery, group on, Travel

In my younger single days, I love to go to Club Med for a few days. In Asia, the minimum is 3D 2N. It is a wonderful way to relax. However, I always thought it is a much more suitable vacation spot for families with children. They offer great childcare facilities where the kids are entertained the whole time & they even learnt different kinds of sports. I heard from my friends the Club Med ski resorts are the best. Your kids are so exhausted when you get them for dinner that they eat so much, with great speed (many of you probably like to hear that) and they don’t fight over bedtime.

So, I have been waiting patiently for my youngest to turn 4 so that I can feel completely relaxed sending all of them off to the Club Med Mini Club. (I have my reasons for choosing 4 years old as a cutoff) Finally, I started looking and I spoke to the agent over the phone yesterday. My husband is always in favor of the idea. Boy, he had no idea how much it was going to cost. (We forgot that we were not living in Asia anymore)

My first choice dates were Dec 20 to 27, 2008. It costs a total of $12,460 for a family of 2 adults & 3 kids, excluding airfare. Using the Amex Platinum travel perks where you buy 1 ticket & get 1 free, our total airfare would be approximately $3300. Close to $16,000 for a weeks’ vacation ! GASP ! This would be our most expensive one so far.

Now, they only have Saturday to Saturday block & that means the kids will have to miss a few days of school anyway. SO, I decided to check out the other dates that has school holidays option.

Oct 4 to 11, 2008 $3,200 ******
Nov 22 to 29, 2008 $ 9,245
Feb 28 to Mar 7, 2009 $7,868
Apr 4 to 11, 2009 $9,245

***** Best Option

See, researching pays off. I don’t see why we can’t take our “year end” vacation a little earlier. I checked out the flights for Oct 4 & 11. The total airfare will cost approximately $2400 with the same Amex Platinum Travel Buy 1 get 1 free perk. The whole vacation will cost about $6000 – a whopping $10000 savings. No brainer.

Travel

Our family recently went to NYC for the weekend. My kids love NYC for some reasons – mostly because of the Musuem of Natural History & ToysRus. For me & my husband, we both love everything about NYC.

However, it can be a costly weekend because hotel rates are expensive – mostly $300 & above. We have gone to NYC at least once every year in the last 3 years. In Dec 2005, we stayed at a Woogo apartment at Times Square from Dec 24 to 31. I think it costs $200 + a night. That place was being renovated so quite a mess. Luckily our apartment was nice & renovated. It is right next to the Millennium Broadway and one block up is ToysRus. In the spring break of 2007, we stayed at Hampton Inn in Chelsea for approx $270 a night, including breakfast for 5. Great deal but room is small. This last trip taken from March 15 to 17, the deal gets even better. I found the Embassy Suites Hotel – near Battery Park for $169 including breakfast and evening cocktails ! Check out the link.

http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/hotels/specials.jhtml?ctyhocn=NYCNYES

I found the rates under “specials”. There is a whole list of different rate promotions – look for “travelzoo promotion”. Don’t worry, you don’t have to go to the zoo. They must have ran out of names to call the promotion. I checked www.travelzoo.com thinking that they might be doing a promotion together but it is not featured on their front page of travelzoo deals for NYC.

We stayed at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Maui in Oct 2004 and remembered that they have rooms that fitted out budget and met our needs. Hence, I googled it for NYC and I was so surprised to find such a good deal.

The hotel is only 8 years old, and was shut down for 6 mths following 9/11. The rooms are new, big and have a separate living room with a pull out sofa. Two tvs – one in the living room & one in the adjoining bedroom. Your kids can watch their TV program and you can have privacy. Service is great too. Parking is $65 per day – a little more than the midtown garages (usually around $45 a day) but hey, with that kind of room rates, it does not matter. Our 2 nights ended costing us a $556.83. (including city tax, NY state tax, occupancy tax & internet access). I was so thrilled of the savings I treated myself to a pair of Gucci shoes and an evening bag from Lauren Merkin.

The hotel was very busy and breakfast was crowded. However, the service was efficient and you do not have to wait for long for your “cooked to order” eggs (a feature of Embassy suite Hotel) and a table. We didn’t go to the evening cocktails but I heard they welcome kids.

Enough said – hurry – the promotion end April 9 !

Travel