I tried sleep masks priced at $3, $14, and $24. Guess which one was best?
PLUS: A new cashback service will give you $20 to blow on anything. ALSO: Three kitchen tools I seriously love, starting at just $7.
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included herein are affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase via one of them, I may get a small commission. I promise you, now and forever, that I won’t choose deals based on whether there’s an affiliate option available.
Happy Saturday, everyone! If you’re breaking out the buns for Memorial Day weekend, might I suggest an alternative to burgers? Recently Mrs. Cheapskate and I tried this Ultimate Sloppy Joes recipe, and OMG I can’t stop thinking about it. My only complaint is that our dinner guests left us no leftovers. (Thanks for nothing, kids!)
Anyway, here’s hoping you’re able to spend this weekend enjoying some sunshine, relaxation, and great company. ☀️🏖️🧑🤝🧑
QUICK HITS
🍳 3 MUST-HAVE KITCHEN ITEMS: While preparing the aforementioned Sloppy Joes, I was reminded of three kitchen items I rely on almost daily, and have done for years.
These silicone kitchen stove gap covers ($6.97 for two) keep crumbs and other unwanted stuff from slipping between the stove/counter cracks.
These silicone tongs ($9.99 for three) are ridiculously useful for everything from tossing pasta to grabbing a pizza out of the oven. Three colors, three sizes, 10 bucks. No-brainer.
These large silicone spoons ($13.99 for two) are so much better than either wood spoons or those cheap black-plastic ones that seem to disintegrate after a few uses. My wonderful Aunt Judy gave us one of these years and years ago and it’s still going strong.
What are your kitchen must-haves? Leave a comment below!
🚗 SAVE ON GAS: Road-tripping this summer? To make sure you’re always getting the best price on gas, fire up the Google Maps app and search for — you guessed it — “gas.” You’ll see not only the nearest filling stations, but also the current price per gallon.
📱 SAVE ON PHONES: Last week I mentioned I wasn’t a fan of refurbished phones, but I didn’t say why: The battery. I think half the reason most people seek out new phones is to get a fresh one. That said, I heard from many readers who purchased refurbs from sites like Back Market and Swappa and were very happy with them. And because both services list phones’ battery health, there are no surprises. While I’m still partial to new, you can definitely save a lot by going the refurb route.
🍿 WATCH A CLASSIC COMEDY FOR FREE: If you’ve never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I envy you! Because you’re about to watch one of the great comedies of all time — and for free on Kanopy, a service that’s available through many (if not most) public libraries. Oh, and while you’re there, you can also stream the first five Mission: Impossible movies — also free. Also commercial-free.
Get $20 cash back when you sign up for new cashback service ShopBack
This is your quarterly reminder to always use at least one cashback option when you shop online. I say at least one because there may be times when you can double-dip, like when I recently booked a tour for an upcoming vacation.
The booking was through Viator, and because I regularly use Rakuten, I was able to get a 10% discount (in the form of cash back). But, wait, there’s more: My two credit cards, Chase and Amex, have monthly cash-back offers of their own. So before I make any medium/large purchase, I check their respective apps to see if there’s a match. Sure enough, Amex was offering $25 back when you spend $250 or more at Viator:
(These offers are ridiculously easy to use, too: You just tap to “activate” them, then they’re automatically applied when you use that card to buy whatever the thing is. Boom, done.)
Ultimately, I received 10% back on the full price of the tour, plus another $25. Time spent: about two minutes.
Which brings us to ShopBack, a cashback service that’s huge in Europe and Asia but new to the U.S. Right now, you can get a $20 cashback bonus when you sign up and spend at least $5. That’s basically free money, though take note that you’ll need a PayPal account in order to receive your payout. (Also note that that’s my referral link; you’re in no way obligated to use it, but it does net me a bonus as well.)
ShopBack currently has about 2,000 stores in its roster, some with higher cashback percentages than Rakuten, some with lower. My advice: comparison-shop! Before you order, say, that new pair of jeans from Old Navy, see which service has the better payout. (At this writing, it’s ShopBack by a mile: 15% back, versus just 2% at Rakuten. But with my Viator purchase it was the other way around!)
By the way, if you’re not currently a Rakuten user, that service will give you $30 back when you spend $30. More free money. Take advantage of both offers and that’s $50 to play with. Not too shabby.
My sleep-mask experiment: I tested $3, $15, and $24 products and this was the result
I’m tired of being tired all the time, so I’ve decided to start getting serious about my sleep. Quality, duration, routine, all that stuff. (Irony alert: Poor sleep has been linked to dementia, which is one more thing to lay in bed worrying about instead of sleeping.)
I know from past experience that I tend to sleep a little better when I’m wearing earplugs, but I never thought about plugging my eyes — i.e., wearing a sleep mask. It’s reasonably dark in my bedroom; why would I need a mask?
Turns out there’s dark and there’s dark. Apparently the brain likes pitch-black, and there’s always bit of light bleeding in from the windows, phone-charging LEDs, etc.
I already own a sleep mask, but it’s uncomfortable: The straps dig into the tops of my ears, and the mask itself is so puffy that I feel it when I lay on my side (which is most of the night). Thus, I decided to shop for something better, and was surprised by the array of choices — and prices.
Here’s what I bought:
LKY Digital Sleep Mask 3-pack ($9.99, or $3.33 each)
Waoaw Sleep Mask ($14.43)
Fishers Finery 25 Momme Sleep Mask ($23.99)
One would think the Fishers Finery mask, which is made of delightfully soft silk, would be the best. Surprise: It was my least-favorite, mostly because of its weirdly designed strap, which necessarily rests directly on the outsides of your ears. Didn’t like that. It also didn’t do a good job of blocking all light; a sliver seeped in from the bottom.
The winner, for me, was the Waoaw mask, which was the most comfortable when I lay on my side and did the best job blocking all light.
However, that 3-pack? Surprisingly good. A close second. And you can’t beat the price.
If you have any thoughts on sleep masks or other ways to improve your slumber, share them in the comments!
PLAYLIST
I’m an unabashed grammar nerd; on any given day, you might see me wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with “Peace, love, and the Oxford comma” or “Synonym rolls, just like grammar used to make.”
(Fine. I’m just a nerd.)
If you share even a little of my love for language, or you just like a good documentary, check out Rebel with a Clause. It’s not currently available for streaming, but rather “on tour” in a handful of cities. (Streaming will hopefully happen sometime in the future.)
Full disclosure: I’ve yet to see it myself. But my sister caught it here in Michigan a couple months ago, and rarely have I seen her so enthusiastic about anything. (Well, anything English-related.) Much the same way I will not shut up about John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies, she will not shut up about this movie — and that makes it number-one on my must-see list. (If I have to travel to Wilmington, DE, for a screening, so be it.)
If you missed the Google Veo 3 introduction this week, watch the following video for a glimpse at what AI can now create. It’s both remarkable and terrifying. The film industry may be doomed. Even worse, we’ve crossed the threshold of being able to determine what’s real and what’s not. If you need me, I’ll be under the covers. (Oh, who am I kidding, I was already under there.)
Thanks for reading Deal Secrets! Questions? Comments? Shoot me an e-mail. I’ll do my best to respond to all inquiries! Want to show your support? Buy me a coffee!
There's also my book: Everything I Need to Know, I Learned Playing Pickleball. And check out my curated book list at Bookshop.org, which donates to local bookstores with every purchase.
Hey Rick! Another great episode. Thank You for your great newsletters. It’s remarkable how much that you can include in your email. Every issue gives me a wide range of thoughts/ideas and products. Keep it up!
Thanks for these wonderful newsletters, Rick. Perfect timing on the sleep masks! I've been dissatisfied with mine and ready to try another.
One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is one of those can openers that cuts around the outside of the can lid instead of into the top. No contact between the contents and the surface of the lid or with any part of the opener (no contamination, no cleanup); plus: no sharp edges! it even has a grabber to lift the lid away. There was a brief learning curve, but I can't go back to "normal" can openers now. Here's one example (not the one I have): https://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Safety-Smooth-Opener/dp/B000I7GST2/
I found my current iPhone on Swappa. I'm happy with it but it was a long, sometimes frustrating process, and along the way I encountered a seller that ghosted both me AND Swappa, and learned that Swappa has looser rules for commercial volume resellers than for individuals. I suggest looking for individuals selling recent models after an upgrade, reading between the lines, and asking questions (Swappa makes that easy).