Pressing pause for a while...

...so I can work on a book! (Don't worry, I have some parting deals to share...)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included herein are affiliate links (usually those in bold blue type), 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.

Hi there, hello! (That’s a nod to my favorite YouTube creator of all time, Ryan George. If you know, you know…)

An announcement: This is going to be the last issue of Deal Secrets for… a while. An explanation in three parts:

1. Amazon screwed me again

When will I learn? No sooner did I crow about getting back into Amazon’s affiliate program then I got booted out of it again. There was zero warning, no “you need to fix these things to be in compliance” e-mail. The boilerplate rejection letter made no sense.

I have some choice words for the company, but this being a family newsletter, I’ll just go with this:

The upshot: Amazon prohibits Substack creators from participating in its affiliate program. Dumb, dumb, dumb, because Substack is a legitimate, highly regarded, massively trafficked source. Facebook and Twitter are okay, but a newsletter with 10,000 verified subscribers is not?

What’s extra-sucky is that my account is not only deactivated, it’s deleted. I can’t access my dashboard, can’t look at past metrics, can’t try to remedy whatever violation I supposedly committed.

Whatever. I give up. I’m happy to share Amazon deals when they’re good, whether it puts a few pennies in my pocket or not, but right now I can’t do that without feeling bitter. And I don’t want to feel that way when I’m writing.

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2. Deals aren’t really deals when they’re always deals

I’ve been doing this deal thing for over 16 years, originally for CNET (as “The Cheapskate”) and now for nearly three years under the Deal Secrets banner. Along the way I’ve gotten pretty jaded, mostly because everything is on sale all the time. And that takes the specialness out it. It’s no longer, “Hey, guess what cool thing is on sale!” It’s, “Hey, that thing is on sale again.”

Indeed, looking over the past few months (and years) of newsletters, I see a fair number of repeats. I try hard to find new and different stuff to share, but very often the well seems dry. And I never want to grasp at deal straws, so to speak, just to fill the page.

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3. I need this time for another project

I’m not quite this old, but I may be by the time the book is done…

I don’t cough up these hairballs in five minutes; it usually takes a good 2-4 hours to write an issue of Deal Secrets. Most of that time is spent searching for things to write about, then researching to make sure they’re legitimately great and I haven’t covered them before (or at least not recently).

Here’s the thing: I have a book idea. And if I don’t fully commit to it, it’ll never happen. See, I write all day every day for Yahoo, which I love. But finding energy to write even more on a Saturday or Sunday? Challenging, to say the least.

Thus, I’ve decided to take those weekend hours I normally devote to Deal Secrets and devote them to the book instead. I’m a legendary procrastinator, and generally terrible at following through on projects and ideas. By pausing the newsletter and publicly announcing the start of this book, I hope to force myself into getting it done.

What’s it about? Pickleball, duh. 😂 I won’t say more for the moment, but rest assured when the time comes to share details, you’ll be the first to hear.

I’ll also send some one-off newsletters now and then, just to keep in touch.

Until then, I bid you a fond farewell, with endless gratitude and appreciation. It’s not goodbye; it’s see ya down the road.

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A few parting deals…

🖼️ See that image up above of the writer, typewriter, and pickleball? I created it in about 27 seconds using Google’s new ImageFX tool, which is pretty amazing and, for the moment, free. I’m already seeing way better results from it than I ever got from DALL-E, the better-known AI image-generator. Check it out and have fun!

🌮 This is going to seem weirdly specific but here goes: We’ve always shopped at Costco, not Sam’s Club, but I just bought a membership to the latter. Why? Costco sells a pan of take-and-bake enchiladas, which we really like, for about $23. Sam’s Club also sells one — for about $10! It’s roughly the same size, and I actually like it better than Costco’s. Who knew? Anyway, assuming we buy that once a month, in a year we’ll save $156 — more than covering the $25 cost of membership (which is 50% off, by the way).

🧑‍🎓 Amazon has long offered a free 6-month Prime subscription for college students, but now anyone between the ages of 18-24 can get that same extended trial. You just need to verify your age. After it ends, you can cancel or keep the subscription going for $7.49 per month (which is 50% off the regular price). Thanks to my daughter Sarah, aka Cheapskate Jr., for bringing this to my attention!

🏈 Not sure how to watch the Super Bowl? One option: Stream it on Paramount Plus. New subscribers can get free one-month trial of ad-free Paramount Plus with Showtime by applying promo code JUNE. (If you’re reading this on Sunday, Feb. 11, use code GOAT instead.)

📺 Speaking of streaming, there are two freebies you might not know about. First, an annual Walmart+ subscription ($89) includes free Paramount Plus Essential (a $72 value). And an annual Instacart+ subscription ($99) includes free Peacock (a $60 value). I’m a big fan of the latter for getting deliveries from the likes of Aldi and Costco; saves me a ton of shopping time. If you’ve never tried it, use this link to get anywhere from $10-$50 off your first Instacart order.

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OK, that’s it, my friends! Be well, stay safe, and remember: We’re all on the same team. The human team. Let’s be there for each other. 😍

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Thanks for reading Deal Secrets! Questions? Comments? Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook, or shoot me an e-mail. I’ll do my best to respond to all inquiries! Want to show your support? Buy me a coffee!