Actress, author and bargainista Annie Korzen delighted us tonight with her bargain-hunting tales! Illustrated with slides of some of her finds (and one of her on the Seinfeld show), she shared tales and tips for finding bargains throughout your life.  Did you know. . .

• Restaurants.com often has great deals for restaurants in your zip code – like $2 for $25 certificates
• “Agritourism” trips can save you a bundle – stay on a working farm in Italy and eat your meals at the farm
• Bargain hunting is also “green” – recycle and reclaim the castoffs of others!
• The Free section of Craigslist and Freecycle are terrific sources
• Bartering works great for trading talent and skills, when you don’t want to “charge” a friend.

Here are a few other money-saving tips we learned tonight:

• Get the good stuff.  Designer wear for less will hold up well and can be resold too.
• If you can find expensive sunglasses for a deal, you can replace the lenses with prescription ones.
• Be careful with regifting.
• Asking “Can you do a little better?” is a nicer way to ask for a deal, instead of “I’ll give you (something less than asking)”.
• Spend money on the things that nourish your soul. Get a deal on the rest!

She also gave out a tip we’ll just call one of her secrets, because if you all knew it, well it wouldn’t be as much fun for the rest of us. We also got to enjoy a private shopping night at Rags Consignment (with a discount too!).

Want to learn more? Annie’s book, Bargain Junkie, is available at the Festival of Books and Culture at the Boulder JCC.

And that show that was mentioned? It’s called MadMen. Annie provides some of the vintage clothing that the fabulous women wear on this award-winning show. Start with Season 1 and work your way up (Season 4 just ended). Cocktail guide, video snippets and more on this fun site.