Daily Deal

I cheered for the Los Angeles Kings in 1993. It was the year the Maple Leafs were supposed to win the Cup. Doug Gilmour appeared to have the will all his own to haul Toronto out of the cell of infamy they had been trapped in since last capturing a championship in 1967.

The team's captain set Toronto club records for points and assists in a season, was nominated for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, and won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. As the playoffs progressed and the Leafs took on the guise of a team destined to end a quarter-century of disaster, the city became a torrent of energy and enthusiasm. Everyone had a story about the run to the NHL semi-finals, whether it was a pair of tickets scored at the last minute or a serendipitous encounter with Wendel Clark outside of Maple Leaf Gardens.

I don't know about you but with every new season I feel the urge to update my wardrobe. Spring especially breeds this feeling, perhaps because I know it means pretty soon I won't be hiding my fashion concoctions under a coat.

A new wardrobe can mean big money but if you're simply adding to it with some accent pieces or the odd new staple, staying au courant in this age of fast fashion can be surprisingly cheap. Here are some affordable finds to stay on trend this spring:






RELATED LINKS:
Do it Yourself: What You Don't Need to Pay for This Spring
Get More Bang for Your Spring Cleaning Buck
Spring Cleaning: Seven Steps to Getting Your Financial House in Order

A generation ago, you were told to never leave home without your desired credit card. In the 21st century, you don't go on the road without a stash of travel apps at your fingertips. Apps are most often seen as tools to keep you organized (such as Apple's Passbook) or resources to keep you on track while in your destination (like city guide apps). Savvy travellers, however, are also taking advantage of apps and websites that can save you money while you plan your trip and when you're already on the road. Here are five travel apps to add to your smartphone (all are free and available on iPhone and Android devices like Google Play), and five websites we find indispensible when planning our next trips.

If you're a Boxing Day sales fan, then you're getting ready to brave the crowds or ensuring your Internet connection is strong for December 26.

Some stores have already started marking down their wares so you can get a good deal now. Here's what we've found so far. The list will be ongoing as more sales are announced.

This deal isn't so much a deal as it is free shipping, which can often be the deciding factor on hitting that checkout button. December 12th is free shipping day in Canada. That means for 24 hours, there's free shipping available from many retailers.

You can see the list here.

Some of the retailers include Roots, Sears, Sportchek, Helly Hansen and the SONY store. They promise delivery just in time for Christmas Eve.

Jordan Silverman has found the ultimate captive audience for his marketing company.

The 22-year-old, class of 2012 philosophy graduate from the University of Michigan was sitting on the toilet in 2009 reading his phone when it hit him: "I'd always been interested in advertising and I thought about how everyone reads in the bathroom," he says. "You're sitting there, doing nothing and it's the perfect place for advertising." So, in 2010, he founded Star Toilet Paper.

The company prints coupons from approximately 70 local businesses and franchises in Michigan, New York and North Carolina directly on your run of the mill, two-ply toilet paper and places them in public washrooms at no cost to the venue. "It's funny because when I first thought of the idea, we tried to go to Staples and all of these places because we just figured, 'Oh, just run the toilet paper through the printer like its paper.'"

The leaves are changing colour and the weather is turning chilly. Get ready to swap your footwear from sandals to comfortable booties to keep warm. SHOP.CA carries all the latest styles from Hunter, Ugg Australia, Zigi, and more!

Shop now for fall booties at SHOP.CA

Right now, I have 6,500 e-mails sitting in my inbox. A lot of these e-mails I need to keep, but a lot more are simply taking up space. Many of the 'weeds' in my inbox are made up of subscription e-mails that I just haven't gotten around to unsubscribing from.

When it comes down to it, I just don't have time to go through each one and unsubscribe... until now.

This is because I found Swizzle -- an online platform that searches through your inbox for every e-mail list you've ever subscribed to and then gives you a chance to either unsubscribe from each one with one click, or move them into a single digest e-mail.

When you're done, choose from a number of popular high profile brands, such as J. Crew, Home Depot, Patagonia and Nordstrom, and get daily deals from each in convenient daily digest e-mail.

The easy days of summer are fast behind us.

The weather's become a bit cooler and unpredictable and no longer can we throw on our shorts and sandals and get on with our day. It's never an easy task changing up a wardrobe in anticipation of a new (colder) season. In the last week alone I've overdressed and sweated through the warmer days, then underdressed and shivered through the cooler ones.

The key to fall fashion, I've been reminded, is to dress in layers. But just because you're wearing more clothes (and often in the fall the selections become less colourful), that doesn't mean you can't have some statement pieces to keep things lively. Here are some fun fall fashion finds for under $40.

SLIDESHOW: 5 FALL TRENDS FOR LESS THAN $40

Calling time-starved
and cash-strapped Canadian parents everywhere: there's a new way to shop for second-hand clothing that can only work in your favour.

Minitrade.ca is an online clothing exchange service for parents with kids ages 0-7 launching this week. Offering everything from clothes to Hallowe'en costumes, shoes and bathing suits, the Montreal-based service is offered across Canada and means you don't have to fight traffic or sort through racks and racks of clothing to find the good stuff.

Minitrade.ca's tag line is "Trading your kids clothing simply" and the service is meant to make quality, gently-used clothing available to parents who in turn have quality, gently-used clothing to give. Basically, once you send your children's used clothing to Minitrade, you'll earn shopping credits that will allow you to buy new and used clothing from the service's website. And shipping is free (unless you don't contribute clothing -- then shipping is free if you make a purchase of $50 or more).