Who doesn’t love a good bargain?

As a kid, I had fun accompanying my mother to garage sales to hunt for treasures. In recent years, I have found some great deals by haunting the half-price specials and online auctions offered by various radio and TV stations, and some newspapers.

For example, a friend and I each got a year-long couple’s gym membership – including all the classes – last fall for just $100 from an online auction sponsored by a radio station. (Never mind that our husbands only stepped inside the place once; my friend and I have enjoyed going together!) When I wanted to take my daughter to get her hair done for a graduation treat, I found half-price certificates online for my favorite salon. I even collected money from her volleyball team to buy pedicures (at half price) for her coaches at the end of the season.

I just heard there’s a great new place to look for half-price deals – in our email inboxes. If you register at http://orlando.odealsdaily.com/ (it’s free and they don’t sell your email address), you will get a daily email offering a limited number of half-price certificates for one restaurant, spa, club, hotel, golf course, or entertainment attraction in the Orlando area. And this is cool – if you refer the deal to three friends who choose to buy it too, you get yours free!

When you buy that day’s deal, you will receive a confirmation number and a link to print your certificate. You can use it for dinner that night!

There’s no advance notice of what deals will be offered, so you’ll want to check your email each day to see what’s new. I like that you don’t have to remember to visit a certain Web site to see what the deal is, since it comes right to our email account.

While it would be nice to know what’s coming up, the mystery makes it kind of fun. And getting a deal always inspires me to try some new place that I might not have planned to visit, or return to a favorite. Somehow, when I get a bargain, I am always a little more adventurous and willing to take a chance.

I wonder what will be in my inbox tomorrow? I hope it’s for a restaurant, because I don’t feel like cooking.

As a mom, I’m always looking for that alternative to the burger, fries and chicken nuggets that seem to creep into my children’s diet – and hence, mine – on an altogether too-regular basis.

Let’s face it, the food is inexpensive – especially if you buy from the dollar menus – and the whole family can eat for about $25.

But, my friends, I’m here to tell you there is a better way.

If you check out the half-price gift certificate sites online, and are able and willing to pounce when the right offer comes along, you can find some great deals for restaurants your family will enjoy and still eat out for about $25 – without a golden arch in sight.

At http://cincinnati.halfoffdeals.com/, we’ve found some great deals for some fun places. Rooster’s Award-Winning Wings and Paxton’s Grill, in the historic Loveland district, both offered $25 gift certificates for just $12.50.

Or ditch the children with a friend or babysitter for an evening, and treat your husband to some adult conversation at Sammy’s Gourmet Burgers and Beers in Blue Ash — $12.50 for $25 worth of food and drink. Not that children aren’t welcome, because the place is family-friendly despite the full bar, but I wouldn’t want to have to share my garlic parmesan bottle-cut fries with them.

If you visit http://cincinnati.halfoffdeals.com/, you can sign up to receive one email each day offering a new half-price deal. You have to purchase the deal that day, because a new offer comes along the next day, but you get a link to print out your own certificate – no shipping and handling charges! – and can use it the same day.

And ladies – there’s more than restaurants on this site. La Bella Salon & Spa was recently offered too — $25 for a $50 certificate for use on hair, nail or spa services. If I can get my hair done at a glitzy salon for about the same as I would spend in the shopping plaza storefront, trust me, I will! They’ve also had $25 certificates good toward golf and cart at Aston Oaks Golf Club for $12.50…so there’s something for everybody.

It’s a good excuse to try some new places, and maybe break out of the kids-meal rut.