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Last-minute gift: A $50 iTunes gift card for $40

No shipping, no sales tax, just an electronically delivered great deal. Plus: a 46-inch HDTV for under $400!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read
Walmart

Well, folks, that wraps up another year for the Cheapskate. (Actually, I may have a deal or two for you next week, but mostly I'm planning some much-needed battery recharging.)

I want to wish everyone a safe and exciting holiday, and a happy and healthy new year. Wish I could join all of you for some latkes and eggnog!

What I can do is offer you one last pre-holiday deal--something that arrives almost instantly via e-mail. Wal-Mart is offering a $50 iTunes gift card for $40. No sales tax, and no shipping charge!

It's pretty rare to see deals on iTunes cards, let alone a 20 percent discount. If you're giving this as a gift, you get to look like a big shot while secretly remaining a cheapskate. Mwa ha ha.

iTunes, of course, is home to all manner of media goodies: music, movies, TV shows, apps, e-books, audiobooks, and so on. For iDevice users in particular, it's usually the first stop for all this stuff.

The gift card is delivered via e-mail, usually "within minutes," according to Wal-Mart. Note that if you want to send it to someone else, you'll need to wait until you receive your PIN, then log in to Wal-Mart's e-delivery site.

I don't know if Wal-Mart has limited "stock," but I do know this won't last indefinitely; there was a $25-card-for-$20 deal earlier this week, but it's now expired. As always, if you want in, act fast!

Once again, have a wonderful holiday, and I'll see you next year! (Or possibly a little next week, if you're around.)

Bonus deal: Yesterday's $199 32-inch HDTV was a great deal, but too small a screen for some shoppers. Well, here's an equally great deal on a significantly larger set: Best Buy has the Dynex DX-46L262A12 46-inch HDTV for $399.99 shipped, plus sales tax. (I shudder to think of what I spent on a 46-inch TV just a few years ago.) The only real downside? Just two HDMI inputs. Come on, Dynex, we need at least three.

Bonus deal No. 2: Earlier this month I wrote about the $19/month Android phone from Republic Wireless. There was a string attached--namely, it wasn't really unlimited service--but the company just dropped its usage-threshold stipulation. In other words, you now get truly unlimited voice, texting, and data for $19 per month. Game-changer! I'll have more on the story later today over at Android Atlas.