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While we didn’t have a NCAA tournament pool here at the PennySaverUSA offices, we recognize how popular filling out the brackets is across the nation. As a result we’ve decided to have some fun and put everyone who fills out a bracket into a particular category.

Don't worry, filling out a bracket doens't require any actual basketball skill.

Which one do you fit in? Let us know in the comments …

The Expert: This is the hardcore college basketball fan. They watch hundreds of games each year and study up on each team as soon as the brackets are revealed on Selection Sunday. They are convinced their in-depth analysis and deep knowledge of basketball will give them some kind of edge. Inevitably, they are almost always proven wrong. All it takes is some 5-foot-7 kid from Northern Iowa who has barely played all season to come off the bench and hit five 3-pointers and knock off a heavy favorite, and all that “expertise” goes to waste.

The Poser: They act like they know so much about college basketball and love to toss around names, but in reality they haven’t even watched more than a handful of games all year. This person tends to come up with all sorts of complicated theories as to why they picked the brackets the way they did. You can always tell this person, because they try to avoid the hardcore basketball fans for fear of being exposed and instead choose to show off their limited knowledge to the much more casual fans.

The Casual Fan: They know the difference between a 16-seed and a 1-seed and are familiar with the very best players and most famous coaches, but they haven’t followed too closely and don’t pretend like they have, either. They might watch a preview show or two and listen to Dick Vitale yell “Awesome Baby” and make his picks, but they just fill out the brackets for fun and make educated guesses.

The Homer: If the hometown team is involved in the tournament, this person is extremely pumped up. They know everything about their favorite school and follow it religiously, but are generally clueless about the rest of the tournament field. They pick their favorite to win it all in the brackets and ride or die with that particular team. If (once) that team gets eliminated, however, they tend to lose interest and start on their spring cleaning.

The Front-Runner: Whoever is picked by the majority of the sports media is this person’s pick to win it all. They generally fill out their brackets by choosing the chalk all the way through and they hate the underdog story. They tend to dismiss any school that doesn’t have brand name recognition and love seeing the favorites roll. This person usually roots for either Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky or Kansas.

The Non-Conformist: This person just LOVES to pick upsets. Not necessarily because they even wants the underdog to win, but just because they love doing the opposite of whatever is the conventional wisdom. When one of their surprise picks pans out, they will likely boast about how they outsmarted the masses. Then you can just point out to them the 20 picks they got wrong and the gloating should end.

The Schemer: This person tries to apply mathematical principles or come up with some formula that they claim is a full-proof way of getting the most picks correct. It might seem to work for a while like the “Moneyball” principles did for the Oakland A’s, but just like that team fell short, this scheme likely will as well. Of course, there is always the chance your story will be made into a movie with Brad Pitt.

The Novice: They have no clue about college basketball, don’t really give a darn about the NCAA tournament and pick teams based off of ridiculous concepts like which mascot is scarier or which uniform is more fashionable. Be very, very afraid of this particular bracket picker. More often than not, they wind up winning the whole thing, and mock everyone else in their pool in the process.

First of all: Happy New Year to all the PennySaverUSA blog readers!

Since Monday was a holiday, Save Money Monday comes a bit late this week. That’s okay, though, because we’ve got something really special for you today.

Usually in Save Money Monday, we focus on the most effective couponing methods, but there are many different ways to save money. One of the best is by going to garage sales and buying quality used items at a fantastic price.

Thankfully, the days of having to drive around aimlessly in search of garage sale signs are over. PennySaverUSA has a new mobile garage sale app, called MOGASA, available for download from iPhone or Android that allows you to find and get directions for garage sales anywhere in the United States. You can also advertise your garage sales on the app just by registering.

The best part … the app is completely free!

With thousands of nationwide listings, MOGASA is a must-have mobile resource for garage sale enthusiasts. And if you are interested in saving money, and aren’t one yet, it would behoove you to quickly become a garage sale enthusiast.

Whether you are in need of home decorating items, tools, clothes, toys, collectibles, furniture, or just about anything; a garage sale is an excellent place to search for the items you need without spending much money.

Save Money Monday will return to it’s regularly scheduled time slot next week and resume tips and ideas for couponing, but every Tuesday, PennySaverUSA will dedicate the PennySaverUSA blog to MOGASA with tips and ideas for going garage sale hunting.

The last Steals of the Week installment of 2011 is dedicated to all the parents or soon-to-be parents of young children out there. The focus is on discounted kid stuff.

Traditionally, we highlight five PennySaverUSA online classifieds ads in Steals of the Week, but this time around we are going to blend three amazing offers for kid stuff from our daily deal site SaverTime.com, with two online classified ads.

Leading off Steals of the Week is a truly unique and memorable SaverTime offer from a company in Tustin, CA. Bundle of Joy 3D-4D Ultrasound Services is offering a package deal that includes a 45-minute ultrasound session, 10 black and white 2D photos, 6 3D color pictures, gender determination (if you wish), baby heartbeat listening, a CD with up to 80 pictures in 2D & 3D, and 30-minute DVD set to music for only $100. That’s a 50% off discount from the regular price!

The next Steals of the Week kid stuff entry is also via SaverTime and comes from a company called Rockabye. For only $35, you can get a $100 gift certificate to use towards any of the 15 different adorable children’s rockers they have for sale. Even better: This is an online deal, so it’s available to anyone nationwide.

SaverTime’s third Steals of the Week kid stuff offer is provided by Bungalow Bebe Inc. With this SaverTime deal, you can get $60 worth of organic cotton children’s clothing for only $30. Your baby deserves only the finest materials, after all. This deal is also available nationwide.

We now transition back to PennySaverUSA online classifieds for our final two Steals of the Week kid stuff items. The first one is an Eddie Bauer Travel System  stroller and car seat set for sale in Sun City, CA for only $100 (or best offer). The seller claims it is very clean and was barely used.

Steals of the Week concludes with none other than an oversized Elmo doll. It’s soft, plush, authentic and adorable says the seller from Palmdale, CA and it can be had for only $20!

Have you seen any awesome Steals of the Week recently? Please let us know in the comments.

What better way to start off the New Year than by rescuing one of the sweetest puppies you’ll ever come across! PennySaverUSA’s final 2011 Pet of the Week up for adoption comes to us from Stockton, CA.

Call the Stockton Animal Shelter to adopt Rudy today!

Rudy is his name, and he’s a male Schnauzer, who arrived at the shelter with his mother. Both would love nothing more than to celebrate watching the ball drop with you and your family!

While he may not have a red nose like his famous reindeer namesake, Rudy is a magical pet in his own right, with the ability to light up a room with his smile.

He and his mom are available for adoption at the Stockton Animal Shelter, located at 1575 S. Lincoln St. in Stockton, CA.

The shelter is open from 12-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or 12-3 p.m. on Saturday. The number to dial if you are interested in giving Rudy a home is 209-937-8274 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 209-937-8274 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or you can visit their web site at www.stocktongov.com.

Happy Holidays!

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Our last user-submitted Pet of the Week this year is named Sable from the bright lights of Hollywood, CA. The founder of the must-read blog That’s IT Mommy was kind enough to share her story via a tweet to @PennySaverUSA. Here handle is @ThatsITMommy.

Sable came to us with that name and it’s a perfect fit.

Her soft coat has a purpley-brown hue to it in the sun. We adopted her eight years ago when my husband, our Yorkshire Terrier and I moved to Southern California.

The rescue agency didn’t know much about Sable. The former owner kept her confined in their garage and she had a few siblings. Apparently, the owner’s daughter was “allergic” to Sable. We were told that she was about 12 weeks old. Our vet thought she was closer to seven weeks.

Leave her a comment about Sable on That's It Mommy's blog.

Sable suffered with separation anxiety and actually chewed her way through a door when we went out one day! I attribute her anxiety to her being separated from her mom at such a young age and isolated in a garage. She’s part terrier, part Affenpinscher (monkey-dog in German) and part psycho!

Sable is 10 pounds with a big personality. She’s quite the character with a loveable under-bite and Igor-esque eyeballs (think Marty Feldman).

Agility is her middle name. Her jumping and walking on hind legs definitely remind us she is a “monkey-dog”! She’s one of the few dogs who keep up with the mini greyhounds at the dog park. Sable has been a challenge but we love her.

She is definitely an alpha-type and sometimes has problems “meeting” other dogs when walking in our neighborhood. She’s unconditionally loyal, especially to my husband.

She has boundless energy and has no problem going on 5-mile runs with him. We were very lucky to find and adopt such a sweet, loving, yet crazy-cool dog.

Twas the eve before Craftmas eve and Penny the Pig’s face was filled with glee … PennySaverUSA’s online contest had so many incredible entries for him to see!

The quality of the submissions has truly made the PennySaverUSA staff proud and in awe of the amazing talent displayed by our readers.

Visit the PennySaverUSA Facebook page to see all the entries.

So far, over 150 entries have been collected and the task of picking the winner will be extremely difficult. But we only expect the job of the judges to get harder over the next two days. That’s because the Craftmas online contest doesn’t end until Dec. 29!

Yep, you heard right, you have until Dec. 29 to submit a photo of your holiday craft. The prize for the winner is $250 – unless you have downloaded our free mobile garage sale app MOGASA on your iPhone or Android. If you are a MOGASA user, you will receive a $300 cash prize.

With the competition so tough right now, your best bet is to make a very unique holiday craft. Not to say that the multitude of wreaths, snowmen and gingerbread houses we’ve received aren’t awesome, because they are, but the more original the idea, the more it will stand out.

Don’t forget to post your seasonal craft photo on the PennySaverUSA Facebook wall and view all the entries on the PennySaverUSA Facebook page photos tab.

To put it simply, this was the word that came to mind when all of us here at PennySaver USA saw the latest Pet of the Week up for adoption: Beautiful!

But that’s not actually her name. Her real name is Lonnie. She is a sweet girl who loves everyone she meets. She likes to be the center of attention and be a part of all the family’s fun and activities. She loves to play with other dogs and would make a great doggie companion for another dog.

Call 760-753-6413 to adopt Lonnie from the Rancho Coastal Humane Society today!

She’s a 1 year-old, 45 pound, spayed hound mix.

Lonnie came to Rancho Coastal Humane Society through our FOCAS second chance program all the way from a rescue in Mississippi! For the holidays, all Lonnie wants is to be southern girl who can now live the SO CAL dream and have a family to call her own.

Remember that pets are not gifts…but if you’re thinking about adding a pet to your home this holiday season, consider making Lonnie a member of your family.

The $125 adoption fee for Lonnie includes medical exam, spay, up to date vaccinations, and microchip identification.

For more information about Lonnie and other dogs, cats, and rabbits that need families call 760-753-6413, log on to www.sdpets.org, or visit Rancho Coastal Humane Society at 389 Requeza Street in Encinitas. Kennels are open 11 to 5, Wednesday through Monday.

We don’t have any user-submitted pet adoption stories this week, and are looking for more user-submitted stories. Please email jfeller@pennysaverusa.com if you’ve ever adopted a pet.

With Hanukkah starting tonight and Christmas just five days away, all of us here at PennySaverUSA.com (see the staff pictured on the right) figured it was the perfect time to show appreciation for some of the amazing partners we’ve worked with this year and provide them the present of publicity!

Happy Holidays from the PennySaverUSA.com staff!

Below is a list of sites that have helped PennySaverUSA.com to its best year ever along with a description of the site and what makes them such a great partner.

The Reali$tic Couponers: Coupon alerts, giveaways and freebies are the primary forte of this site.

What makes it so wonderful; however, is the variety of the content. The site’s main purveyor, Brandi, does a fantastic job of providing an interesting blend of posts. Take today for example: She’s got up a personal reflection of the holidays called “The Spirit of the Season”, a coupon alert for glimmer and fake tattoos, a deal alert for diapers and a recipe for Sticky Buns.

Free Sample Momma: Freebies and coupons are what this site specializes in.

The great thing about Free Sample Momma is that she focuses on free stuff that is good for a general audience. Whether it be Target, Walmart or Amazon; Free Sample Momma is always on top of all the current offers from the biggest chains and stores.

Nifty Mom: A site that concentrates mainly on the 4 Cs: Couponing, crafting, cooking and critiquing.

In addition to having excellent content, the strength of this site is its easy-to-read layout. Anyone interested in getting to know more about any of the 4 Cs should definitely check this site out as she does a good job of balancing her content between each C.

“The” Cents’Able Shoppin: Frugal living and couponing for everyday folk is what this site is all about.

A recent redesign has added some creative flair to what has always been an outstanding resource for coupons, deals and freebies. For any aspiring couponer, this site is a must-read and it rarely strays from its focus of announcing newsworthy coupons and deals.

Just Married With Coupons: Count on plenty of reviews, giveaways, and yes, coupons from this site.

Though the site is called Just Married With Coupons, we actually believe its best content comes from its reviews and giveaways, which are prevalent and very high quality. The site itself is also extremely visually appealing, and they actually provide design services at a good price, if you are interested in starting your own blog.

If you have a site or blog and would like to partner with us, please email jfeller@pennysaverusa.com.