As the theme for this episode is Health and Beauty, and with the beauty covered by a very well moisturized Marv, it’s time to focus on health. Marv is embarking on a 16 week journey, and you can join him. With the help of the free internet fitness tool Traineo, Marv will try to lose 36 pounds. Sound like a lot of weight? It IS! But he went to the doctor with the cold he had last week (see Episode 29) and the doc was nice enough to mention that Marv has put on a few (read: 20) pounds since last year. So let’s go on this fitness journey together. Follow Marv’s progress at gauchomarv.traineo.com, on Twitter at @GauchoMarv and in future episodes of GauchoTV.

Marv takes you by the hand and leads you down the dark corridors of his NyQuil addled mind and shows you why you should shake off the strong psychological grip that name brand medications have over you and buy the equally good generic versions. The savings are big. I mean many dollars big. It’s noticeable. This is the kind of cash that when you find it in the pocket of a winter coat of in the bottom of the washing machine you go “hooray!” That is what I’m talking about.

What am I talking about? I’m not sure. I’m going to go take a nap now. Please leave comments on the blog.

This week’s GauchoTV is all about that most distinctively human of traits: laundry. Primarily it’s about what option makes the most sense for you. Should you break down and buy a washer and dryer even if you live in an apartment with no laundry hook-ups? (Spoiler alert: The answer is no.) Should you just keep going to the laundromat? Should you rent-to-own (Another spoiler alert: This answer is also no.) This week Marv employs some very low-rent versions of Alton Brown “Good Eats” camera trickery (putting the camera inside the dryer and shooting out from there), and also trespasses on his next door neighbor’s property to bring you the Top 5, which he loosely connects to the end of his favorite network drama. No, not Gray’s Anatomy.

Finally, with just a few seconds to spare, Marv tells you about the new Gaucho iPhone app which you can get for free right now from the iTunes app store. And it will also run on your iPad, if you’re so inclined. And a new feature added by billshrink.com that allows you to see if you’re getting the best cable or satellite TV deal right now. Both things are very cool.

So enjoy another installment in the show that fans call “the best short-form web show featuring a guy with weird facial hair wandering around yelling at a camera!” The critics agree, it’s better than those irritating Fred Figglehorn YouTube videos by a longshot.

So you see, it’s not so much about savings this week, but about how others choose NOT to save when buying stuff they probably don’t need in the first place. This episode will make you feel better about splurging on a $100 pair of sunglasses. Particularly when you realize you didn’t spend $500 on them. And if you spent $500 on sunglasses, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?

Additionally this week, Marv looks at the Top 5 Mother’s Day gifts. With shopping days dwindling down to zero for Mother’s Day, y’all better get on the ball! And if you’re looking for a free shipping, be sure to check out the Free Shipping deals at gaucho.com (shameless plug!). It’s a fun-filled 7 minutes of your day, so enjoy this episode and tell your friends!

It’s all in the name of science. Or not. Who knows?

Since it’s Spring and it’s time to clean Marv decides to put some multi-purpose cleaners to the test. Sure, you can pay big bucks for fancy brands of cleaning supplies – Method cleaning products, I’m looking at YOU – or you can buy the store brand for much less. Which is the better deal? I’d pay more if the more expensive brand cleans better.

Watch to find out how this barn burner turns out.

If you have a problem with Marv’s scientific methodology on this test (who wouldn’t?), let him know in the comments and feel free to laugh at him. He’s used to it.

Also, not addressed in the episode, but something that is hard to ignore, yes Marv is rocking a new facial hair look. Finally he can look more like his hero Ambrose Burnside. Who wouldn’t want to rock some fancy facial hair like that?!?

Needless to say, we’re a busy bunch over here at Gaucho, but we really, really appreciate all of the support our users have given us over the last couple years.

And so, in celebrating these new changes on Gaucho.com, today we’ll be looking at some of the key feature improvements that we hope you’ll enjoy! And, hey, if you haven’t signed up for an account on Gaucho.com, you should go and do that now. It’s quick, free, and you get to access a fun and exciting savings-inspired community!

Navigation and Copy Changes

Our first set of changes comes to our navigation bar up top when you’re logged in. We’ve changed some of the key content, and it is most evident here. We’ve gotten rid of misleading links that don’t take you where you want to go. People have been telling us that you’ve been confused by the word “stamps” that we used to use. Now, we use the word “Savings.” A Saving is anything from a coupon, free shipping deal, savings tip, et cetera. We hope that this change will help others understand the purpose of the site much clearer.

You’ll also notice that the Blog is being put into the spotlight now as we are constantly improving content and are becoming a better resource for our users. W00T!

New and Improved Savings Design!

This was a pretty significant change, and probably one of my favorite. This global change on the look of Savings has been implemented to save some space, and bring more attention to the community behind the site. Our voting system is now more evident (and you’ve already been showing you understand it a lot better now), and savings aren’t nearly as cluttered and confusing as they were before.

Find Savings by Store and Type!

You’ve been asking for it, now it’s here! You can now browse Savings by type and store! Check it out in your sidebar, today! We’ve also brought Featured Savings and Recent Articles from the GauchoBlog in the sidebar for your love and attention!

There are a ton of other changes both graphical and otherwise that have been made on the site. Don’t forget to become a member on Gaucho.com to join the community!

What About the Blog?

The blog has done through and is undergoing more changes in the coming weeks. The most noticeable changes in terms of contest is our new list of writers that are creating amazing blocks of content for your reading pleasure. (Don’t forget, if you have an idea for another article you can join this amazing team as well and get paid for it – check out our Introduction to Writer’s page!) We’re presently giving you 3 amazing articles per week, 5 Daily Gift Ideas per week, a GauchoTV episode and every Friday we’re hosting a different Freeday Friday contest to celebrate our readers!

We’ve also gotten a new sidebar that threw our the trash and brought in things you really want to check out!

What do you think?

We’ve been working on these for a while now as we’ve been undergoing testing. I’d really like to give a hand to the team over at Gaucho for doing such an excellent job. When you see all the work that Damian and Dinesh to behind the scenes, you just can’t help be excited about the future of Gaucho.

What do you think? Do you see room for more improvements? Share your comments and suggestions in the comments, below!

Now we’re asking you to take just a second of your time to help us out.

Please, vote for @GauchoSave to win a Shorty Award!!!

How: Can You Spare a Tweet?

It only takes a tweet. There are two ways to vote for us:

1. Visit the Shorty Awards and give us a tweet. Now, there’s no ‘Savings’ category, so please use the hashtag #savings when you vote.

2. If you’re like us, you’re Twitteraddicts and already have your favorite Twitter app open and ready for tweeting. Just copy and paste this and you’re ready to rock. Tweet. Whatever. You get what I mean.

And be sure to give your reason. (If you don’t enter a reason, your vote won’t count and we’ll be sad.)

Why: Help us Grow

We work hard to provide you with the best savings information around. Given the current tough financial environment, our new Gaucho friends have responded with some amazing messages of positive appreciation for what Gaucho is working to do.

We’re humbled and thankful for the great response. But as a crowdsourced endeavor, Gaucho is only as good as its members. We’re just a tiny startup and winning this award would help us to gain more media coverage and members, which means more deals — and more ways to save — for you.

So whaddaya say? Just one lil tweet? We’ll be your best friend forever. Promise.

About: The Shorties

This year marks the second annual Shorty Awards.

The Shorty Awards honor the best people and organizations on Twitter. These unique awards are for the Twitter community, by the Twitter community. Online voting is public and democratic, culminating in an awards ceremony that recognizes the winners in 27 official categories as well as those in brand new crowd-sourced ones.

Thanks!

We hope you take a second to vote. We really appreciate all the great support our Gauchos have given us.

(And yes, we really will be your bff.)

During a time when school art programs are having drastic cutbacks due to the economic climate, why not support the arts by buying the gift of music for a child?

Not convincing enough, huh. Okay. How about this one — torment your family and friends by buying their kids musical instruments!

Really, most kids love music and learning to play music teaches many lessons aside from those concerning notes and rhythms. Kids can learn about the creative process, working together to blend sounds and harmonies, and doing your part in a group endeavor.

Here are a couple of great gifts for the future musicians and miniature music lovers out there. Or, jump to the end for more general last minute gifts.

The Roll Up Drum Kit

Hammacher Schlemmer has a fantastic replacement for a full drum kit. This roll up kit can be stored away much easier than the real thing and connects via USB to a Windows PC. It also boasts a variety of sounds, rhythm patterns, and drum loops that you can customize.

At $59.95, it’s a better deal than a real drum kit, too. This 3-piece Junior Kit is $179.99 new.

I guess there’s no replacing the real thing, though.

Electric Guitar Packages

A Fender is a classic guitar that is great to learn on and will set any kid on their way to rocking it. This Starcaster package in Midnight Blue is $199.00 at Amazon and includes everything you need to get strumming — the guitar, an amp,  strings, picks, a strap, a 10′ cable, a tuner, a gigbag, guitar stand, and an instructional DVD. Or, get the Candy Apple Red for 186.64 (and free shipping).

This is a tough deal to beat for a starter package. Many guitar shops sell this guitar alone for the same price.

The Wood Block

Keep is simple. Nothing is more basic than banging a block of wood with a mallet. Let them develop metronome-like precision before moving to more advanced matters. At $7.77, this Hohner wood block is quite a bargain.

Harmonica

Speaking of Hohner, a harmonica (or pocket harp, as some like to call it) is another low-cost, low-ear damage musical gift. With prices ranging from $5 and up, it’s affordable. It’s potentially tolerable to listen to, since all the notes are set to a specific key. (The key of C would be the standard to place to start a harmonica collection/practice.)

iSpin

For $99.95, you can make those teenage dreams of DJ fame come true. Or, at least, make them possible. The iSpin lets you spin and mix songs on 2 different iPods, without needing a computer. Hook it up to an multimedia speaker, or headphones with a 3.5mm jack.

Last Minute Gifts for Kids: Non-Music

If you’re looking for gifts for those kiddos but aren’t feeling the music thing, here are a few great spots to check out. Hit them up now, because today is the last guaranteed day for Christmas delivery.

Happy deal hunting on those last minute gifts! Just remember, it will all be over soon!

It can be an extremely rewarding experience to give to someone in need who doesn’t ask for the latest gadget from Apple, but just a chance to go to school, get clean water or have a positive outlook for the future. Isn’t that enough to give you a warm feeling inside?

Why Selfless Gifts?

Because it’s so easy to take for granted the simpler things in life. Christmas is a great time to reflect on all of your own blessings and give what you can to the less fortunate. These gifts are presents of peace, hope, and sustenance for someone in need. In some cases, your gift can mean the difference between life and death.

You can make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate this Christmas. Ideally, you would volunteer at a local charity or cause in your area, but if you are looking for charities that offer something a little different, pull your family together and consider one of these great causes.

1. Adopt A Penguin—

Oceana.org allows you to choose among six cool creatures in  their Adopt-A-Creature programme,  including octopuses, polar bears and even sharks! These animals feel the strain of climate change more than most animals as their habitats are being lost and food supplies decline. Oceana applies your gift to causes such as reducing overfishing and habitat destruction for these animals.

Minimum Donation: $35.00

2. Help Prevent Malaria

MalariaNoMore.org is a great organization for facilitating the fight against malaria through the donation of bed nets. Malaria kills more than 300 children every day and over  1 million each year. Today 40% of the world’s population is still at risk, but these numbers can dramatically change with your simple gift of a lifesaving bed net.

Minimum Donation: $10.00

3. Adopt A Coral Reef

The Nature Conservancy has a great adoption program for rainforests and coral reefs. Choose from forests in Brazil, Africa, Papua New Guinea and more. This is a wonderful gift that’ll get your family passionate about the state of the environment, and the adoption package you receive will serve as a great reminder of this cause.

Minimum Donation: $50.00

4. Gifts That Keep Giving

Heifer International is renown for awesome international donation options. Choose from their gift catalog which includes llamas, honeybees, baskets and even trees. The gifts provide transportation, food from their produce such as milk and honey, and provide a means of income from the sales of their produce. You can even donate to one of Heifer’s international projects in countries like Rwanda and Nepal where donations are used to stop such problems as poverty and illiteracy.

Minimum Donation: $10.00

5. Grant A Wish

The Make-A-Wish Foundation has helped lots of children and persons suffering from illnesses to realize their wishes. There are lots of options to donate; for example you can donate your time to your local Make-A-Wish chapter, you can donate airline miles which you just may not be using, and even fun shopping sprees.

Minimum Donation: $0.00

6. Unwrap With Oxfam—

Oxfam Unwrapped is one of the best places to find lots of options for selfless gifts. Choose a cause that’s close to your heart and see what they have in store. You can give schoolbooks, seeds, HIV education and more. Empower women and children from around the world with your gift – thus empowering yourself.

Minimum Donation: $12.00

7. Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife is the oldest science-based, results-oriented conservation group in the U.S. It is devoted to saving endangered species. There are a multitude of adoptable animals and animal inspired gifts. Profits go towards supporting and sustaining disappearing wildlife populations.

Minimum Donation: $5.00

(Bonus) 8. 350

We tried to keep this list to 7 sources of selfless gifts, but the list simply isn’t complete without mentioning 350.

Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the upper level of the safe limit for humanity. Right now, we’re at 387ppm. 350 is a fairly young organization that has rocketed to international involvement as they provide a focus-able, and still achievable, goal. What can you do to help? Sign up and support the cause by buying someone a 350.org t-shirt, some stickers, buttons, etc.

Minimum Donation: $1.49

This fix resolves many of the issues that have been affecting user experience.

For the time being, our product search comparison engine has also been removed. This is to assure the stability of the Gaucho site as a whole. Meanwhile, our awesome dev team is revving up the search engine to make it even faster and more accurate. We’re doing a lot all at once and appreciate your help and patience.

Find all the Deals You Need

While product search is on hold, that doesn’t mean the saving has stopped. Hardly. Rather, with all the great holiday deals out there, the GSS is still the best place to find, filter, and share those deals. Just take a quick look. It’s bound to save you money on holiday gift-givigang.

Keep it Coming

As we continue to fix bugs and other known issues, your feedback is well-received and super valuable. If you encounter any issues or have any suggestions, please let us know. We may not be able to respond to every suggestion we get, but please know we look at all of them and hope all our new Gauchos will continue to share their thoughts, as they see fit.

Thanks again for your help and patience.