This is no April fools joke. There are six upcoming state sales tax holidays that have nothing to do with back-to-school shopping--which I've written about in the past--and everything to do with saving money when buying items for your home.
This is no April fools joke. There are six upcoming state sales tax holidays that have nothing to do with back-to-school shopping--which I've written about in the past--and everything to do with saving money when buying items for your home.
Find out how you can embrace spring fashion trends 2013 without breaking your budget. This post ties into a 6ABC segment broadcasting today on how you can update your wardrobe on the cheap at a consignment shop.
I've done a comparison of lifetime warranty or guarantee offers from the three companies I'm most familiar with--L.L. Bean, Lands' End, and Jansport. Find out how these three companies will replace their products for free.
Once again, Goodwill Industries and The Bon-Ton Stores have joined together for the semi-annual Bon-Ton Goodwill Sale. This spring that sale takes place March 13–30, 2013. Find out how your Goodwill donations can help you secure discounts at Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's or Younkers stores
Who better to offer advice on dealing with consignment clothes and the consignment stores that sell them than an owner of one such shop. Read on for one shop owner's top 10 tips for consigning clothing.
Are you thinking about consigning clothing this spring? Here's are tips for selling your clothing at a consignment shop.
A few weeks ago I finally converted–from coffee pot brewed coffee to a Keurig coffee machine. It’s the Mr. Coffee version, which I demoed in my “10! Show” segment. What I like about the Mr. Coffee version of the Keurig is that it is cheaper than the traditional Keurig machines. There are definitely plusses to having a single-serve coffee machine, in that I’m not throwing out old pots of coffee where I brewed too much and didn’t drink it before it got too old. There are minuses, too. First, I’m finding that what Keurig and Mr. Coffee deem to...
I joked with my daughters that when it came to their first car, I was going to buy them a battery-operated Barbie mobile to drive to school. I mean, we only live .8 miles from their high school–technically, they could walk their faster–and they could “drive” on the sidewalk the whole way. Of course, I wasn’t serious about buying them this car–or any car, for that matter, because in our family getting a teen a first car would be more of a “want” than a “need.” Is it convenient having a third driver in the house? You bet. Do...
Do you prefer to do your back-to-school shopping online? If so, are you doing that online shopping through Ebates? Never heard of Ebates? It’s the online portal where you can start your online shopping for most stores, and then you’ll get cash back for a percentage of your purchase. Here is what I’ve written about Ebates in the past:
Cool infographic about invitations, courtesy of Staples, in time for party season. While it explains the origin of RSVP, it does not mention the percentage of people who refuse to RSVP to invitations, a pet peeve of mine. I’m guessing the current non-RSVP rate is about 75%!
I love to wear makeup. Do I wear it everyday? Heck, no. But when I have the time to do my hair and makeup, I’m always glad that I made the effort. When it comes to stocking my cosmetics kit, it probably comes as no surprise that I always try to get beautiful on the cheap. Sure, I splurge on certain beauty products or services–such as having my hair professionally cut and colored–because I’ve found that when it comes to hair, you get what you pay for. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t find ways to save money...
Have you been keeping up with the news about Tide detergent thefts? I was watching “Good Morning America” yesterday, and there was a story about a guy who had stolen nearly $12,000 worth of Tide–not because he had a lot of laundry to do or because he owned a laundromat, but because he was selling it on the black market. In fact, the reporters referred to this laundry soap as “liquid gold” that thieves, who once targeted other grocery items, are finding is worth big bucks. And the people doing the buying and selling–or rather, the stealing and selling–are...
My high school-aged daughter is currently planning to have an ugly sweater party with her friends. Most ugly sweater parties are held around Christmas or involving Christmas sweaters as hers will be. At first I was panicked because, thanks to my excellent sartorial taste, no one in our family owns an ugly sweater–Christmas or otherwise. The closest we can come to that “ugly” status is a navy blue Izod sweater that my husband held onto from the preppy 1980s. And even so, I’d say it’s more “vintage” than “ugly.” What that means is that soon enough my daughter will...
Last month BabyCenter, the online parenting site (for which I write), released the findings of its survey on how motherhood affects women when they shop. “Mom has become the leading indicator for the future of shopping,” says Tina Sharkey, Chairman and Global President of BabyCenter, LLC. “She is charting a new path to the register.” The survey showed that moms are pretty savvy shoppers, especially when it comes to comparing prices, or making sure she gets the biggest bang for her hard-earned buck. Based on this research, BabyCenter was able to outline 6 specific shopping behaviors of the 21st...
Most advice you’ll read about shopping on a budget suggest leaving kids at home. The idea is that kids not only can slow you down at the store but also they can inspire you to make impulse purchases. Now there’s research to back up this thinking. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined what they call the “nag factor” to find out how marketing messages make kids ask for products that their parents hadn’t intended on buying. “Clearly, children are not the primary shoppers in the households, so how do child-oriented, low-nutrition foods and beverages enter...
Most people think of organic food as being the priciest food out there. And in some instances it is. For example, for a recent magazine assignment, I was researching different options in Thanksgiving turkeys. Regular supermarket versions were about $1 per pound. Organic, free-range, heritage turkeys went for 9 times that price. (And some people said they didn’t even taste that great either. So why spend the money? But I digress…) Just because some organic food is pricey, that doesn’t mean all of it is. There are affordable ways to add organic foods to your diet or shopping list....
August 19th is when the last batch of state sales tax holidays begin. Only two states have sales tax holidays remaining. They are Texas and Connecticut. Here are the details of both: Texas: August 19-21, 2011: Shoppers will save money by not having to pay sales tax on clothing costs less than $100, backpacks costing less than $100, and school supplies that add up to less than $100. (See the specifics on the Texas Tax Site.) Also of interest: Walmart is having a Black Friday, if you will, on Friday, August 19th, by opening select Texas stores at midnight...
Buyers looking for all the bells and whistles of a new car but at a reduced cost should buy now, according to the editors at Cars.com, a leading online resource for new and used car buyers and sellers. That’s because as car manufacturers roll out new models this fall, they are likely offering incentives to move the older vehicles off the lot to make room for the new ones. I know this from first-hand experience–we bought our last new car during August. Cars.com put together a list of current incentives, across various car manufacturers, so you can see which...
With summer coming slowly to a close, that means back-to-school shopping is in full swing. Most people I know are bringing their college-bound kids to their respective campuses at the end of this week. So mixed in among all that dorm room shopping, you may be wondering which of the latest and greatest technology you should be getting for your rising college freshman. If you talk to the folks at Dealnews, a website that gathers shopping deals from across the web, the one piece of technology not to buy a college kid is an iPad. Dealnews believes that the...
Yesterday I wrote about how to save money when buying beauty products. Today I’m covering beauty rewards programs, which you may not know even exist. Again, like yesterday, the source for this information is ShopSmart magazine, which took a look at the major rewards programs in the beauty category to identify ones that really pay off and where the gotchas are! Here are 4 you might want to consider joining–based on where you buy your cosmetics: Back to Mac – MacCosmetics.com Good to Know: For every six MAC product containers you return at a MAC counter or online, you...
I’m about to head out to CVS with my almost 14-year-old daughter. Of course, I’ll be sure to bring my CVS Extra Rewards card, any Extra Rewards bucks I’ve earned (I keep them in the center console of my car), and my CVS Green Bag Tag with reusable bag. These are all the ways I know how to save when shopping at CVS. It turns out, though, there are plenty of other ways to save and shop smartly in the beauty aisle, according to ShopSmart magazine. “We’ve all had our regrets when it comes to buying beauty products,” said...
Without a doubt many of you will be buying something for someone in June, whether it’s Father’s Day gifts or a wedding gift for a bride and groom. Turns out that there are definitely deals to be had in June. As long as you know where to look and what to buy, you’ve increased your chances of getting what you need at a good price. That said, here are some of June’s deals and what should be a “no deal” on your shopping list: DEAL Tools. Dads like tools. People like to buy them for Father’s Day. Home improvement...
When it comes to shopping, does membership always have its rewards? Depends on where you have membership. For example, for those that believe in buying in bulk, a membership to Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJs is money well spent. For book buyers paying for a membership in a Barnes & Noble or Borders Rewards program makes sense, if you’re already spending a ton on books and are looking to save without cutting back on purchases. And for those that do a lot of online shopping, sometimes paying a membership fee to get on the inside track on savings is...
I’ll admit that I subscribe to both Groupon and Living Social. I mean, I’m all for getting a deal when I need a deal, but four years of living frugally have taught me this: not every deal is a deal is a deal. The Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs agrees, arguing that most people who click on the Groupon or Living Social deal in their inbox are doing so because they “want” what is offered, not because they “need” it. So what would qualify a “need”? Well, I’ve seen these daily deals related to doctors and dentists. If you’re in...
This past weekend I took my older daughter shopping at the mall. Considering she is not an avid shopper, it was a big deal that she asked me to take her shopping. Her goal was to get a new bathing suit (check!) and a new pair of casual sandals that she could wear to school (check!). With regards to the latter purchase, we happened to go shopping in Payless, which, if you haven’t been there lately, has terrific, fashion-forward shoes (in wide widths–we need those!) at reasonable prices. On the day we visited, Payless was holding one of its...
I like to believe that I’m a smart and savvy bargain shopper. I use coupons to my savings advantage whenever possible, and look for the best possible deals when I need to buy stuff–though I do believe that there are times when it pays to pay more, because you get what you pay for (and not in a good way) when you try to be too much of a cheapskate. I got to thinking about my “bargainista”-ness after reading about this survey that ShopSmart magazine did recently. It found that more than seven in 10 women (76%) consider themselves...
There’s no feeling worse than thinking that you’ve gotten a great deal, only to get home and discover that you haven’t. In time for April Fool’s Day, Good Housekeeping magazine put together these tips for how not to get fooled when shopping on April Fool’s Day–or any other day of the year, for that matter. (Full disclosure: I write on a freelance basis for Good Housekeeping.) 1. You Don’t Know Who You’re Dealing With You wouldn’t buy a watch from the sketchy guy on the corner so why entrust your credit card to a questionable website? The same is...
Here is a guest post from Nicole Feliciano, Editor and CEO of Momtrends and the Mom Marketing Officer for Totsy.com. When she’s not scoping out fads and fashions, you’ll find her chasing after her two young daughters in Brooklyn, NY. She’s sharing tips on how to dress your family for less in 2010. Take it away, Beth! The new economy has lead all of us to change our shopping habits. Paying full-price retail just doesn’t seem right. To start the year off on a frugal and fabulous way, here are five tips to dressing your family for less: 1.)...
Last year my husband and I decided that it might be nice if we bought a new house–especially since the real estate market was sinking into the crapper at the time and we watched housing prices sink to places they hadn’t been in a number of years–many four-bedroom homes in our tony Philadelphia suburb we’re being sold at fire-sale prices. I know that we would have succeeded in that mission if the first house we’d put an offer on–and went to contract with–worked out. But it didn’t. Then we went to contract on another house, only to have that...
