Shoppers aren’t being bashful about throwing money around this holiday season: Americans spent $52 billion at stores over Black Friday weekend alone. While the holidays are long known for charity, one of the newest traditions …
Odd Spending
Which Country Is the Stingiest With Christmas Gifts? Who’s the Most Generous?
To no surprise, the U.S.’s legendary consumer culture hits the roof during the holiday season, with average per-person spending on gifts among the highest levels in the world. Americans aren’t the biggest Christmas spenders, though.
Why You Should Shop For Cars When You’re Grumpy
Nearly all accounts about why people have the tastes and preferences that they do center around the idea that the human brain has been “wired” to have those tastes and preferences because of advantages they provided to our …
White House Axes Wasteful $1 Presidential Coin Program
It cost us $50 million a year for a bunch of coins few people really wanted.
Green Monday? Gift Card Weekend? Enough With the ‘Special’ Holiday Shopping Events Already!
Two Girlfriends Go on Ultimate Shopping Spree—Private Jets & Tiffany’s, Then Jail
Apparently sick of the workaday grind, a pair of 30-something roommates who are deeply in debt decided to live like the 1% for a spell. After forging checks from a law firm where one of the women worked as a paralegal, the twosome tore off on a private jet with friends to go shopping in New York City. They also rented an …
Christmas Miracle! Secret Santas Paying Off Strangers’ Layaway Items
An anonymous merrymaker spread some holiday cheer last week by paying $500 toward the layaway accounts of three strangers at a Kmart in Michigan. Since then, copycat Secret Santas have followed suit, giving thousands of dollars …
Holiday Shoppers Hitting Pawn Stores in Big Numbers
It has been a huge year for retail sales so far in the holiday shopping season, with $52 billion spent over Black Friday weekend and another $6 billion spent online during the “Cyber Week” that followed. Here’s one more hot …
New Holiday Tradition: Buying Yourself a Gift
Gift exchanges are so inefficient. Unless everyone’s picked out presents via gift registry, there’s a decent chance someone will receive an unwanted gift—which amounts to a waste of time and money. And if everyone’s picked out …
Should You Buy a Toddler a Tablet? How About a $480 Tablet?
This year’s “it” gift for the holidays seems to the tablet. Apple‘s iPad has remained in strong demand from the get-go, and the rest of the tablet and e-reader market has gotten hot because so many affordable options have hit the …
A Donor Makes the Case That Kidney Sales Should Be Legal
The buying and selling of human organs is generally frowned upon. But should this be the case? There’s an argument to be made that if kidney sales were legal, more lives could be saved (because more people would be willing to …
The Cost of Being Festive: We’re on Pace to Drop $6 Billion on Inflatable Santas and Other Decorations
The continued uncertainty and overall dreariness of the economy doesn’t seem to be dampening consumers’ holiday spirits. Nor is it stopping shoppers from stocking up on LED holiday light displays, inflatable lawn decorations, and …