Sales of bottles of wine in the sub-$20 price range are soaring. And in related news, hundreds of people were recently given blind taste tests and asked to identify whether wines were cheap or expensive. Participants were right about half the time—the same odds as if flipping a coin.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Elmo
“On Wednesday Elmo wanted to buy ice cream that he craved. / But Elmo didn’t spend at all. No that day Elmo saved.”
Fun Excerpt from Sen. Dick Durbin’s Letter to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
“Banks like Chase charge consumers many fees for maintaining and accessing funds in their checking accounts – monthly fees, overdraft fees, failed payment fees, ATM withdrawal fees, failure to maintain a minimum balance fees, account closing fees, and more… There is no need for you to threaten your customers with higher fees when you …
14 Random Freebies and Deals in Honor of Tax Day
What do ice cream, HBO, online dating, massages, seafood, personal training, and French fries have to do with filing your taxes? Who cares! What’s important is that they’re all offered with discounts or totally for free sometime between Friday and the final day to file taxes this year, Monday, April 18.
It’s a Deal: Half-Price DVD Rental from Redbox
On Thursday, April 14, use the promo code THURSDAY to get 50¢ off a one-night rental from DVD kiosk operator Redbox. The offer is valid through midnight, and gets you half off the usual $1 DVD rental rate, or 50¢ off of Blu-Ray DVDs that normally rent for $1.50 nightly.
Do the BRICS believe in free markets?
Today on China’s Hainan Island, the leaders of the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – met for their latest summit, which this time included South Africa (hey, how did they get an invite?). These now regular blabber-fests have arisen (in theory) to better promote the views of the emerging world on key global issues …
Is AT&T’s First Prepaid Smartphone a Good Deal?
No long-term contract is required on the LG Thrive, which AT&T will begin selling in mid-April. The upsides here are that there users are charged for actual usage—not via a steady monthly bill—and there are no worries about early termination fees. As for other charges associated with the phone, there are plenty.
Gas Prices: Are We at the Breaking Point?
Gas stations might want to think about offering direct deposit.
On Wednesday, the government announced the monthly number for retail spending and it included a disturbing figure for those of us who have been hoping for a strong recovery. Excluding gas purchases, consumers spent just 0.1% more in March than they did a month ago. That’s …
Wine Flash Sales: How to Buy Deeply Discounted Bottles of Vino
With flash deals, shoppers can scoop up severely discounted merchandise by acting quickly. How quickly? Generally, deals are good only on the day they’re posted, and sometimes they can sell out in hours, or even mere minutes. Over the last few years, wine makers and sellers have gotten hooked on flash deals as a means to unload vintages …
It’s a Deal: Southwest Flights from $29
Perhaps this is related to the recent news that Southwest Airlines had to be grounded after cracks were discovered in planes? In any event, Southwest has announced one of its best sales in recent memory for travel in the near future, with fares such as $29 (Denver-Amarillo), $49 (Las Vegas-San Diego, Baltimore-Long Island), $59 (Los …
The Joy and Wisdom of Eating Food Past the Expiration Date
OK, maybe “joy” is overstating things a bit. Still, USDA-funded researchers say that U.S. households throw away 14% of their food purchases, and that estimate seems conservative: Another study claims that roughly 25% of food ($100 billion annually) is bought, then never eaten and thrown out by American consumers. Much of this food is …
Why Consumers Can’t Pass Up MyCoke Promos, McDonald’s Monopoly Games, and Lotteries
For marketers, these and other low-stakes games of chance are goldmines: Consumers buy in time and again even though the odds of winning anything meaningful are horrendous.