Friday, July 23, is Black Friday at Target (well, the first Black Friday anyway), when the retailer is selling all sorts of toys, clothing, home furnishings, and electronics at deep discounts, like a 47-inch flat screen Philips TV for $699 ($300 off). The sale is for online purchases only, and items are available in limited quantities.
Super Deprive Me: Consumer Experiments With No Shopping and No Garbage
A young couple in Oregon just went an entire year nearly trash-free: At the end of 12 extremely green months, their household’s only waste that couldn’t be composted or recycled amounted to a mere 3 pounds of garbage—which is less than what the average American generates in a single day. Meanwhile, self-proclaimed fashion junkies are …
Credit Card Annual Fees: Is It Ever a Good Idea to Suck It Up and Pay?
Sometimes, absolutely. But it all depends on what kinds of rewards the card promises—and what kinds of rewards you’ll actually reap and use.
Survey: College Isn’t All That Great an Investment
Last year, 80% of Americans believed that college was a good financial investment. Now, results from the same survey show a sharp drop in confidence in the rewards of higher education, with only 64% of people saying that college is a good investment.
Is housing headed for a double dip?
We all knew housing would sputter after the expiration of the federal home buyers’ tax credit. Of course, we also all hoped that the economy would be on steadier footing by then, and would itself provide some stability to the housing market. Well, unemployment is coming down—it’s now at 9.5%, compared to 10% in December—but that’s …
It’s a Deal: Up to 50% Off at Puma
During Puma’s Summer 2010 Sale, select footwear, gear, and apparel are being discounted by as much as 50%. Free shipping for orders over $85.
How Can Obesity and Hunger Both Be on the Rise in America?
You’d think that the presence of one would somehow cancel out the other. But that’s now how it works today. The odd symbiosis of obesity and hunger is addressed through the story of a Pennsylvania family that makes ends meet through a combination of food stamps, shopping around at multiple stores for bargains, visits to the local food …
Don’t Throw That Away! Does the Five-Second Rule Have Some Validity?
A food scientist named Paul Dawson recently made the case that the amount of time dropped food can sit on the floor and still be OK to eat is actually zero seconds, not the five (or ten) seconds that some hardy eaters have come to find acceptable for no reason other than they hate tossing away food. And while it’s certainly safer to have …
It’s a Deal: $2.99 Meal Deal at Quiznos
Print out this coupon and present it at a Quiznos in order to get a small sub, bag of chips, and regular fountain drink for $2.99. The coupon is valid through July 27.
Does job retraining work?
Yesterday the NYT had an assiduously reported piece about job retraining programs which left a pretty bleak impression about how useful they are:
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have enrolled in federally financed training programs in recent years, only to remain out of work. That has intensified skepticism about training as a cure
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9 Signs That Your Town, State, or Country Is Broke
The bad signs include canceled sales tax holidays, dark street lights, the reappearance of gravel roads, and the elimination of every one of your city’s employees.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Gary Hart (About His Childhood in Kansas)
“Everyone worked, in my case starting at the age of eleven. (I don’t think there were child labor laws then.) We didn’t spend money we didn’t have. There were no credit cards. And my parents would have been embarrassed to go to the bank and ask for a loan to buy more gadgets. The Depression taught them, and they taught me, don’t …