When Wal-Mart, Amazon, Target, and Sears jumped into a price war for bestselling authors’ new books, they probably didn’t think their best customers would be independent bookstores.
Shout-Out: Buxr’s “Swap-portunity” Roundup
The coupon-crazed deal-posting website Buxr rounded up a whole mess of the best sites for swapping your stuff, free of charge.
The Artist Formerly Known as the Cheapskate
The Cheapskate Blog, as you may have noticed, has morphed into the It’s Your Money blog.
It’s a Deal: 50% Off at Payless Shoes
Thanks to Oprah, you can get half off of all purchases at Payless Shoes, but only through Friday, October 30. And only if you present a coupon.
Ten Signs that the Economy Is Still in Awful Shape
News is out: The economy grew in the third quarter. But don’t start the celebratory parade just yet.
New column: What’s a banker worth?
My new column is online and in issue of TIME with the scary-looking banker on the cover. It’s part of a “Why Main Street Hates Wall Street” package that includes Allan Sloan’s take on “What’s Still Wrong With Wall Street” and Steve Gandel’s “Meet Ken Feinberg.” My contribution is mainly a summing up of the recent research of NYU finance …
40-Year-Old Deadbeat
At least partly because of the recession, more and more fully-grown people—ones you’d probably refer to as “Sir” or “Madam,” or at least as “adults”—are financially dependent on their parents.
Guess How Many Credit Card Companies Engage in “Unfair and Deceptive” Practices?
You’d think there would be at least one or two credit card issuers out there that weren’t totally trying to rip off customers. But you’d be wrong.
For Shoppers, the New Black Friday is Tomorrow
Retailers, desperate to milk everything they can out of the holiday shopping season, are introducing a second Black Friday. Even though October 30 is usually a night for toilet-papering people’s homes and other pranks, this is no trick.
$300 Jeans: Going the Way of Acid Wash?
When you look back on fashion trends, what you see is often not pretty. Now, in light of a bleak economy—and a rather obvious realization that denim is just, well, denim—we can all turn to someone who bought a $300 pair of “premium” jeans and say, “What the heck were you thinking?”
What 3.5% GDP growth means
What can we learn from this morning’s surprisingly strong 3.5% real GDP growth report?
1) Goldman Sachs does not know all. The bank’s economists had been on eerie run of sending out prescient alerts the day before major data releases—mainly the monthly employment numbers—that described in detail how the consensus was going to be …
It’s a Deal: Free $10 Gift Cards to First 100 Macy’s Shoppers on 10/31
On Halloween morning, the first 100 customers to enter Macy’s stores receive free $10 gift cards. Free face-painting for kids too.