The tech-savvy Generation Y shopper assumes quite a lot: Tons and tons of choices will be a few quick clicks away, the shipping will be free, there will be online customer ratings at their disposal, and so on. Exactly what, where, how, and why do these consumers buy, and how are retailers reacting to the way they shop? A new book offers insights.
How Many Times Can You Use a Razor Blade to Shave?
A true cheapskate disregards the term “disposable.” With a little effort—and a heap full of pig-headed, tight-wadded stubbornness—things like plastic utensils, paper cups, aluminum foil, and yes, razor blades, can be used again and again and again.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Former Chairman of the American Medical Association
“You can do more for yourself than I can do for you.”
It’s a Deal: Save an Extra 20% at Old Navy
Through September 24, you’ll save an extra 20 percent off of any Old Navy purchase, so long as you spend at least $100. Use the coupon code ONSAVESOME at checkout. More details here.
Q&A with Clothing Swap Founder Suzanne Agasi
In the last 15 years, Suzanne Agasi has bought a grand total of two pairs of jeans—and she loves jeans. Most of Agasi’s wardrobe comes free of charge from clothing swaps she’s helped organize as the founder of Clothing Swap.
Ten Credit Card Myths
The website FoolProof uses videos and straightforward messages to warn young people (and everyone else, really) about the hazards of debt, interest, bouncing checks, and more.
Read more about the website at this story, which includes the site’s top financial myths:
–I don’t have to worry about credit at my age.
–Bad credit can’t
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Marriage is for suckers
A loyal reader of the Curious Capitalist has asked me to post a story I wrote for Time.com. Since I’m here to serve:
Conventional wisdom says if you want to be richer, a useful thing to do is get married. Life is cheaper when there’s only one mortgage to pay and someone else can do certain tasks — cooking, say, or car repair — more
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It’s a Deal: Buy One Jos. A. Bank Suit, Get Two Free
Buy one regularly priced suit from Jos. A. Bank and you’ll get two more suits for free. It’s a special three-day promotion that ends on Wednesday, September 23. More details here.
Debit Card Overdraft Fees: Will the Rip-offs End Soon?
Because debit cards deduct money directly from the cardholder’s bank account, it’s not possible to pile up debt like you can with a credit card. But debit cards are not without risk: Overdraft fees, which card issuers assess when customers spend more than the balance in an account, routinely cost $35 a pop, in some cases adding up to …
Recession Indicators: Jobless Hikers Crowding the Appalachian Trail, Japanese Shopping at Wal-Mart
When you lose your job, why not take a hike? When your economy tanks, why not embrace the deals at Wal-Mart?
It’s just that simple: Dell now wants to be like IBM
You probably know the bare-bones history of the personal computer: The business was IBM’s to dominate, but it decided to outsource the guts of the machine—the microprocessor and the operating system—to Intel and Microsoft. Those two companies sucked up most of the profits of the 1990s PC boom, while Dell became the dominant PC …
Let the Great Rebalancing Begin
Ever since every two-bit financial commentator on the planet started complaining that, a year after the start of last year’s financial crisis, almost nothing had been done to prevent the next one, reform trial balloons have been floating skyward. There was the Fed’s pay-regulation scheme, the SEC’s new credit-rating-agency rules, Chris …