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Your own personal shopper -- free -- at J. Crew

Megan Angelo Nov 8th 2009 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Shopping

The phrase "personal shopper" inherently has a certain air of snobbery about it, calling to mind that wealthy aunt who always bought the best Christmas gifts but whose over-the-top get-ups elicited constant eye-rolls from your mother. No more. J. Crew has quietly rolled out services that bring personal shopping to the masses -- by not charging for it.

For guys, there's "Jack Knows Best." Here, male customers can read basic tips on blazers and bowties from a company stylist -- but they can also email him about specific sartorial conundrums at jack@jcrew.com.

Continue reading Your own personal shopper -- free -- at J. Crew

Lots more coupons coming to WalletPop!

Julia Scott Nov 8th 2009 @ 7:00AM EST Filed Under: Bargains, Saving Money, Bargain Babe

I'm a new blogger at Wallet Pop and my name is Julia. My goal is to post the best coupons for all the everyday stuff you buy, like groceries, clothes, and meals out. The little stuff ads up, after all!

When I'm not sharing coupons on WalletPop, I'm searching for strategies to save money on household bills, seasonal events, and travel. Check out my daily savvy-spending tips at BargainBabe.com.

Before I was a blogger I wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News, the New Jersey Star Ledger and the Jersey Journal.

I learned to be frugal from my parents, who didn't have a choice. When I was little my dad made wooden recorders (yep, you heard me right) and my mom worked part-time so she could stay home with me and my two sisters. We drove a beat-up white Saab and ate at restaurants like, 11 times in my entire childhood.

My parents passed on a lot of good money habits -- including how to be uptight with my credit card and pay it off every month -- but they never clipped coupons. So couponing is a habit I have learned through trial, error, and extremely patient frugal friends.

Clipping coupon is not easy, mostly because it requires vigilance and organization, but it's not that hard, either. Together I hope we can learn tips to make the most from coupons and save ourselves a lot of money!

Free diapers for an entire year

Julia Scott Nov 7th 2009 @ 12:00PM EST Filed Under: Bargain Babe

Sign up to receive emails and news from Pampers.com and you could win an ENTIRE YEAR of free diapers. That means your bundle of joy just got a lot cheaper.

Why join Pampers? You'll get rewards points for every Pampers purchase that you can redeem for perks like free shipping and handling. And you'll get coupons emailed to you and parenting tips tailored to your child's age. Plus there's the free diaper sweepstakes.

Too bad the freebie doesn't include changings!

DVD wars come to online retailers

Laura Heller Nov 7th 2009 @ 10:00AM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Technology

First books, now movies, the price wars between the biggest retailers just keep getting hotter. Walmart, Target and Amazon are all slashing pre-order pricing on some hot new releases like "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince."

Walmart said Thursday it would reduce prices for soon to be released DVDs to $10 at Walmart.com. Target and Amazon quickly followed, threw in free shipping and forced Walmart to drop its prices down to $9.98. Keep in mind, the deals are for online pre-orders of movies not yet released.

All this price cuttings seems like a great deal for consumers, but is it really? Highly competitive pricing can't be sustained for long, or extended to the entire category. Retailers simply can't sell things at a financial loss indefinitely. They do it to increase traffic, turn up the marketing machine, get a lot of press and sell other, more profitable items.

Continue reading DVD wars come to online retailers

World's cheapest iPhone case wants your artwork

Gina Roberts-Grey Nov 7th 2009 @ 10:00AM EST Filed Under: Extracurriculars, Home

If you've got some mad art skills, or at least the ability to cut and paste, this contest is for you.

Case-mate, the makers of the cheapest (and perhaps ugliest) iPhone case the "Recession Case" is tempting customers and iPhone carriers to doodle their way into Recession Case history with the chance to win a Suzuki moped straight from the 1980s.

Those who can't afford to cough up the 99 cents to buy their very own Recession Case, or artsy types who don't have an iPhone, can download the file to make their own.

To check out the current entries and cast your vote (you can vote up to 10 times a day) visit the contest's gallery page.

The contest runs until November 30th, so put your thinking caps on and get your colored pencils sharpened. And may the best Recession Case win!

Hot deal! $199 Xbox at Walmart with $100 gift card

Julia Scott Nov 6th 2009 @ 7:00PM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Technology, Bargain Babe

Walmart is selling the Xbox 360 Arcade console for $199 this Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, but the package includes a $100 gift card -- shazam!

"If you were thinking about purchasing an Xbox 360 this holiday season, this is the absolute best deal we've ever seen on the Xbox 360," BFAds.net reports.

Only problem is you'll have to wait for hours in line. Each store is only guaranteed to have 10 Xbox's at this price. It's almost as if Walmart is trying to create a pre-Black Friday hype. (That's Internet sarcasm for ya.)

The sales includes six other items, like an 15.6″ HP Laptop for $298, a Panasonic plasma HDTV for $788, a Sony Blu-Ray disc player for $148, a Magnavox DVD player with 1080p upconverter for $29, and a 42" Sharp LCD HDTV for $498.

Quantities are limited. (Walmart definitely wants you to remember that part.) Will the shoppers also be?

Bank of Mom & Dad's Money Coach: The truth about debt

Farnoosh Torabi Nov 6th 2009 @ 6:15PM EST Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Kids and Money, Saving Money, Health, Bankruptcy, Video, Credit cards

My task each week on SOAPnet's Bank of Mom and Dad is to provide young women with solid advice that will improve their messy financial lives. In return I've received quite the education on some of the reasons we, as a society and particularly women, overspend and compile debt.

Continue reading Bank of Mom & Dad's Money Coach: The truth about debt

CitiGroup Says good-bye to life insurer Primerica

Jennie L. Phipps Nov 6th 2009 @ 6:00PM EST Filed Under: Insurance

The best technique for selling life insurance is known in the trade as "driving the hearse up to the door."

When the salesperson drives the hearse up to the door, he describes at length all the horrible things that can happen if the family hasn't bought enough life insurance and leaves widows and orphans to starve.

Continue reading CitiGroup Says good-bye to life insurer Primerica

Eat well on $50 a week: Challenge, or no duh?

Sarah Gilbert Nov 6th 2009 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Budgets, Food, Kids and Money, Simplification

The headlines for various projects and challenges to eat on a small food budget always slurp me in with their titillation, the gauntlet-throwing, and immediately I ask myself: could I do it? The answer always disappoints, because I'm either doing it already or find the challenge so impossible it's meaningless. Eating on $1 a day per person?

Continue reading Eat well on $50 a week: Challenge, or no duh?

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