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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?

Personal bankruptcies on the rise

Geoff Williams Nov 6th 2009 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Bankruptcy

Some new numbers have come out that serve as a reminder that the country is in a recession, regardless of what economists say. Last month, personal bankruptcies increased by 9 percent,according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

That translates into 135,914 people who last month decided that their lives would be better off post-bankruptcy, than continuing to slog on and sink into a morass of financial despair. Hopefully, the fresh start will help, though you can just imagine that plenty of those people are still unemployed, and while now debt-free, or relatively debt free, aren't yet bringing in a serious income to fund their personal recoveries.

Continue reading Personal bankruptcies on the rise

More Black Friday sales: Free Lego Rock Band at Old Navy, deals at Lowes

Josh Smith Nov 6th 2009 @ 3:30PM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Black Friday

With just a few weeks until the turkey hits the table, more ads are leaking out for Black Friday, including rumored deals from Old Navy and Lowes. In addition to Black Friday-only deals, Old Navy is celebrating with "Gobble Palooza" with deals starting on Thanksgiving Day at noon and continuing on Friday, when they open at 3:00 a.m.!

Continue reading More Black Friday sales: Free Lego Rock Band at Old Navy, deals at Lowes

Recession tales: Entrepreneurs shoot up when economy dives

Madhusmita Bora Nov 6th 2009 @ 3:00PM EST Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Recession, Recession Diaries, Special Reports

All your life you wanted to do something outlandish for a living. But that cushy corporate gig and the frills attached to it stopped you from turning your passion into a profession.

Enter recession, pink slips and voila your ticket to be your own boss.

Unemployed folks are taking the leap of faith and investing their time, energy and resources into entrepreneurial ventures. Yes, believe it or not, new entrepreneurs are on the upswing in this downward spiraling economy. While some took that layoff as an excuse, many are jump starting new ventures out of necessity.

Last year, the hemorrhaging economy cost 2.6 -million jobs, the highest tally in more than six decades. The bloodletting hasn't stopped yet. But laid off employees are moving on. They are providing that silver lining to an otherwise gloomy environment.

Continue reading Recession tales: Entrepreneurs shoot up when economy dives

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