WalletPop Wire

Coupon for 25% off at Cost Plus World Market and free shipping

Julia Scott Nov 12th 2009 @ 9:30AM EST Filed Under: Saving Money, Shopping, Bargain Babe

Woah! Cost Plus World Market is having a huge online furniture sale. Get 25% off furniture with coupon code NOVFURNAF. If you click on the above link the coupon code should automagically appear when you put an item into your shopping cart.

You can also get free shipping on purchases over $50, which is not bad at all, though it does not include furniture. It's unclear when the free shipping deal expires.

The sale also includes up to 60% on bedroom furniture, up to 50% off on dinnerware and lamps, up to 40% off on dining furniture, and up to 30% off on leather furniture. I like this brown leather chair, pictured at right. All you need is a blanket and a book to curl up with.

Caveats: Online only. Not valid on food, wine, gift certificates or previous purchases. Cannot be combined with other offers or promotions.

Black Friday: Target offers $3 appliances and gift card bonuses

Josh Smith Nov 12th 2009 @ 9:00AM EST Filed Under: Bargains, Shopping, Black Friday

Target's Black Friday ad has leaked, and there's definitely a reason that its ad is one of the most anticipated each year. This year there are several great door-buster deals, including $3 kitchen appliances and some of the closest prices to our Black Friday predictions we've seen so far.

Even though HDTV's, toys and computers are some of the biggest Black Friday draws, Target is making a bid to take over the kitchens of frugal shoppers with a selection of $3 kitchen appliances from Chefmate. The rumored $3 appliances include a 12-cup coffeemaker, sandwich maker, toaster and slow cooker.

Continue reading Black Friday: Target offers $3 appliances and gift card bonuses

Men only buy underwear to impress women

Martha C. White Nov 12th 2009 @ 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Shopping

Finally, a survey confirms what women may have suspected all along: Dudes only drop dough on drawers when they're searching for a mate. A British retailer conducted a study which found that male shoppers don't buy their own underwear until they reach the ripe old age of 19. Who keeps them stocked in skivvies before that? Mom.

Seriously, guys? Doesn't that get a little embarrassing, oh, roughly around the time you outgrow cartoon-emblazoned Underoos? Teen girls begin buying their own undergarments at around 13 years old, the study found. (Anyone who wants another bit of "girls mature faster" ammo, there you go.)

At 19, young men go on a boxer-and-brief buying binge, buying up to 31 pairs a year for the next four years of their life. What's behind this sudden urge for unmentionables? According to the survey's authors, they're stocking up on skivvies to lure a potential mate. Whether or not designer underpants lead to Ms. Right may be up for debate, but it's interesting to note that underwear purchases by men start tapering off at around the age of 23 and continue that downward trajectory for the next decade. This indicates, the researchers say, that men are settling down into partnerships and turning over the task of underwear-buying to the women in their lives once again.

The study also picked up on midlife-crisis impulses. Between the ages of 38 and 40, the rate at which men buy underpants picks up; the researchers say this is due to men who have been through a divorce getting back in the dating game. The flirtation with underwear this time around is more -- ahem --brief; it begins to taper off when men are around 40 and drops off almost entirely shortly thereafter. By the time men are 44, most of them abandon underwear-shopping entirely.

Readers, who buys the boxers in your house? Is it a woman's job, or are American men are more in touch with their underwear purchases than their British counterparts?

Consumers could win big if Dodd's financial reform package becomes law

Lita Epstein Nov 11th 2009 @ 7:15PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit, Debt, Recession, Credit cards

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd unveiled his financial reform package on Tuesday and consumers could win big if the bill becomes law. Dodd proposes a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency whose sole job will be to protect American consumers from fraud and abuse. He wants to be sure people get the clear information they need on loans and other financial products from credit card companies, mortgage brokers, banks and others.

Dodd introduced the bill along with fellow committee members Jack Reed, Charles Schumer, Robert Menendez, Daniel Akaka, Jon Tester, Mark Warner, Jeff Merkley and Michael Bennet -- all Democrats, so at least it looks as though this may be a partisan effort, but the issue is so important I hope it can become a bipartisan bill.

Continue reading Consumers could win big if Dodd's financial reform package becomes law

Running away from the president is a recipe for Democratic failure

Bob Cesca Nov 11th 2009 @ 6:30PM EST Filed Under: Recession

The biggest problem with the Democratic Party and its prospects in next year's midterms might not be the economy or jobs or health care after all. The problem might be rank stupidity.

A new poll from Research 2000 indicates that Democratic turnout on Election Day was low because, quite simply, Democrats didn't run as Obama Democrats. Creigh Deeds, for example, ran for governor and was completely destroyed on election day by Republican Bob McDonnell -- a disciple of evangelist and leg-press titan Pat Robertson. It's also worth noting that McDonnell once wrote that a woman's place is in the kitchen, and he opposes contraception. This guy beat the Democratic candidate in an increasingly progressive state that went for President Obama in 2008.

How did this happen? No, it wasn't the economy, as we previously thought.

Continue reading Running away from the president is a recipe for Democratic failure

The crush stops here: Walmart to keep stores open 24-hours on Black Friday

Laura Heller Nov 11th 2009 @ 6:00PM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Black Friday

News crews everywhere must be very disappointed. In an effort to avoid the stampeding crowds on Black Friday, Walmart will keep most stores open for 24 hours, beginning Thanksgiving through the end of the following day.

Sales begin at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, but lining up and rushing the doors won't be part of this year's festivities.

Walmart is busily implementing safety precautions after last year, when a store employee was trampled to death in Valley Stream, N.Y. Walletpop has been providing some fun tips on how to handle Black Friday, but not getting killed is certainly top of that list. With bargain hunting at a fevered pitch, Black Friday safety is more important than ever.

Walmart hasn't yet identified which stores will be open for those Black Friday hours, but those normally open for 24 hours will not have any changes. The retailer announced it is developing a plan with safety experts in the sports and entertainment fields to develop better ways for shoppers to get into, and navigate the store, including around promotional displays.

Maybe this Black Friday will more closely resemble a shopping event than the running of the bulls.

More Veterans Day deals

Julia Scott Nov 11th 2009 @ 5:30PM EST Filed Under: Saving Money, Bargain Babe

I swear this is the last of the Veterans Day discounts! Not all of these are explicitly tied to the holiday, but the discounts are welcome nonetheless.

At Macys.com you can get free shipping on your purchase of $99 or more using code VETSDAY. There are special Veteran's Day sale items and you can also save an additional 25% off clearance prices.

Pacsun.com has jeans marked down by up to 50%. Pairs start at $24.50, and some pairs are an additional 30% off at checkout. Yowza!

Nordstrom's half-yearly sale for women and kids continues. My mom got two long-sleeve shirts and a mixed cashmere sweater for less than $100 last week. If something doesn't fit, you can always return it for free in the store. Get free shipping on orders of $100 or more with code HOLIDAY09.

Get 15% off at dELiA*s through Nov. 13 when you use code DXR15D at checkout.

Keep scrolling down to see other Veteran's Day discounts for food, museums, parks, and general retailers. Thanks SearchByInseam!

Sweet smelling deal: New Huggies coupon!

Julia Scott Nov 11th 2009 @ 5:15PM EST Filed Under: Bargain Babe

Get $1.50 off any package of Huggies diapers through Shortscuts.com. Don't delay as the site only allows a certain number of these coupons to be printed. The coupon expires Dec. 4, 2009.

There is also a coupon for $2 off a pack of Pulls Ups training pants. If you don't see these coupons on the above link they has probably been maxed out.

Buy enough diapers and you can make a diaper cake. Hmmm...tasty.

Subway wants your breakfast business

Tom Barlow Nov 11th 2009 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Food

In our homeland of the obese, the lunch and dinner business is saturated, so fast food retailers are looking to the breakfast market to make better use of their retail locations.

I wonder, however, about the prospects of Subway as it attempts to grow its share of that market. Where are the ads, I wonder, for $5 foot-long omelets?

Breakfast is a fickle market. Wendy's, the third largest burger chain in the country, recently crapped out in its second foray into this market.

Subway, according to Advertising Age, is jousting with already established breakfast retailers such as McDonald's, and others attempting to redefine themselves with wider a.m. menu selections (Dunkin' Donuts.)

Continue reading Subway wants your breakfast business

The elusive Zhu Zhu Pets faux hamsters showed up at major retailers on Sunday and disappeared from most shelves before the morning ended. Such is the life of the hot toy of the year -- following the likes of Furby and Tickle Me Elmo in the annals of toys whose scarcity was part of their allure. Read all about it here.

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