Online Shopping On Cyber Monday

By MoneyBlueBook

Even though I'm not really a big time shopper, I seem to be writing a lot of a shopping related entries recently. I've been bitten by the holiday bug and now I have presents and dollar signs floating in my mind.

What Recession? Shoppers Are Still Out In Force

Although the economy is cooling due to mortgage problems and high oil prices, it seems like this year's Black Friday kickoff has gone quite well. Retailers are reporting much higher shopper turnout than years past and all that remains to be seen now is whether this red hot pace can be sustained. After stripping stores clean of all Black Friday sales items, shoppers are now turning to the internet to smoke out the remaining bargains - and there are lots of them. Many will turn to the internet now to shop online and take part in the Cyber Monday extravaganza. I generally do the bulk of my shopping on the web so I'll definitely be joining in on the online festivities. There are so many online deals going on right now!

I've Done Well Financially So I Plan to Share Some Wealth

Last year was hard because financially I was struggling big time. Credit cards kept me afloat and my job was in major transition. Although I'm still not precisely where I want to be financially, I'm in much better shape this year. I think I echo the same Black Friday consumer optimism that many have despite the nation's current economic condition. So I probably won't be cutting back

By MoneyBlueBook

The holiday season is a time for good memories and cheer. But it's also a time when people are looser with their wallets, more readily open to the idea of spending more money than usual on presents for family, friends, and loved ones. It's easy to take out the ole credit card, swipe it through and not worry about it until later. But that later time will ultimately arrive in less than a month. When you finally open up your next bill or when you log into your online account to check your statement balance, prepare to be stunned. Somebody's going to have to pay all that back to the credit company and I'm betting it's going to be you.

Don't Let Holiday Shopping Hype Force You To Make Bad Decisions

Just because it's the holiday shopping season doesn't mean you have to forget all the frugal living common sense you acquired throughout the year. Don't throw all that out of the window. Christmas and the other holidays are still a month away. You still have ample time to plan ahead to make sure you are making the most efficient use of your shopping budget. Don't panic and start hitting the department stores without doing your research first to make sure you are using all of the available coupons and discounts out there.

Here Are A Few Of My Thoughts and Common-Sensical Tips Regarding Holiday Shopping

By MoneyBlueBook

Well it's that time of the year again. The holiday shopping season is nearly upon us and consumers are starting to get all giddy like little schoolgirls. Although I try to keep my own giggling variation to a minimum, I must admit that I do get caught up the bargain hunting hoopla.

Black Friday Means Deals and Lots Of Them

For those of you who are not familiar with what it is, Black Friday is the crazy shopping frenzy that immediately follows Thanksgiving. It draws so much consumer and media attention because the day has traditionally signaled the start of the Christmas shopping season. It is called Black Friday because it always falls on a Friday and is the day when many retailers finally turn a profit - their balance sheets finally going into the black. Although Black Friday is not always the busiest shopping day of the year, many retailers frequently release their most lucrative deals and promotions on this day.

I Love The Hype and Excitement, But Participating Is Another Matter

I enjoy following the news and coverage that surrounds Black Friday events, but I've never actually gotten up early enough on Black Friday to take advantage of those one time a year deals. I think the closest I ever came to shopping on Black Friday was wakening up at noon on the day after Thanksgiving and strolling into a nearby Best Buy to see if there were any deals left. By then the store had already been picked clean by other crazy

By MoneyBlueBook

J.D. Roth From Get Rich Slowly posted an entry today on his blog in which he drew attention to those popular Visa ads that promote the use of credit cards as the new trendy and speedy way to make everyday purchases. In case you've been living in a cave with your fingers stuck in your ears, or you just don't watch much television, here's the commercial we are talking about:

The message is pretty self evident - Using credit cards is fun, fast, and everyone is doing it, so don't get left out. Only those who aren't hip or "with it" use cash. The spinning shoppers in the commercial represent the gears of everyday commerce that grinds to a halt when someone like the lone, meekly man at the end attempts to use cash to make his purchase. The gesture causes everyone to drop everything in their hands in stunned shock - food, drinks, and all.

Using Credit and Debit Cards Is Much More Efficient

J.D. seems to really dislike the commercial as he sees it as a misguided attempted to demonize the usage of cash. I personally like the commercial and must disagree with his views on this one. I find that credit cards are almost always exponentially faster than using cash. Every time I go grocery shopping, I always dread following after someone in the checkout line who plans on using cash or even worse, checks. Cash is cumbersome and there is always the inevitable pause as the sales clerk and customer fumble

By MoneyBlueBook

I debated about whether I should share this story, but at the end I decided that my experience might help prevent someone from falling into the same scam as I did. At the time I was young, inexperienced and financially naive. Since then, I've learned and improved based on my past failures and eventually went on to run a small but profitable home business by making money online with ebay, at least for a modest period of time.

It All Started With Too Much Greed

Shortly after college I decided I wanted to start a part time side business selling merchandise on eBay. But first I needed to find a wholesale supplier. After some research I decided I wanted to focus on consumer electronics such as GPS navigation devices and Apple iPods, and concluded my best bet at finding a supplier would be through a free network site like Alibaba, that helps connect sellers with buyers of goods. Little did I know at the time, but sites like Alibaba are crawling with scammers and evil doers.

I ultimately decided to focus on selling Garmin and Tom Tom branded GPS units. After a few searches, I was amazed to find numerous sellers offering brand new Garmin GPS units for very little money. The Garmin GPS model I was interested in buying in bulk retailed for more than $1200 on eBay at the time. The sellers I found on Alibaba were offering each unit for only $700 each. The asking prices were exceedingly low,

By MoneyBlueBook

I'm a huge Washington Redskins football fan and my friend, who is from Philly, roots for the Philadelphia Eagles. It just so happens the Philadelphia Eagles are playing my Skins at Fedex Field in Landover, Maryland this coming Sunday and we are hankering to go. I'm going to be busting out my Redskins gear - and nothing crazy like body paint, and nothing lame like the "D" and the cutout "fence" some cheesy fans bring to games. It'll just be nice, clean trash talking. I hope I can convince him to wear his Eagles gear.

But getting to the game won't be easy. We aren't season ticket holders and because the Washington Redskins are so popular, tickets will be difficult to obtain. The game is also a division game so tickets will be extra expensive due to popular demand for them.

We Will Score Some Tickets

Regardless, we are determined to bid and win a pair of tickets to the Redskins-Eagles game. I tend to avoid popular online stores that sell tickets since they generally charge a higher markup and an unfair premium for them. You won't find any lucrative deals through sites like Ticketmaster - I've looked. Our best bet will be to rely on amateur scalpers that sell tickets through online sources like eBay and Craigslist. It's a bit more work, but that's where the deals are.

But, I've been trying for the last few days, and haven't been successful yet. I keep getting outbid by other crazy fans who keep hiking up their