Smart Shopping

Stopping Holiday Overspending

Nervous about breaking the bank this holiday season? Luckily, there are things you can do to stop holiday spending before it even starts. Watch the video below for some of my tips, and be sure to check out my Holiday Budget Calculator to see how much you can afford this year.

A High Price To Pay For Embarrassment

I think of the scene in You’ve Got Mail.  Meg Ryan gets to the front of the cash-only line at a store New Yorker’s recognize as Zabar’s on the Upper West Side when she discovers she doesn’t have enough cash, only plastic.  “I don’t have any money,” she is forced to admit.  “Only this.”  The cashier (a pre-Grey’s Anatomy Sara Ramirez) doesn’t want to bend the rules and swipe her card.  Tom Hanks, whom Meg is trying desperately to avoid, turns on the charm and Ramirez relents.  But we’re meant to think she’s mortified. The same sort of mortified you feel when your credit card is declined in a restaurant or a chic boutique.

Well, for the record, I like this movie. It’s one of those — like the American President or Serendipity — I  watch every time it’s on TV. But the embarrassment factor?  I don’t think so. More…

‘Tis the Season…For Holiday Shopping?

I joined Matt on the Today show this morning for believe it or not-a segment on holiday shopping. Retailers are already starting to push the holiday deals. Watch the video below for tips on how you can cash in on the best bargains.

One Step At A Time

I’m spending the day as both a speaker and an attendee at More magazine’s annual Reinvention Convention, and although we’re just barely past breakfast, I had to jump on the blog and share a little of what I’ve learned from some of the amazing women who are here today.  More…

Ask Jean Thursday: Crazy for Coupons

“I’m constantly looking for ways to reduce my bills. I always read about how consumers save hundreds each year by using coupons. I clip the ones I find in my Sunday paper, but I’m not saving nearly as much as I know I could be. Where else can I find coupons? How much can I expect to save?”

-Janet, New York

Coupons, it seems, are everywhere these days. One look at today’s New York Times piece about the “Clip and Save Renaissance,” and you’ll see that in the past year using coupons has become, dare I say it, the cool thing to do.

According to the Promotions Marketing Association, consumers are saving $3 billion per year by using coupons. But how can you get your slice of the pie? You’re on the right track clipping the coupons you find in your Sunday paper (that’s where 90% of coupons are found, according to the PMA). But, according to Charlie Brown, co-chair of the PMA Coupon Council, there are lots of other places you could be looking. “One of the largest sources of coupons is in the store itself. About 5% of coupons are distributed there. Some stores have them where they’ll print it with the deli meat or cheese. You’ll see them on the package themselves,” says Brown. Surprisingly, Brown says that only 30% of these in-store coupons are ever cashed in.

Scouring the web for coupons can also net you some great deals. “The Internet is a huge growing source. There are very legitimate sites that are set up only for distribution of coupons,” says Brown. Sites such as RedPlum.com, Coupons.com, and CouponShack.com all offer coupons on everything from groceries to apparel. One of my favorite tricks to get discounts or coupons when shopping online is Googling the item I want to purchase along with the words “promotion code,” or “discount.” If you don’t have a specific product in mind and are just looking for the discounts in general, PromotionCode.org is a great place to start.

If you want to get the most out of coupons you’re going to have to put in a little bit of legwork. “Our studies show that if you More…