Christmas Shopping

Top 10 Price Comparison Smart Phone Apps

December 17, 2014 By Sherry Tingley

Top 10 Price Comparison Apps — Get the best prices while shopping by using Smart Phone apps.

Notice just how many people are using their smart phones when you are out shopping. According to Shopatron’s Retailer eCommerce study, 86% of shoppers consult their smartphones. Over half of them are looking to compare prices, but they also want some extras, like product reviews.

PC magazine recently published a list of the top 10 smart phone apps in 2014. These apps have just about anything you would ever want from a price comparison app. Try some out and see if you don’t end up saving some money this Christmas season.

1. RedLaser – Simply scan the bar code and do your price comparisons.

2. ShopSavy – Input a product and the app will look for it. Handles bar code scanning and it has a SKU finder.

3. BuyVia – Will alert you for different products. Has a bar code scanner. Quotes reviews on products.

4. Smoopa – Scan the bar code and get a yes or no for getting the best price on an item where you are shopping. Earn rebate dollars for use of the app.

5. The Find – Scan the bar code and locate nearby deals and whats available online. Set pricing alerts to notify you of the lowest price point.

6. PriceGrabber – Searches online stores for deals and compares online prices for you. Results from 160 U.S. cities.

7. Consumr – Bar code scanner and shows product reviews. Earn rewards for placing reviews.

8. ScanLife – Online and local price comparisons with product reviews. Allows you to share deals on Facebook. Earn rewards.

9. ShopAdvisor – Price comparisons through bar code scanning and magazine scanning. Set alerts for low price deals.

10. Walmart Savings Catcher – Scan your receipt and compare prices of items against competitors advertised deals. Receive money back on a rewards card.

Use Credit Wisely During The Giving Season

December 16, 2014 By Sherry Tingley

The ideal is to get through the seasonal spending

Based on an analysis of Federal Reserve statistics and other government data, the average household owes $7,283 on their cards.

frenzy with your credit untouched. But many Americans fall short of that ideal. Second best is to be wary and wise as you whip out the plastic as needed. In a preview survey, the National Retail Federation learned that about 38 percent of consumers planned to use credit to fund their Christmas purchases. That’s a 28.5 percent rise over last year.

Don’t start without planning ahead. Set yourself a limit and make a budget that will allow you to pay off the accumulated bills as quickly as possible. Carrying high balances on your cards may lower your credit score, which could have repercussions if you plan any big purchases (home or car, for instance) in the near future.

Credit card issuers add to the temptation by offering seasonal specials with discounts and interest rate grace periods. But don’t count on these come-ons to offset the cost of credit. No company will offer enough to offset the interest they expect to earn. Before you climb on the bandwagon, be certain you are fully aware of the details. Read the fine print.

Examples, according to an Associated Press article, are the deals offered by Macy’s and Kohl’s. At Macy’s approved customers get a card that offers a variety of discounts. Macy’s customers can get up to 20 percent off items, but the offer maxes out at $100. At Kohl’s you can get a card account that gives 15 percent off your next purchase, plus a 20 percent discount when the card is received. The card also promises at least 12 annual discounts ranging from 15 to 30 percent on select items.

But Macy’s asks an annual percentage rate of 24.5 percent and Kohl’s 23.99 percent. In either case, the interest may outweigh the discounts.

Cards that offer no-interest purchases for a year of more may save money over time,but beware that a single missed or late payment could nullify the deal, making the initial savings ineffective. At that point, a high interest rate kicks in. If you opt for such a card, take the amount you wish to purchase with the card and divide it into regular payments within the grace period. If you can’t do that comfortably, you probably don’t need the card.

If your current card includes awards, possibly now is the time to use them to buy gifts. Some plans let you cash in your awards or give credit against your balance or special deals at a point redemption store. Take advantage, if you can, to use a point store to accommodate that gift list.

Creating a repayment plan can help to put the brakes on spending. And after the holidays, if you find you can make small payments twice a month, or increase the usual payment, do so. That will help take the sting out of interest. Most card issuers charge you interest based on your average daily balance. Micro payments can reduce those costs.

How To Choose Christmas Gifts For Teens

December 7, 2014 By Sherry Tingley

Choosing gifts for teens can be challenging.

Shopping For Teens Can Be Tough

Teens, bless them, can be a challenge when it comes to buying gifts. They tend to have extensive gift lists that change as often as their minds. They want the newest, trendiest items and what’s at the top of the lists may be changed from day to day.

Electronics

You can bet, though, that electronics of all kinds will be at the top of many lists. Your teen is likely into phones, accessories, video games, fashion accessories, active-wear and other items that say “let me be me.” The smartphone is far and away the most frequently sought in this age group. If you got the phone last year, try for accessories this season.

Gift Cards

Gift cards may have earned their reputation as quick and thoughtless, but they don’t lose popularity in the teen crowd. They beat a clothing, makeup or handbag gift that the particular recipient does not like. Those are items best left to the individual to select, and if the gift card fits . . . Even better is cash, that has no limits as to where it can be used.

Cash, gift cards or electronics, say the experts. And one larger gift card for one store beats a pile of smaller cards that fall short of price of a teen-coveted item. Mix-and-match. Match a gift card for iTunes, for instance, with new earbuds. A Darth Vader flash drive or a purse-size cellphone charger/flashlight might be the stocking stuffer of choice for many a teen.

Food

A gift of food can never be far wrong for the majority of teens. Candy, cookies, soft drinks, chips, etc., in a basket will keep the holiday alive, at least for a day or two. And again, a gift card to a local eatery will let them order for themselves.

Find Out Likes On Social Media Sites

With modern technology, it is possible to check out a teen’s social networks to learn if they have special interests in music, sports or hobbies. An item of clothing, say a winter hat, sporting the favorite team’s logo, is a good choice for the sports nuts.

Clothing

Teens are looking for items that set them apart as an individual. When you look for clothing items, take their personal choices into account. In active wear, sizing is easier if you stick with relaxed-fit items like jogger pants.

Providing the wherewithal for a teen to have a new experience such as flying in a jet pack or taking a hot air balloon ride may be the answer for the youth who has everything, or seems to have.

Black Friday Perks Of The Season

November 28, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Walmart report that 22 million shoppers went through their stores on Thanksgiving day in 2014.

Black Friday is changing. Stores are spreading their holiday bargains over more days and shoppers are looking for deals earlier than they used to, or even later, as the gurus predict a long season of specials. Some even have rewritten the term Black Friday to Black November.

Bankrate.com, an organization that tracks spending habits among Americans, did a survey of 1,000 adults and found that only 28 percent had plans to rise early and hit the stores on Black Friday. The figure rises to 40 percent if you count the online shoppers.

Many retailers are simply swapping Thanksgiving Day for the day after, getting a jump on the Black Friday event. Major discounts are being offered before the turkey cools. Among those retailers planning to make the early dive into the shopping frenzy are Walmart, Target, Amazon and Toys R Us.

The early sales are a bonus for shoppers who like to avoid the dense crowds that have characterized Black Friday. They are making their plans to avoid the super-shopping day, rather than being in the midst of it. The over-stuffed stores of the past have helped push the move to spread the bargain days over a longer period, the experts say.

Of course, there are those who thrive on the push-and-pull of big crowds and count it as a part of the holiday fun. They’ll be there for Black Friday early and stay late, the survey said.

Cyber Monday, the electronics equivalent of Black Friday, will attract even fewer shoppers, the Bankrate.com poll indicated, with only one four folks looking for techie bargains expecting to hit the specialty stores. And they said they will spend less than in the past, an average of $361, compared with $399 last time around.

The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that some 6 million more shoppers will join the online shopping than last year, when some 103 million shopped online. The record number is expected to keep the ordering hot throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. Three quarters of them are expected to use a mobile device to do their shopping, the association says.

The hot-ticket tech items for the year include TVs, laptops, tablet, iPads, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Call of Duty.

So rev up your engines, put the turkey on hold for just a short time and join the 2014 version of shop-‘til-you-drop.

10 Worst Toys Of 2014

November 25, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Toys That Cause Harm Are No Fun

This toy gun is a replica of a real machine gun and can be mistaken for a real gun. On The 10 Worst Toys For 2014 list.
The World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) doesn’t play around when its reps find toys on the market that could be dangerous for children. The agency has just released its list of the 10 worst toys for 2014 – just in time for Santa to take note.

For instance, be on the lookout for a “pencil catapult,” or the Alphabet Zoo rock and stack pull toy that has plenty of string to strangulate a small child – 20 inches worth, while safety standards call for 12 or less. More disturbing is the Swat electric machine gun that can be mistaken for a real gun by police

These are the types of hazards WATCH looks for when it assesses toys. The list includes long strings that can choke children, small parts that can be swallowed and those with potential for eye injuries. Toys made of hard materials that can lead to impact injury are on their no-good lists, as are those with long, slender parts that pose choking risks.

“The numerous recalls in the past year (17, with 4.8 million units that were being sold in the U.S. and Canada,) as well as the recurrence of many known hazards in toys are clearly suggestive of a broken system that needs fixing before more children are harmed,” said WATCH president Joan Siff.

On the list for 2014:

#1 – Zing Air Storm Fire Tek Bow: The toy comes with instructions not to aim the arrows at people or animals, especially the eyes and face. But it is unfeasible that children in the age group most likely to use the toy could be expected to follow those precautions, WATCH says.

#2 – Radio Flyer Ziggle: The problem the watchdog group found with this toy was in the advertising. Although instructions warn users to “always wear a helmet and other safety gear,” The ads show a child who wears no such protection, which could easily influence how the toy is used.

#3 – Toysmith Catapencil: The directions advise children “of all ages” using this toy to “play safe and enjoy,” but the idea is to use a catapencil as “target practice for your desktop.” Wow. Eye damage on its way! Sharpened pencils are not playthings, WATCH declares, and a miniature slingshot-style launcher should not be marketed as a plaything.

#4 – Alphabet Zoo Rock and Stack Pull Toy: The 20-inch pull string is clearly a safety hazard, the nonprofit agency declares. Industry safety guidelines call for a string 12 inches or less. The risk for strangulation makes this a gift parents and others should avoid.

#5 – Junxing Toys Industrial SWAT Electric Machine Gun: Even the name should serve as a warning. In today’s violent society, handing such a toy (weapon?) to a child is inexcusable, Watch says. They are potentially dangerous and generate unhealthy thrills for a young person. Such detailed replicas of actual weapons have caused injury and deaths in the past and should not be sold as toys, the agency says.

#6 – WalMart Spark. Create. Imagine. Wooden Instruments: A small child could easily choke on the drumstick that is part of these toys.

#7 – Science Wiz Bottle Rocket Party: Labeled for children as young as 8; kit poses the risk of eye, face and other injuries, the watchdog warns. The toy imitates rocket-launching projects at schools and camps over recent years, but lacks the adult supervision necessary for such events and involves propellants that can be unpredictable.

#8 – JC Toys Lil’ Cutesies Best Friend: With a name like that, how dangerous could it be? Plenty, WATCH warns. Sold as suitable for children as young as 2, the dolls have a decorative ribbon bow that detaches from the head, posing the potential for swallowing and choking.

#9 – Legends Orcs Battle Hammer: Inviting a 3-year-old to become a savage Orc with a hard plastic battle hammer to use against playmates is not a good idea, WATCH advises. The two-foot-long hammer is capable of doing damage on young flesh, they suggest. No warning cautions are included on the packaging.

#10 – Plush Colored Hedgehog: A stuffed animal with long, fiber-like hair that isn’t sufficiently rooted and easily dislodged invites ingestion and aspiration injuries, the agency says. Not the right gift for the infants for whom it is targeted.

Avoiding these specific toys and being watchful that the toys that are purchased do not have elements that could be dangerous is the objective. And WATCH will continue to monitor in the interests of keeping children safe.