Who doesn’t love to shop? If you are anything like me, you love it enough that your checking account is barely surviving the fetish. Ever since getting an iPad, this addiction has increased to the point of madness. While I don’t always buy, I have been able to indulge my sweet tooth for sweet deals from my home, the office, or even the bus in ways I never thought I could.

This is due to the creation of dozens of incredible apps that are dedicated to the art of shopping. There are some for nearly any store you could hope for, in every genre. But here are 20 of my favorite free applications for the iPad. You will be sure to love them, too.

1. ABC Family Gift Guide – My kids and I love ABC Family and their affiliates, and WB has come out with some of out favorite shows and movies. For example, we love settling down for the Harry Potter marathons when the new movies come close to release. Using this app from the network, you can find gifts related to their programs and films, for anyone in the family.
2. Catalogs.com for iPad – Even though they have fallen slightly out of fashion, I still love catalogs. With this app, I can save on the paper and space, and check out hundreds from different stores all in one place. Very convenient, and easy to use.
3. Cool Hunting – A fantastic place to find current trends, Cool Hunting’s app is like an online magazine for anyone who wants to shop with an edge.
4. GottaDeal.com – Gotta Deal is one of the top forums for finding help in the shopping world. The members are some of the greatest bargain hounds around. You can visit the forum through this app, to take part in the hunt.
5. PercentageOff – Do you find yourself stumped when it comes to applying mathematics to your purchases? Percentage Off is a great little tool for the fraction challenged. You can find any final purchase amount after a discount using this calculator.
6. Point Inside Maps for Airports and Malls – I hate mall maps. They are hard to find, hard to read and often unreliable when it comes to smaller stands in the main walkways. But you can find maps for any airport or mall with this app.
7. As Seen on TV – You can’t always be watching TV at the right time to see an infomercial for the perfect product. Whether it is something useful or something bizarre, you can find it with As Seen on TV.
8. Amazon Mobile – Amazon is one of the most recognizable websites on the web for shopping. Once a book-specific site, it has become well known for everything from clothing to electronics. Their Kindle was the first mainstream ereader, and they have had a mobile service for some time. Their app for the iPad is the most advanced form ever, and you can search, compare, shop and review wherever you are.
9. Become.com Online Shopping for iPad – I love this app. It has over 4,200 merchants on file, which you can search, compare prices and products, and find the very best deal on anything you could possibly want. There are literally millions of featured products.
10. Bluefly for iPad – Fashion is always changing, and so it is important to stay on top of the latest trends, while knowing the classic looks that never go out of style. Bluefly let’s you keep track of it all easily.
    
11. Boutiques – Gotta love those high end boutiques, and now you can visit the most elegant designers and inspired fashions from around the world.
12. eBay for iPad – You don’t have to pay brand new prices for new or used items. Whatever you need, eBay will likely have it. This app allows you to check out their deals from anywhere.
13. Famous Footwear – Famous Footwear is a fantastic source of high quality, affordable shoes. You can search their inventory, shop or find local stores, as well as see sales with this application.
14. Gap 1969 Stream – The GAP has been a staple of low-cost designer wear for awhile. They have brought back the retro denim flair with their 1969 line, which is the focus of this app. While it is specific to this trend, you can find some great inspiration with the many images accessed through it.
15. Gilt for iPad – Gilt is a great site, with tons of deals well over 50% off, sometimes as much as 70%. They also have a great selection, which can be seen through this application.
16. JCPenny Weekly Deals – JC Penny is one of the few surviving department stores in a world that has moved out of the malls and onto the net. But you can use your iPad to see their regular sales,, clearance items, new lines, coming seasons or to shop.
17. Nextag Mobile – This is a shoppers best friend, there is no doubt about that. All you do is take a picture of any pricetag at any store, and this app will do a search to tell you if it is the best price in your area or online. If not, it will give you alternatives. Amazing? I think so.
18. The North Face Gift Guide – Hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, biking….any outdoor activity is covered by North Face. For gifts or personal purchases, you can’t go wrong with this app, which will show you what you can get for anyone.
19. NM Editions – Like Neiman Marcus? You don’t have to subscribe to their catalogs anymore to see what they have for the season. Just flip on this app and browse anywhere, any time.
20. Overwhelming Offers – Want to get rid of overspending when you shop? Overwhelming Offers is nothing but deals all the time, from 50% – 80% off.

When people think about ways to save money, one of the most common themes amongst savers is to start buying their goods in bulk. After all, everyone knows that by buying goods on mass it is possible to get a better deal on the per unit cost, driving down expenses over the long term.

Whilst it’s true that bulk buying can lead to lower individual unit prices, often it doesn’t work out as the best way for people to save money, because of the following factors:

1. The Truth about Warehouse Stores and Bulk Buying Clubs

1. True bulk buying takes place at warehouse stores. These stores already offer goods at almost trade prices and never have sales. Whereas smaller stores will have slash and burn sales where they sell stock off for well below asking price, just so they can get rid of it and don’t need to worry about storage, which can lead to absolutely massive savings.
2. Warehouse stores don’t accept coupons. Coupons are without a doubt, one of the best ways to save money on your regular bills, especially when combined with a normal stores sale offers.Calculate yourself!
   For example, a $2 off coupon will save you 10% on the price of a $20  box of conditioner, but if you use that coupon when the store has the conditioner on special for $10, you can knock 20% off the price (plus the 50% that the store already took off). You could even wait until the end of season when the grocery stores are selling the conditioner off for $8 and that same coupon now pays for 25% of your purchase. Over the same period of time, someone who buys ten boxes of conditioner from a warehouse store, will probably ended up paying $18 or even $19 a unit.
3. Bulk buying clubs like Costco are well known for changing what stock they have on offer from month to month. Occasionally favored items will stay in stock for extended periods of time, but on the whole if you shop at a warehouse store you can’t expect to get the same items every time you visit. This makes it impractical to rely on warehouse stores for fulfilling your regular household requirements.

Bulk Buying is Dangerous for Impulse Shoppers

Impulse buying is always a danger for people who are trying to save money. In warehouse stores, which often stock everything from food to televisions to vacuum cleaners,  this can potentially be an even bigger problem than normal.

Example! With food, you may well be saving money per unit by buying that jumbo jar of sweets, but chances are you would never have been tempted to buy a smaller version in the first place, as you wouldn’t have been able to justify the cost to yourself, not to mention that the bigger jar normally gets eaten just as quick (which really isn’t healthy).

Whilst with household goods you can easily get dazzled into purchasing the strangest things, which is why it is always a good idea to have a predefined shopping list and make sure you stick to it.

Buying Food in Bulk: Saving or Wasting?

When dealing with perishable goods, food in particular, bulk buying is definitely not always the best way to go. It can be great if you know for sure that you’re going to actually get through an entire mountain of food before it goes bad, but if you can’t manage it, then the reality is you’re just throwing money away by buying in bulk.

Besides, buying food in bulk is probably not that good for your diet as well. If you buy more, you eat more – just as easy as that. So buying yummies in bulk may probably be not the best idea!

Of course there are deals to be had by bulk buying, but you need to know what to look out for. A good idea is to keep a price comparison book, which is just a simple notebook, in which you write down the unit cost of your regular shopping, so you know when you’re able to make a real saving or not.

Remember, just because a store is offering something in bulk, doesn’t automatically mean they have lowered their prices (even though they know that’s what most people will think). Always make sure to check you’re actually saving money (or at least getting the best deal you can) before you purchase anything.

Shopping has got more fun since it became possible to shop online. But how many awesome tools are you still unaware of?

And even if you are using some web application daily, has it ever occurred to you that you can use this tool for shopping (and saving)?

Today’s post is a great example of how technology may come in handy when it comes to creating a smart shopping strategy: use Gmail filters to shop and save!

General Guidelines:

In the course of these guidelines you will need to know the following:

What is a label in Gmail? Consider it a virtual folder: the way to organize your in coming mail by topic, sender, etc.

How do I create a folder? Go: Settings -> Labels; scroll down to the bottom of the page, provide the label name and click “Create”

What is a filter in Gmail? A filter is simple way to automatically manage your messages by providing a set of rules.

Where do I create a filter? Go: Settings -> Filters and click “Create a new filter”

Shopping and saving filters examples:

1. Automatically store updates from your favorite online stores in a separate folder:

If you have bought something from some online store, you are most likely to be subscribed to their mailing lists – which means you will be receiving updates on new special offers and coupons. You may want to keep these updates in a separate folder to have them stored in one place (it’s like coupon clipping but no effort needed).

Step 1: Create a label and name it something like “Favorite store”

Step 2: Set up a filter to direct all the messages from the store to that folder:

• To create one filter for multiple stores use OR operator: (support@amazon.com OR support@ebay.com OR support@barnesandnoble.com)
• If you are unsure which exactly email address the message will come from, use * (wildcard operator) before the domain: (*@amazon.com OR *@ebay.com OR *@barnesandnoble.com)

2. Send yourself reminders not to forget to buy something

You can create a separate folder to store all your “TO-BUY” reminders and send yourself email messages to be stored in that folder. Remember that you can access it from anywhere to see what else you need to buy.

Step 1: Create a label called “TO-BUY”

Step 3: Create a filter to store all messages FROM:me TO:me in your TO-BUY folder. Quick tips:

• Automatically star all these messages. In this case you will be able to unstar then once you make the purchase;
• “Skip the inbox” for those reminders not to stuck in your inbox:

Now, whenever you want to remember to buy anything, send yourself a message containing TO BUY: in the subject:

3. Set up SMS alerts for urgent emails

If, for example, you are monitoring any product price until it drops or waiting for some great stuff to appear in stock, you may want to create an SMS alert once it happens.

Step 1: Get free email to SMS gateway for your mobile carrier.

Step 2: Create a filter for that time-sensitive alert. Like in step 1, you may filter the email address of the alerting tool you are using (e.g. *@pricegrabber.com).

Step 3: Setup a Forward rule to your free email-to-sms number (you found it in Step 1):

Once you receive email alert from that tracking service you are using you’ll also get SMS message with about first 150 characters of the email. How awesome is that?

Mystery shopping (also referred to as “secret” shopping) is about getting paid for “pretending” to be a customer.

Retailers pay you to buy something from them to evaluate the quality of service in their stores.

You are thus an undercover reviewer who is assigned to make a particular purchase in a store or restaurant and then report on the experience.

But how far can it go? How weird cases may you come across when trying various secret shopping tasks?

This post looks at 3 really weird mystery shopping assignments.

1. “Mystery patients” of psychiatric ward

Three observers got themselves admitted as patients to a locked psychiatric ward to investigate conditions inside. They were professional actors who had an extensive back story, and the supposed family members who visited them.

The undercover patients developed their fictive biographies in months of meetings with an acting coach and a psychotherapist, rehersals and various trainings.

This case also encouraged TV producers to explore the potential in mystery shopping for reality television.

2. “Mystery worshippers”

The 13 inspectors were hired to find out how British churches could meet people’s needs.

The study was organized by the Christian Research Association and the results were very encouraging. Churches in Telford and Oswestry (UK) scored between 90 and 100% in tests.

According to the Christian Research Association representative, “Most of our mystery worshippers were genuinely surprised by the warmth of their experience in church and some were even keen to go back for more.”

3. Extreme mystery shopper

Sometimes mystery shoppers take the task too seriously. For example, one extreme mystery shopper “floods flats and crashes cars for a living”.

For example, to test a car insurance company he buys a car, insures it, then deliberately crashes it against a tree stump. Would you agree to an assignment like that?

Bonus: Mystery Evaluators of your Daily Life

Sensors Quality Management (SQM), a Canadian mystery shopping company, has published a series of videos called “Thankfully Only For Business”. The videos show what might happen if mystery shoppers were hired to evaluate your daily life.

The secret shoppers in the videos are to evaluate people in the shower, in the gym, on a date:

Post img by LittleMissCupcakeParis

Today’s consumer is smarter than ever before. With the mercurial nature of this economy, everyone is on the lookout for the best deals around. Thankfully, there are several websites that make it easy to get a bargain. With these 9 website for bargain hunters, you can feel confident that you’re getting the best deal with just a few short minutes of shopping.

1. FatWallet—The website for savvy consumers, FatWallet.com helps you find all of the latest deals and coupons from thousands of different retailers. You can often find leaked ads for sales that haven’t even been published yet. This really comes in handy when you’re trying to prepare for grabbing up the best Black Friday deals before everyone else.
2. Woot—The concept of Woot is simple: One great deal each day. These deals are typically for electronics, but there are other Woot websites where you can find daily deals on wine, T-shirts, and other products.
3. Slickdeals—Slickdeals.net is a community-driven website that publishes all of the latest deals from hundreds of different retailers. From promo codes to price comparisons, the Slickdeals website has everything you need to save big bucks on your next purchase.
4. DealCatcher—The DealCatcher community is committed to helping you find the best deals so you can make well-informed purchases. With updates all throughout the day, you can find coupons, sales alerts, product reviews, and rebates at DealCatcher.com.
5. AntiRebate—If you’re like me, you hate the hassle of mail-in rebates. When you’re looking to get instant savings, check out AntiRebate.com. You’ll find coupons, instant rebates, deal alerts, and more all designed to help you find the best bargains without the hassle or problems that come with mail-in rebates. The website features a simple layout, and it’s easy to use.
6. Overstock—The leader and most well-recognized bargain website, Overstock.com offers great savings by selling brand-name products at discount products. The website is able to provide these great deals because they sell excess inventory from other retailers. It’s kind of like the online version of Ross, Marshalls, or TJ Maxx.
7. CurrentCodes—Many online retail websites offer the option of entering a discount code in the shopping cart during checkout. CurrentCodes.com is your one-stop shop for all the latest coupon codes from retailers such as Barnes & Noble, 1-800-FLOWERS, American Eagle, Staples, and more. Always check this website before making your purchase online.
8. Shnoop—Okay, so Shnoop is basically a Woot knockoff, but it still usually publishes a worthwhile deal each day. I recommend subscribing to the RSS feed so that you’re alerted of each day’s new deal as these offers are obviously time sensitive.
9. Dealitem—At Dealitem.com, new coupons and deals are added to the website each hour. Dealitem.com makes it easy to search for the best deals and to compare prices. You can also submit deals and coupon codes that you’ve come across.

Tips for success:

• Subscribe to the RSS feeds of these websites to get the latest alerts as many deals expire quickly
• If you know what you’re looking for, use the search feature and price comparison features to save time on finding the best deal
• Pay attention to the details of the deals as sometimes the products are refurbished

Are there any great deal-finding websites you would add to this list? Leave a comment with your favorites.

So you don’t want to spend money but you still want some new staff. The desire is quite understandable but sounds unrealistic.

Well, actually, this is quite possible; and here are two ways to get something for free:

1. Free Offers

Ok, we have previously said that there’s nothing absolutely free under the sun but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be a smart freebie hunter.

Why is it such a great idea?

• You become a smarter shopper (taking advantage of many free offers, you try a lot of products and can compare their quality, prices, etc. You are also quick at learning about and trying new products and their benefits);
• You learn to save (freebies are often offered along with coupons. By becoming a smart freebie hunter, you also learn to find and take advantage of good timely deals).

Example?

ListFreeSamples is one of the best examples: it has a clear interface and structure: freebies are sorted into various categories like make-up, pet supplies, clothes, etc:

2. Do-It-Yourself

Has it ever occurred to you that you can make plenty of things you buy at home? Yes, this takes much time but why not spend less time watching TV and sitting in front of the community (twittering) and use it to make something valuable?

Why is it such a great idea?

The three best things about DIY is that:

1. It is free;
2. It is fun (especially if you take the opportunity to spend some valuable time with your family doing things together);
3. It is eco-friendly (because you recycle old stuff).

Example?

This blog I stumbled across recently lists an overwhelming number of DIY gadgets made from total waste, take these DIY iPhone docks and stands or this zipped plastic bottle box as examples. The resource has been a constant source of inspiration to me!

3. To Conclude: Avoid Scams

Getting something for free is always nice but for one important things: many scammers take advantage of the fact that people love free stuff. Therefore you should be aware of the fact that there is much scam in the freebie area.

Whenever you are offered something for free, make sure to research if the offer is valid.

Considering you have received an offer by email, here’s a quick infographic for you to make sure the offer is valid:

If in the end you arrived to “Give it a try” box, you may also consider running a quick search in Google to learn more about the free offer provider.

So feel safe when hunting for free stuff – good luck!

Let’s face it: We all know that most infomercial products don’t live up to the hype. In fact, many of them are just well-packed scams trying to get your $20. And because we know this, we tend to ignore all As Seen On TV products because we assume none of them work.

But despite the screaming pitchman and the too-good-to-be-true testimonials, some infomercial products actually work. To help you make well-informed buying decisions, I’ve come up with a list of some of the best-performing infomercial products.

• Fasta Pasta—Like its name implies, Fasta Pasta is designed to help you cook pasta faster and easier. You simply measure the pasta, add water, and cook it in the microwave. In many instances, Fasta Pasta cooks pasta twice as fast as it’d take if you were to boil it on the stove top. And believe it or not, most pasta actually tastes pretty good when you cook it with Fasta Pasta. For the most part, there’s no stirring with Fasta Pasta, and you don’t have to clean a lot of dishes or worry about your water boiling over. At under $15, this is a pretty good deal.

• Snuggie for Dogs—Okay, so you probably remember the Snuggie craze from last year, and you might be rolling your eyes at the thought of a dog wearing a Snuggie but hear me out. For small dogs that aren’t built to withstand the cold, I think the doggie Snuggie is the perfect solution. It’s much easier to put on your dog than a typical sweater, and it doesn’t seem to itch my dog like other sweaters.

• Oxiclean—When you think of Oxiclean, you probably think of the late Billy Mays screaming about how this product gets any stain out of clothes in the wash. Well, it appears Billy was telling the truth, because millions of people swear by Oxiclean. I’ve used it on a few occasions, and it has gotten the stains out while being gentle to the clothing. If you have kids who like to make a mess on their clothes, you should consider trying Oxiclean.

Tips for Buying Infomercial Products

Whether you want to buy the products listed above or some other infomercial products, you should always proceed with caution and common sense. Here are a few tips you should follow when buying infomercial products. These could help you save a lot of money and headaches.

• Read online reviews—Never trust the pitchman or the “real life customers” who claim the product works wonders. Always do your research before buying. I recommend hitting the internet to look for reviews submitted by real users. When reading customer reviews, never take any single opinion too seriously. Instead, read a lot of reviews so you can get an idea of the general consensus.

• Make sure you understand the return policy—A lot of infomercial products claim to come with money back guarantees, but there’s always restrictions and a lot of fine print. Before buying, always make sure you fully understand the return policy so you don’t have problems later on should the product not work.

• Beware of shipping and handling costs—While the $19.95 price point seems attractive, it usually doesn’t tell the full story. Many infomercial products come with exorbitant shipping and handling costs that can milk another $10-$20 out of you. Pay attention to the fine print before buying!

• Try to find the product in a local store—A lot of infomercial products are now available in local grocery and department stores. There are a couple of advantages of purchasing these products at a local store rather than over the phone. First, you eliminate the costs of shipping and handling. Second, you can simply return the product for a full refund at the store if it doesn’t work, rather than dealing with trying to get your money back over the phone.

Which infomercial products have you had success with? Share your favorites by leaving a comment.

Smart shopping means buying only what you really need, finding the lowest price possible and never paying more than the thing is worth.

Buying certain stuff used is a smart idea: for example, many people choose to buy or borrow kids’ stuff from their friends and relatives (because children grow fast and they don’t want to spend much money on the things they will need no longer than 6 months or so).

But saving does have its limits as well. Here are 5 things you better not buy used:

1. Used Shoes

People may want to buy used shows for various reason: they may want save on footwear they don’t need often or even happen to need it only once (like wedding shoes for example) or they may just love vintage style overall.

Here are some reasons why you should avoid buying used shoes:

1. Think about many bacteria and fungal infections that might be found there;
2. Shoes tend to mold to feet of people who wear them for some time; shoes worn by someone else have been adjusted to their feet and will unlikely to mold to your feet.

2. Used Mattress

The problem with a used mattress is that you don’t know who used it before and you are never sure you cleaned it well: a mattress has many layers and it can be stuffed with extra material – so you never know how deep someone else’s bacteria got.

Of course, people may say that you still sleep on used mattresses in the hotels or whenever you spend a night out of your home, but do you feel safe there? Do you want to feel the same way when sleeping at your own home?

Cleaning a used mattress may take you some serious effort: the best way to ensure the mattress is clean of any germs and insects is to hire a professional which is expensive and results in you saving nothing.

Besides, mattresses aren’t meant to last forever. The best ones are normally intended to be used no more than 10 years – so by buying an already used one you have a good chance to get yours expire in a couple of years.

3. Used Underwear

Maybe you like expensive designer underwear that you can’t afford but that reason is not enough to justify wearing another person’s underwear no matter how hard you tried to clean it.

Underwear is meant to be something intimate and personal, you don’t want to imagine who wore it before you, do you?

4. Used Cosmetics

It is funny to think anyone ever wants to sell used cosmetics but yes, they do. Even eBay, the huge stock of various (sometimes really weird) staff, prohibits selling used cosmetics:

Used cosmetics present some serious health and safety concerns because the products and applicators used to apply them often come into direct contact with the body.

5. Used Tissue

OK, this is rather a joke. Hopefully, you never got an idea to buy a used tissue or toilet paper but it looks like some people do:

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

The economy might not be great right now for a lot of people globally, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still take a break and enjoy a vacation. You just have to look for deals — and in the fall you can often find great flight deals to a wide variety of destinations.

Keep the following tips in mind when you’re booking your trip, and you might just come across a flight deal this fall that you can’t pass up!

1. Use online comparison sites.

Online flight and hotel comparison sites can be great tools for finding flight deals not only in the fall, but year-round. While you won’t always find the best deals, the point is that you can compare offers from multiple airlines in one place. With deals changing rapidly, you could miss out on a decent flight deal if you tried to compare the same sites manually (and much more slowly).

If you do find a decent deal on a comparison site, you can always quickly give the airline a call to see if they have any better offers available if you book through them directly.

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Here are some flight comparison sites you might want to try:

• Expedia.com
• Travelocity.com
• Priceline.com
• Orbitz.com
• CheapFlights.com
• CheapTickets.com
• Vayama.com

2. Make sure it’s the off-season at your destination.

If you try to travel during peak tourist season at your destination, chances are good that you’re going to get a lousy deal. When more people are competing for a limited number of seats, airlines can charge a premium for them.

I’ll give you a personal example. I’ve been toying with the idea of taking a trip to the U.K. (from the east coast of the U.S.) for a while now. I’ve tracked flight prices among other things to determine the best time of the year to go. Here’s the gist of what I’ve come across.

When I tracked flight prices through the fall and winter (just basic economy seats for a non-stop flight from New York to London) you could get tickets pretty easily in the $400-500 range round trip. Just two years ago a family member managed to get a deal for even less than that for a similar flight. Then in the spring into the summer, I watched the rates go up, up, up. They stopped around $750 for the same flights (on the low end based on price comparison sites — you could certainly find higher prices if you were a glutton for punishment).

It was all about the off-season. If you can still do the things you want to do when most tourists aren’t visiting the area, then do it even if it might be a little cooler out. Sometimes the off-season will surprise you. You might not have to wait until the weather’s awful, but just until people are done with the bulk of the summer rush or when students go back to school.

3. Look for last minute deals.

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Sometimes the best deals offered are last minute deals. That’s because airlines want to fill as many seats as possible. If the flight date is approaching and there are still a bunch of unbooked seats, it’s in the airline’s best interest to get someone on board for $300 let’s say than to have an empty seat, even if other passengers paid twice that by booking earlier.

You can try to get last minute deals in person at the airport, but a better option is to set up email alerts with comparison sites or even the airlines themselves if they offer them. You’ll get an email featuring several last minute deals. This is a great option if you want to go away but you’re not really fussy about where or when (think of it as an adventure when a deal comes up that you just don’t want to pass up).

4. Check multiple departure points.

You might be surprised to find out that the airport you depart from (or even fly into) can play a big role in the price of your plane tickets. For example, I live about an hour from Philadelphia. I initially started researching ticket prices from there. Then someone recommended to me that I check Newark (northern New Jersey — about a two hour drive for me). I did, and was astonished to see how much lower the fares were for practically the same flights. I could save $100 or more round trip in some cases.

Then I thought “what about leaving from New York?” It’s not that much further than driving to Newark for me, and I have family up there (meaning I could leave my car safely with them and have them drop me at the airport). Some of the tickets were cheaper still! I was shocked at the difference between leaving from JFK and leaving from Philadelphia.

I compared a few other hypothetical flights to compare departure points. JFK didn’t always beat Newark (in fact Newark seemed to have the lower prices more often). The fact that it varied though is just a testament to the fact that you should compare airports every time you want to fly. Comparing airports could even be a bigger money saver than comparing airlines!

5. Don’t travel over the holidays.

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

While you might not have a choice (if you need to fly over the holidays to see family), avoid it if you can. At the very least, try to avoid the busiest holiday travel days. Why? Because getting a good deal isn’t just about the money you lay out. It’s also about the experience. Even if you could save $50 on a ticket, is it worth it if you’re in an overcrowded airport for hours with delayed flights and cranky passengers all around you? I’d say “no.”

At the same time, some airlines have even been known to charge premiums on busy holiday travel days (meaning your ticket might be slightly marked up if you want to travel on “premium” days). The easiest way around this is to schedule carefully. For example, while a lot of people are traveling home the Sunday after Thanksgiving in the U.S., you might be able to get a much better deal (and less airport stress) if you can go home on the following Monday or Tuesday instead.

Finding a good flight deal this fall might take a bit of leg work and looking around, but they’re definitely out there! Being flexible in your travel plans can go a long way towards saving you some money. And who knows? That off-season trip might just prove to be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable holidays you’ve ever taken (minus all the other tourists of course)!

Okay boys. Your girlfriend or wife just asked you to hit the mall with her for the afternoon. Maybe panic strikes (or should we call that feeling dread?). Maybe your instinct is to tell her to forget it. Maybe you feel tempted to get on her case about spending money so she won’t want you with her all day. But hold on. It doesn’t have to be all bad.

Sure, men and women often shop differently. You guys might know what you want, go into a store, and pick up the first one you see — wham, bam, in, out, done! Your gal, on the other hand, might like to meander around the store (or a whole lot of stores), looking for great deals or that perfect pair of jeans that fits just right (which you probably appreciate, so cut her some slack). Shopping differently doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy shopping together.

The next time your significant other asks you to go shopping with her, don’t let images of being saddled with her bags get you down. It’s really all in how you look at it. Here’s why you should give it another thought, how you can get something out of it, and some tips on handling the sometimes-terrifying issue of what she really means when she asks “does this make me look fat?”

What’s in it For You? – Strike a Deal

I honestly can’t blame men for not wanting to shop with a woman sometimes. After all, there’s probably not much in it for them (and let’s face it, when you have time off you’d like to enjoy it). Here are few things you could ask your gal the next time she asks you to go shopping, to make it more palatable:

1. Can we stop at [insert your favorite store here]? Think about things that you might want or need, and let her know you’d like the trip to be about both of you and not just her. It’s only fair. Even better, if you need to make some kind of purchase as a couple (like furniture), bring that up. She’ll get her shopping fix, and you can feel like you’re accomplishing something that you had to do anyway (even if you only look around). Either she’ll agree or she’ll opt to go alone.
2. Okay. But how about we stop for lunch at [insert a restaurant here] after? Make sure it’s your choice. If she’s choosing how you’ll both spend your time shopping, then she should be willing to stop for lunch (or dinner) at one of your favorite restaurants, even if it’s not one she particularly likes. Here’s the deal: you’ll shop with her (without complaining about it), and then she’ll go to lunch with you (without complaining about that either). Everyone gets something they want, and you agree to keep the tension to a minimum.
3. If I go shopping with you, will you do [insert activity here] with me? Let’s be clear here. When I say “activity,” that isn’t without limits. Keep it fair and relevant, and don’t get into the “you owe me” mentality. For example, maybe you want to go out and see a horror flick. Or perhaps you want to catch a ballgame next weekend, and you’d like her to go and do something you enjoy. Make it a trade. Then, even if you don’t love shopping with her, you’ll get something out of the effort — the next day out together doing what you want. And if she says “no,” then you’re perfectly justified in doing the same.

Surviving Woman-Speak: What She Really Means When She Says…

It’s easy enough to find ways to make shopping with your partner work for you with a bit of bartering. But how do you survive the shopping trip itself? Women aren’t always easy to put up with — I’ll be the first to admit that. We don’t always say exactly what we mean, because we assume you’ll understand us (or it matters to us that you understand us so we just expect it — hey, men have their quirks too). To help you safely navigate the conversational front, here’s what your gal might really mean (and want to hear) when she says:

1. Does this make me look fat? Uh oh. She dragged you to the fitting rooms. You’ve been sitting patiently in the “man chair.” She comes out in an outfit she tried on, and asks the dreaded question. It comes in various incarnations, from “Does this make me look fat?” to “Do you like it?” How should you respond? First, understand what she’s really saying.This question could mean a couple of things. For example, she might just be fishing for a compliment. Should you give it to her? Maybe. It might be her way of saying you really don’t compliment her enough. Do it from time to time. It makes her feel good (and if you keep her happy, she’ll keep you happy). On the other hand, you also shouldn’t feel like you have to throw compliments her way constantly, especially if you don’t really mean them. In that case, don’t.

   That question could mean something else entirely though. It could simply mean she liked the outfit, but maybe didn’t like it as much on her. She really just wants another opinion.

   Answering this question is easy. If you love the outfit on her, tell her so. Better yet, tell her why you think she looks great in it. If she’s fishing for a compliment, she’ll get it. If she just wants your opinion, she’ll get that too. Even if you don’t like the outfit on her, it doesn’t have to turn into an issue. Just put it in perspective. Put a positive spin on things. For example, if she showed you other options first, say something like “I really liked that cute black number better.” Again, she’ll get a compliment (you liked her in the other outfit), or she’ll have the opinion she wants. If it’s the first outfit she’s showing you, it gets a bit trickier. But even then you have an easy way out. Just tell her that you’d like to see a few of the others so you have something to compare it to. That’s fair, and she knows you’re not just ignoring her.

2. Honey, can you carry my bags for me?While I understand that men might sometimes feel like pack mules when shopping with a woman, you shouldn’t. If anything, you should feel flattered! When your girlfriend or wife asks you to carry things for her, what she’s really saying is that she’s grateful to have a “big, strong man” by her side.Look. We rarely need you to carry our bags for us. We’d be getting along just fine and dandy carrying them ourselves if we were out on a shopping trip with the girls. (Don’t say that unless you’re looking for a fight though!).

   Also look at it this way. Women can be stubborn. You might only have two (non argument-inducing) options: 1. Help her carry her bags, or 2. Make constant trips back to the car to drop things off (meaning a longer trip overall). So take the compliment and make her happy. Is it really so difficult to do? In most cases, probably not. Yet those little things will go a long way towards keeping her happy. It will make her appreciate having you around, and that’s a good thing. Consider this a “Yes dear,” moment.

3. I’ll be quick. I only need one thing. Okay. This is a lie. A flat out dirty little lie. But we don’t mean it. Honest! The truth is that we’re lying to ourselves when we say things like this as much as fibbing to anyone else. We really do only want one thing. But then we see other things. And other things. And more!
   

   Women are natural hunters when it comes to shopping. We like to compare things. We like to find deals. And sometimes we really don’t know we want or need something until we see it (with an attractive price tag attached). Don’t like it? Well, then remember that when your birthday comes and she’s spent hours picking out the perfect gift or finding a good deal so she could get you exactly what you wanted.

   When you hear this line, just quietly nod your head and smile. Then brace yourself. If you know going into the store that you won’t be out in a minute or two, you’ll get less agitated (and when you get agitated, it’s going to upset her, which is going to upset you more, and then you risk a screaming match followed by the silent treatment on the way home). Know that one thing doesn’t mean “see it, grab it, go,” like it might mean for you. “One thing” means she’ll see a few options, compare them, and browse along the way. And don’t blame your woman. At one point I worked in retail marketing, and let me tell you something. Stores are designed to make her do that. Retailers (from malls to grocery stores) are setup in a way to make her pass infinite other items to get to what she probably wants most (it’s why the staples like milk and bread are often towards the back of grocery stores — to make you walk through aisles of other “unnecessary” things in order to tempt you).

   If she really only wants one thing, and if it’s not something she’d need to try on or absolutely pick herself, be a gentleman (and save your sanity). Offer to run in and get it for her while she sits outside and takes a load off. Who knows? It might work.

The next time your gal asks you to go shopping with her, don’t be too quick to brush her off. She wants to spend time with you. You can get something out of it by going (getting her to do something you want to do next time or getting her to leave you alone while you watch the game later). You can take care of your own errands while you’re out (kill two birds with one stone so you don’t have to go back out another time). And you’ll keep her happy (without having to worry about being romantic or coming up with some great idea of your own). In the end, it doesn’t have to be that bad. You may even make it out alive.