coupons

'Coupon Index' Suggests Tough Times Ahead

Consumers are clipping coupons at a rate not seen since before the 2007 recession. If you believe the "coupon index," that may be a sign of trouble ahead for the economy.

JCP Denies Tricking Customers With Phony 'Suggested' Prices

The heart of CEO Ron Johnson's makeover of J.C. Penney has been "fair and square pricing": eschewing discounts, coupons and sales in favor of everyday low prices. But now there are allegations that all is not so fair and square on those JCP price tags.

This Weekend's Best Deals

Every Friday, we scan the weekly ads, deal sites and retailer marketing emails to find the best deals available for the coming week. Here are a few of the best freebies and limited-time offers we found.

Don't Wait Until Super Saturday: This Weekend's Best Deals

Next weekend brings Super Saturday -- the last Saturday before Christmas, and one of the busiest shopping days of the year. If you don't want to get stuck in the mob scene, you should finish your shopping sooner -- like now. To help, we've rounded up some of the best deals on offer this weekend.

Extreme Shoppers Score $8,000 of Stuff for $1,300

How's this for holiday savings: Bringing home a haul of remote control cars, tablets, coats and boots worth $8,000 for just $1,300. That's what extreme couponer Joni Crothers and her "coupon-tourage" accomplished on a Black Friday shopping spree to fulfill the wish lists of 16 children in need.

My Mom's 3 Biggest Money Management Secrets Revealed

Everything I ever needed to know to succeed in life, I learned from my mother. Although I didn't realize it at the time, her maternal management even taught me how to make the most of my money. Here are the three best tricks she ever showed me, and how you can make them work for you.

No Sale: J.C. Penney Reports Worse Than Expected Quarterly Loss

J.C. Penney reported a bigger-than-expected loss in the third quarter on plummeting sales as customers continue to reject its move get rid of blockbuster sales in favor of everyday low pricing. It's the third consecutive quarter of losses and steep sales declines.

JCPenney Took Some Giant Steps Back; Now Customers Are Confused

When Ron Johnson took over as CEO of JCPenney in January, his mantra was "no more coupons." But since the retailer switched to a model of everyday low prices without constant promotions, comparable-store sales have fallen 20 percent, and JCPenney has started to backtrack.

Retailers Finding Clever Ways to Win Smartphone-Using Shoppers

Brick-and-mortar retailers have been taking a beating from shoppers using their stores as mere showrooms for Amazon and other e-commerce sites. But ahead of Christmas shopping season, some experts suggest that a smartphone-equipped shopper should be seen not as a problem, but as an opportunity.

What JCP's CEO Has to Say About Falling Sales and Rising Cynics

Nearly a year after taking over as CEO of J.C. Penney, Ron Johnson seems all too aware that his image as a retailing miracle worker has been seriously tarnished. But he's not worried about the backward thinking naysayers -- and he's still determined to prove the skeptics wrong.

4 Tips to Beat the Back-to-School Shopping Blues

Ready or not, it's time for back-to-school season. Like the Christmas shopping season, it seems to begin earlier every year, and you have to play the game if you want to catch the sales. Or do you? Personal finance guru Jean Chatzky has some surprising advice for parents.

J.C. Penney's Makeover Do-Over: What the Latest Backpedal Means

Shoppers who weren't impressed with J.C. Penney's radical new pricing strategy -- eliminating most sales and all coupons -- have seen the retailer reverse course in recent months. Now it's bringing back clearance sales, too. So where does this leave Ron Johnson's retail reinvention plan?

Budgeting, Guy Style: App Zaps Personal Finance's Gender Gap

Men -- and in particular, younger men -- get a justifiably bad rap when it comes to managing their money. But new tools like PowerWallet are designed to help get them on track by making good financial behavior less of a chore and more of a game.

8 Easy Ways to Slash Your Food Bills by $2,000 or More

Odds are you overpay for food much more often than you realize, and that can add up to thousands of dollars of wasted money over the course of a year. Check out these overpriced edibles, and how you could save a bundle on them.

Your 2012 Memorial Day Sales Savings Cheat Sheet

This weekend, Americans will mark the unofficial start to summer with barbecues, picnics, beach outings and, of course, shopping. Here are some tips for the budget minded to help you get the biggest bang for your buck.

Don't Call Them 'Extreme': Meet the Coupon Enthusiasts

Extreme couponers are still essentially a fringe group, but the Great Recession has given rise to a savvy new breed of mainstream shoppers who've finely honed the art of couponing. Here are a few of their stories.

American Express, Twitter Team Up to Offer Daily Deals

American Express is making a bid to bring cardholders its own version of Groupon-like daily deal offers, joining forces with Twitter in an attempt to turn America into a "couponless nation." The program will undoubtedly offer good discounts -- but can it last in the long term?

Retailers Push Back Against Extreme Couponing Trend

Memo to extreme couponers: Some retailers, particularly supermarkets and drugstore chains, are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. To save their bottom lines, they're setting limits on just how much all your coupon cleverness can save you.

Frugal Nation: Which Cities Are the Most Coupon-Crazy?

Midwestern and Southern shoppers just love their digital coupons. West Coasters -- not so much. Learn what else a survey of U.S. cities' online coupon usage revealed -- and which super-frugal state had three cities in the top 25 list -- and two in the top 10.

Guess Who Clips the Most Coupons?

You might think that less wealthy households would be more active coupon users than their affluent counterparts, but you'd be wrong. The folks at Coupons.org recently released some startling data on trends in coupon usage in America. Here's what they found.

8 Survival Rules for Black Friday Shoppers

Switch on the TV or open the newspaper today, and you'd think there was only one day a year to get bargains: Black Friday. But if you're not careful, the year's most-hyped shopping day can be filled with traps. Here's how not to get bamboozled.

7 Doorbuster-Free Ways to Save Big on Black Friday

Black Friday, the Super Bowl of the holiday shopping season, is upon us. Deal pros cut through the barrage of bargain-hunting tips with a pared down -- and doorbuster-free -- list of simple ways to save during the shopping blitz.

14 Veterans Day Freebies for Those Who Served

As a salute to those who have served our country, on Friday, many restaurants and other businesses are offering freebies to active military and veterans for Veterans Day. In many cases, you'll need military ID or proof of service; other deals apply to civilians too. Dig in and enjoy. That's an order!