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WalletPop Wire

Get striped without sabotaging your figure -- or bank account

Megan Angelo Jan 7th 2010 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Saving Money, Shopping, Economizer

The very savvy Christina Binkley at the Wall Street Journal has thrown down the first fashion declaration of 2010: for spring, it's all about stripes.

Specifically, it's all about the mariniere -- better known stateside as the basic striped boatneck top that once graced the frames of Hepburn and Chanel and continues to dominate catwalks today. Thanks to a battleship's worth of nautical looks at the Paris shows, a retail explosion of stripes is on the horizon.

Which is all well and good if you're reed-thin and don't mind the illusionary pounds rings all around can add to your silhouette. But if you're not: here are a few ways to stripe it up without filling out (and, of course, without breaking the bank).

Continue reading Get striped without sabotaging your figure -- or bank account

Study finds lite restaurant meals pack more calories than stated

Tom Barlow Jan 7th 2010 @ 4:30PM EST Filed Under: Food, Health

For those of us trying to diet away holiday excesses, every calorie counts. We depend on the accuracy of frozen meal nutrition labeling and the information restaurants provide about their meals, but according to a new study in the Journal of the American Dietetics Association by researchers at Tufts University, the caloric content of these foods is often well above stated values; in one case, double the kilo-calories (commonly referred to as calories.)

The study examined the energy content (in calories) of a variety of foods from sit-down and fast food restaurants and frozen convenience meals from the grocery store.

Continue reading Study finds lite restaurant meals pack more calories than stated

ULTA beauty coupon and BOGO free sale

Julia Scott Jan 7th 2010 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Bargain Babe

Oh la la. Time to stock up on moisturizer, makeup, and beauty items. ULTA, one of my favorite places to get discounted skincare, has some really good coupons.

Get $3.50 off a purchase of $10 or more with code 20832. And get this?! It's valid through Nov. 23, 2010. You can use the coupon once per order.

Buy two, get one free on L'Oreal, Neutrogena, and Maybelline products. Not bad at all, especially considering how much money you'll save with the discount and how much time you'll save from not going to the store. Valid through Jan. 23.

If you use Demalogica products, buy two and get one free with this coupon. Valid through Jan. 23.

Some exclusions. Purchasing items at Ulta supports WalletPop.

Struggling taxpayers hurt by IRS collection practices

Lita Epstein Jan 7th 2010 @ 3:30PM EST Filed Under: Tax

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson found that IRS collection practices are harming financially struggling taxpayers without producing significant revenue gains according to her annual report to Congress released Wednesday.

Olson also concluded that increased demands on the IRS have eroded the agency's ability to meet taxpayer service needs. But she did pat the IRS on the back for its success in implementing significant legislative changes designed to stimulate the economy in the middle of the filing season.

How is the IRS harming taxpayers? She says IRS lien filing policies creates serious problems for taxpayers. Over the past decade, the IRS increased its lien filings by nearly 475% - from about 168,000 in FY 1999 to nearly 966,000 in FY 2009, yet overall inflation-adjusted collection revenue declined by 7.4% during this period.

Continue reading Struggling taxpayers hurt by IRS collection practices

Memo to Salvation Army: Clear the check before spending the cash

Zac Bissonnette Jan 7th 2010 @ 3:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Charity, Banking-checking-account

When a $25,000 check turned up in the mail at a Charleston, S.C., Salvation Army office last month, the staff did what seemed rational: deposited it and spent the money on toys and food for about 100 families.

Continue reading Memo to Salvation Army: Clear the check before spending the cash

Shorter maternity leaves bad for breastfeeding

Dr. Ken Kronhaus Jan 7th 2010 @ 2:30PM EST Filed Under: Health

It is advice that has been touted by doctors for years -- breastfeeding for the first six months is good for both baby's health and mom's -- so why are so many new mothers opting for formula or other baby food before this benchmark?

A study by California researchers, "Juggling Work and Life During Pregnancy," seems to have found some answers to this question.

According to the study, which was funded by the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau and published last year in Pediatrics, the worst culprit behind this early abandonment of breastfeeding is a return to the workforce.

The researchers discovered that while a growing number of women begin breastfeeding when their child is born (up from 71% in 2000 to 74% in 2006), the percentage of mothers still nursing shows a decrease (to 43%) by the time baby is six months old, and decreases significantly again by twelve months (to 23%). To determine the cause of this decline, they examined data from 770 California mothers, all full-time workers.

Continue reading Shorter maternity leaves bad for breastfeeding

Unsold clothes destroyed at H&M -- until Twitter roared.

Sarah Gilbert Jan 7th 2010 @ 2:10PM EST Filed Under: Shopping, Charity, Green

New York City's homeless may be wearing a motley collection of castoff clothing: the rejects from the closets of more financially-blessed residents, perhaps, or the logo merchandise from now-merged banks or defunct companies, maybe even some cast-offs from local discount retailers that lingered too long on the clearance racks. Yet, you won't see any such freebies from H& M or Walmart. Instead of donating unsold clothes to the needy, the two retailers have evidently been quietly stuffing unloved frocks in the trash.

According to The New York Times, unsold clothes from the two retailers were found destroyed in garbage bags outside the H&M store on 34th Street east of Sixth Avenue, and in the nearby 35th Street Walmart. At Walmart, unworn clothes had been punched with holes by some sort of machine. At H&M, they'd been slashed by a box cutter, rendering a bunch of fiber-filled coats unwearable.

Continue reading Unsold clothes destroyed at H&M -- until Twitter roared.

Polaroid Face: Can Lady Gaga sell you a camera?

Zac Bissonnette Jan 7th 2010 @ 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Extracurriculars, Technology

Private equity titans Gordon Brothers Brands LLC and Hilco Consumer Capital LP paid $88.1 million in May to acquire what was left of Polaroid, once the most iconic brand in photography. Now the company is looking to make a splash by signing 23-year old pop icon Lady Gaga to a contract that makes her a spokesperson and creative director.

Continue reading Polaroid Face: Can Lady Gaga sell you a camera?

BOGO free coffee coupon at Peet's

Julia Scott Jan 7th 2010 @ 1:45PM EST Filed Under: Bargain Babe

Get a free drink at Peet's Coffee and Tea when you buy one drink now through Jan. 18.

Print the coupon or click on the link and show it to the barista on your mobile phone to get the deal.

I printed two of the coupons and I'm not sure there is a limit, which makes me slightly suspicious of this coupon. If you use it, let me know please!

Find a Peet's near you.

Caveats: excludes juice, kid's beverages, and bottled drinks. Not valid at BART locations, in supermarkets, or at airport Peet's.