len_mullen

I agree. I have not purchased candy yet and never decorate for Halloween. We live on a cul de sac of old people so I usually end up eating what I buy. Keeping my powder dry this year hoping to maintain my girlish figure! If you are looking for Halloween themed candy, Aldis has plenty of it at great prices.

Did you find a description of polling methods? I could not. I'd like to know more about sampling of cohorts -- what percentage of those surveyed shopped in stores last year, for instance, or what percentage of those surveyed were black, high income, gen x, etc.

Get an ADDITIONAL $15 off with promo code NEW. Happy shopping! https://www.qvc.com/Amazon-ALL-NEW-Fire-8"-32GB-Tablet-w-Software-%26-Case-Voucher.product.E234326.html QVC PRICE: Amazon ALL-NEW Fire 8" 32GB Tablet w/ Software & Case Voucher $59.96 +Free Standard S&H https://www.qvc.com/Amazon-ALL-NEW-Fire-8%22-64GB-Tablet-w-Software-%26-Case-Voucher.product.E234327.html QVC PRICE: Amazon ALL-NEW Fire 8" 64GB Tablet w/ Software & Case Voucher $89.96 +Free Standard S&H

To be fair, it's been a LONG time since anyone has had a one-day-Black-Friday-sale. And there is Cyber Monday. Recently, November has been Black Friday Months with door busters and not-so-secret sales each weekend. If Amazon has Prime Days in October, that will mark the beginning of Black Friday -- unless Walmart has a preemptive sale.

The future of malls -- community centers. I have seen two shopping centers built at new housing projects near major highways. Both are bus stops as well. Work all day, take the bus home, work out at the gym, and grab milk and eggs on your way to your condo. They have wifi on the buses, but now they need to figure out how to socially distance people on their commute.

Probably not shopping at Staples this year. It's the end of an era, really. I have two bags of ink cartridges to recycle (October and November). I am eligible to recycle ink cartridges for two months. I'll get three more rewards 'checks' (October, November, and December). I have $145 in Staples gift cards. I have to spend $522.94 by the end of the year to maintain my Rewards status. That's only one fourth the story. I bought a new desktop last Black Friday. I have an HP 8620 all-in-one with maybe ten pages printed. I have enough ink for this printer to last me for the rest of my life. I have three boxes of paper and a drawer of specialty paper. We all have great laptops. That's only one fourth the story. My oldest if out of school and does not own a printer. My youngest is in a 'sustainable' program that does everything paperlessly. I print about a ream a year. That's only one fourth the story. Changes to Staples Rewards and Discover Cash Back have dramatically diminished the stream of unearned income I spent at Staples. Discover used to sell Staples gift cards at a 50% discount. Now the discount is about 15%. I only use my Discover card for the 5% deals as my Paypal Mastercard gives 2% on everything. So 1.15x(4x(75))) yields $345 in Staples gift cards -- about a third of the $1000 spend threshold to maintain rewards status. Free-after-rewards is gone. Rare coupons are heavily exempted. Price matching is over. Almost everything is less expensive somewhere else. That's only one fourth the story. I'll recycle my ink, spend my $265, and use my Staples Rewards to get discounts on Amazon.com. That's the whole story. It was fun while it lasted...

Three years ago, I popped into Walmart on my way home from Thanksgiving dinner to pickup a pair of iPhones. Easy peasy and I got to sleep in Friday.

I refuse to respond to this until you post a link to the announcement. What are you new here?

I'm not sure what will be missing. So far, none. I don't mind stores being closed on Thanksgiving. I don't mind not standing in line in the wee hours. I'm hoping that consumers return to retail for the entirety of the Christmas shopping season. My biggest concern is that this forum will slump badly absent the ads and deal discussion. I will miss the anticipation and excitement of the ad arrivals -- and occasional cease and desist. If you guys keep the forums busy, I can deal with a little less anticipation and excitement. (A tee shirt and a gift card would be very exciting.)

I bought a set this weekend. It has a tempered glass top. That's really what I was looking for. The wooden table top I have now is vulnerable to moisture rings, sharp objects, and ... well ... just about everything. Thanks for thinking of me.

Struggling to understand why you would preclude posts to the prize club thread. Doing so makes it even harder to maintain interest in that thread beyond, "in for September."

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, to assist me in choosing a new table for my kitchen. I have a table in my kitchen. It has a wooden eating surface. Wet or cold drinks leave rings on the table. It never feels clean to me. It's gotta go. The existing table has to go by 10/24. I'm looking for a table that cleans easily is resistant to human beings, and seats six comfortably.

When I moved into my home, we had Ames, Bradlees, and Service Merchandise. Ames became Walmart, Bradlees became Kohls, and Service Merchandise became...Staples...I think. Like everyone else in the world, I shopped Walmart. Never went into Kohls. Then one day I had to use a rest room and ducked into Kohls. Nicest public restroom I ever used. No kidding. On the way out, I walked around the store. Lots of nice stuff. We got their cards, started working their promotions, and have all but stopped shopping Walmart. If I am not in a hurry, I can usually beat Amazon and Walmart on price and returns are very easy.

Interesting development. Simon vs Walmart vs Amazon?

I don't think Home Depot starts the domino effect. They do not have much of an event anyway. It'll be interesting to see if Ace Hardware and Lowes follow suit. I think that is how it goes -- sector by sector.

Take the glasses off!

already working on my haikus.

It is. And healthy -- in moderation. When my kid went to the BSA National Jamboree, they got 'scout bucks' for participating in activities. Some genius showed up with a tractor trailer full of jerky which could be purchased with those points. On the ride home he regaled me with tales of beef jerky. (Better than chew or snuff, right?) I was surprised to learn this jerky could cost from $20 to more than $100 per pound and decided to do some research. What I found is that off the shelf jerky is not very healthy. We had a fruit dryer, so I bought a roast, made a marinade, and dried out some thinly sliced beef soaked in the marinade. It was great. Now, I have a deli slicer and a nine tray dehydrator and dozens of recipes. I also make raisins and dried mushrooms. Have fun!

Your niece would LOVE the fart machine. I don't care who you are, farts are funny.

I hear you. All good stuff. Still pretty happy with the existing program and even happier with 5% cash back. Generally coincides with the other discounts but out of sync with rewards. That's OK with me because rewards are deducted before discounts are applied, so you are better off using rewards on k-cups or some non-qualifying item separate from the discounts. Also, pick up at the store and get $5 rewards.

79f right now with sunny skies. Tonight it will drop to 61f. Tough to beat. Primary day (except presidential) in my town today. All the 'public servants' who have been hiding in their basements since March were on hand. Apparently, ballots counting and trash pickup are the only essential services in Danville New Hampshire. (Actually, they do not get paid for elections if they do not show up.) The woman in front of me had a little girl with her. I always took my kids to vote with me -- just as my father always took me. We used to vote at the school. It was set up the day before and we held a mock election. Great civics lesson. My first real vote, I knew exactly how things worked. The keeper of the checklist knew me by name and asked about my siblings. She was the town historian and my second grade teacher. Things are different today. With the World Wide Web, we know a LOT about the people on the ballot. End up not liking most of them ;-) Nine trays of banana slices in the dehydrator. No salt, no sugar, no preservatives. D@mn near free (if you ignore my time). I have six pounds of beef jerky queued up -- Honey Jalapeno, Ghost Pepper, and Habanero Orange Beef. The Ghost Pepper is based on a comment in a jerky forum... 1 lb Round Eye cut 1/8th cross grain1/3 Cup Soy Sauce1/3 Cup Worcestershire1 tbs Onion Powder’1 tbs Garlic Powder1 tsp Smoked Paprika1 tbs Honey2 Whole Ghost Peppers After that, Sweet Heat Sriracha Jerky -- except with chicken breast. I just polished off a gallon of soy sauce -- never thought that would happen. In the meantime, banana bread and breakfast casserole are in the oven. Time for a walk. I cannot wait to be retired! (845 days)

Tara, Kohls offers free shipping with a well promoted code nearly every month. Tradition says it's imminent and will probably be SEPMVCFREE. Ditto for 30% off with Kohls card. Just have to pay attention in the deal discussion forums. Lately, they give you $5 in rewards if you pick up your stuff. I guess the $5 in Rewards that arrived unexpectedly last week is the new 5% back in rewards. Happy shopping!

I like shirts.

What could be better than that?

Same here. Like to select my produce and meats. Check the sell by dates on everything fresh. Sticking with B&M until they take my license away.