September 6, 2009
GREENSBORO — At 4,133 square feet, Tameka Dumas' Greensboro home is pretty big.Her electric bill? Not so big."My last bill was $142," the married mother of two young boys said.Her highest gas bill last winter? Try $79.Groceries and househo...
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September 1, 2009
WASHINGTON — If you're planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you'd best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of...
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August 31, 2009
RALEIGH — A pair of jeans, a new iPod and a six-pack of beer all got more expensive at 12:01 a.m. today. North Carolina’s sales taxes rose by 1 penny today, increasing to 7.75 percent throughout most of the state, including Guilford and Rockin...
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August 30, 2009
JAMESTOWN — With the possible exception of some T-shirts, nothing at Susan Stringer's shop is made in China. In fact, very little of what she sells is made outside of a 30-mile radius of her store in Jamestown.
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GREENSBORO — Forget what you might have heard about Salvation Army thrift stores. This one breaks the mold.
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August 27, 2009
GREENSBORO — Klaussnerhome Furnishings has opened an outlet store off West Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, the company said today.The store at 4217 West Wendover Ave. in the Wendover Village Shopping Center will offer discounts of up to 50 percent of...
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August 26, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' pessimism about the economy appears to be lifting, with consumer expectations for the next six months hitting their most positive point since the recession began. And a national gauge of home prices has posted its first...
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August 25, 2009
The Cash for Clunkers program has crossed the finish line. The government’s $3 billion rebate program ended at 8 p.m. Monday, two weeks earlier than expected. Since July, the program resulted nationally in the sale of more than 700,000 new, fuel-eff...
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August 23, 2009
ASHEBORO — The love affair started in 1971. Ed Rich was a young man, fresh out of the Army. She was a sleek, chrome-plated beauty in hi-fi blue over silver — a 1959 Harley-Davidson Panhead . Nearly four decades later, Rich remains besotted wit...
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GREENSBORO — Peggy Smith sees customers of all stripes at her thrift store. Treasure hunters. Those barely making ends meet in tough economic times. Rich and poor. Lately, college students and their moms have been shopping for dorm room supplies on...
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August 19, 2009
RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Brittney Thomas, 15, was used to her grandma dropping a thousand dollars at her favorite stores in the Galleria for her back-to-school wardrobe.She was in for an expectation adjustment this year."We've got to cut back,&q...
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August 16, 2009
HIGH POINT — So thrift stores may not be your thing because you prefer new clothes. News flash: Many thrift stores -- at least the ones I've seen and I've been to plenty in the Triad -- carry new apparel. Take the pair of rose-colored, Doncaster la...
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August 13, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM — Football and doughnuts. It doesn’t get much better than that.And Carolina Panthers’ fans can enjoy both.Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. said Thursday it has entered a sponsorship agreement with the NFL team and will sell a v...
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SEAGROVE — On Saturday, in this stretch of Randolph County where the corn grows tall, 13 potters will start selling 200 mugs, tumblers and tea cups and donate everything they make to a man some call America’s Mother Teresa. And it’s not...
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August 12, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — General Motors and eBay Inc. are expected to announce Monday that hundreds of the auto maker's California dealers will let consumers haggle over the prices of new cars and trucks through the online marketplace, as part of a prev...
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August 11, 2009
GREENSBORO — Just off Burlington Road, surrounded by an electric fence and the sawed-open carcasses of scrapped vehicles, sits a kind of automobile purgatory. There, under the unblinking gaze of disembodied front ends piled three to a stack, huddle...
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August 9, 2009
GREENSBORO — Tyanna Townsend's dream of opening her own beauty salon just came true. The 29-year-old beautician held a grand opening of "A New You Salon Boutique" in Greensboro on Aug. 1 with lots of fanfare. Fifteen models dressed in bla...
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August 6, 2009
Perry Calhoun is preparing — and hoping — for a mob this weekend. Tax-free holidays at his West Market Street shoe store are always chaotic. But this year, Calhoun’s raising the ante, covering the sales tax on everything he sells. &ldquo...
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Alexa Castillo, 33, is a fashion designer from Wilmington. Originally from La Ceiba, Honduras, she moved to the United States in 1994. She began her own clothing line a year ago and already has two collections in stores, with another on the way. She will...
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August 2, 2009
REIDSVILLE — The yard in front of Anita Guill's thrift store is jam-packed with home furnishings. Dressers, tables, chairs, baby strollers, end tables, mirrors, entertainment centers, lamps, cribs, bed frames. Deals aplenty, too. Take the floral-pa...
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August 1, 2009
Turns out there were quite a few clunkers on American roads. The so-called “Cash for Clunkers” federal stimulus program apparently burned through a billion dollars in less than a week, leading legislators to take steps to give it a cash infusi...
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July 31, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly Friday to rush $2 billion into the popular but financially strapped "cash for clunkers" car purchase program, heeding calls from consumers eager to keep taking advantage of thousands of...
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July 29, 2009
The recession is making life a little messier for some toddlers and their parents.Disposable training pants, long viewed as a staple in potty training children, are becoming dispensable as some parents choose value over convenience in the recession.These...
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July 28, 2009
GREENSBORO — Rust-buckets. Gas guzzlers. Oldies but not-so-goodies. All heading for the auto graveyard. A fleet of dingy rolling steel began descending on Triad auto dealerships Monday as the “Cash for Clunkers” stimulus program kicked o...
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You know you're a certified frugal shopper when your holiday shopping starts in the summer. That's because you can save by using layaway plans and if you start payments now you'll be paid off by December.
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