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Tough times drive many to save big, buy in bulk

(NEWSER) - While the recession has left many cupboards bare, others are sagging as the cash-strapped turn into coupon-wielding obsessives who stock up on months or years worth of groceries on the cheap. While coupon usage peaked in the '90s, it surged 27% last year—mainly due to extreme coupon users, reports the Wall Street Journal . "If you can get 100 packs of toilet paper for free, you're going to," says one devotee. More»

They may be cheap, but you really don't want to stay in them

(NEWSER) - Unless you like urine-scented rooms and hairs in the bathtub, you probably won’t want to stay at any of Trip Advisor ’s top 10 dirtiest hotels in the US. Below, a sampling of the user reviews:

1. Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco: “The second room ‘appeared’ clean until we realized the next morning that we slept with bed bugs.”
2. Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, Mo: “The smell was horrible. The floors and walls were dirty. There was food and beverage spilled and dried up all over the place.”
3. Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach: “The ice machine produces dirty ice and is not fit to use.”
4. Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach: “There were hairs in the bathtub, and bugs on the counter.”

Airlines ramp up discounts in promotional offers

(NEWSER) - The latest airfare deals aren't online or at travel agencies—they're targeted promotional fares, being emailed and tweeted to customers who sign up to receive them or who enroll in frequent-flier programs. These under-the-radar offers, an inexpensive form of advertising increasingly popular with recession-battered airlines, range from 10% discounts to buy-one-get-one-free ticket deals, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Can't afford a vacation? Don't worry about skipping these locales

(NEWSER) - Sure, you could read one of the many lists of destinations you should visit this year—but in this economic climate, wouldn’t it be more useful to check out a list of places not to visit? Hailey Eber thinks so, and gives her top 10 in BlackBook :

• Oymyakon, Russia: In this Siberian village on record as the coldest town on Earth, the temperature must drop to -62 degrees Fahrenheit before schools close.
• Paula Deen Cruise to the Caribbean: You usually put on a few pounds while on vacation…and a few more if that vacation is the neverending buffet of a cruise ship. Add Paula Deen’s butter-filled recipes into the mix, and you’ll soon be “too ashamed to waddle around the lido deck in your bikini.”
• Pakistan: “Violent extremists, Al-Qaida, and Taliban elements do not a vacation make. But, you probably knew that already.”

The resale business is booming in the recession

(NEWSER) - Stores that specialize in reselling trendy used clothes are doing a booming business these days—enough so that they can afford to be picky. So many people are looking to make a quick buck by thinning out their closets that even Dior and Juicy Couture can be rejected, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»