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Enjoyed talking with stations across the country about pulling off Halloween on a budget. This weekend, we walked the talk and got together with friends + neighbors for pumpkin carving. Here's some of the information on sites referenced in the TV segments on stations, including 9NEWS.Com (NBC-Denver) & FOX-Detroit + photos from our personal shindig (an attempt at applying some of the tips!) A few people took home their seeds .... When looked at the overnight AOL Hot Search list, sure enough ... it's happening all over the country .... there's a surge in demand for what to do with pumpkin seeds ... The term landed in the #8 slot. You can even ROAST THEM.

Decorating on a Dime: www.ShelterPop.com Some neat inspiration here & pretty darn doable.

Here's what we dreamt up at our own home (pumpkins bought in bulk); "achievement" trophies from K2; & tents with LED Christmas lights from Sears. The nice guy from Sears who helped me with the purchase, explained the LED Energy Saver lights cost more, but are brighter. He was right. They really did the trick + love the look.

RELATED POST: PUMPKIN CARVING PARTY

MORE "AS SEEN ON TV"

Should I unplug things? savings-experiment That question and others answered here. They break down the eye-opening math. A lot of practical takeaways.

HOT Hampsters!: Where to Find Them. You can't make it up!

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We're talking about online resources for buying a car on TV & Radio stations across the country this week. Had privilege of sitting down with the folks on frontlines of the AOL Autos team. They've done some impressive work. The end-result is thoughtfully simplistic (which means the site is loaded with information, but is intuitive to use). A winning equation for successful consumer websites. Here are some background notes based on our conversation with them. Hope helpful. More to come on-air:)

• Should we really log on before we hit the lot and in these tough economic time how do we really make it work to our advantage?

• With automakers filing for bankruptcy and closing local dealers en masse, it is time take advantage of the autos market. AOL Autos, autos.aol.com, is a great place to start for free car information for new and used cars, as well as tips and news.

• People are conducting extensive car research online before they buy. This puts them in the driver seat by giving them the information they need to make smart car buying decisions.

• Those looking at buying a new car can compare the features, prices, incentives and total ownership costs to find the best deals before heading out the door. The site has car buying guides focused on:

• Alternative fuel vehicles

• Crossovers

• Best family cars

• Luxury vehicles

• Sedans

• SUVs

• You can also use their car compare feature http://autos.aol.com/cars-compare
  • Choose between two and five cars to see how they compare on price, features, and performance

  • The differences between the cars you are comparing are highlighted

  • Compare cost to own a selected car with other similar vehicles

• Many consumers are considering used cars due to the current economy, so you can go online and compare cars in your area to make informed choices. AOL Autos Used Cars: Car buying maps and graphs :
  • Search for used cars by zip code: Search results give you location of the car, the cost and it's mileage. See: http://autos.aol.com/used-list/make1-Acura/location-20148/map

  • You can input your address and get driving directions to the car(s) you selected to go see

  • Shows you car prices in your area graphed by price vs. mileage so you can find the best deals. See: http://autos.aol.com/used-list/make1-Acura/location-20148/prices

• Work and even - GRAPH - the used car market - all 3 million of them!

• Don't overlook new - promos highly incentive; very dynamic Run the numbers - look at MSRB vs invoice. Aim to come in on or under.

• E-Haggle - Talk it "type" them down in advance. Win/win - you negotiate anonymously in advance/dealer gets qualified lead.

• Think ahead - use cost of ownership calculator to level-set on "real" 3 year + cost including depreciation (hello! First year will make u cringe), estimated maintenance (not all vehicles historically hold up well).

RELATED POSTS ****** CLICK HERE

Here are just some of the topics and questions we're hoping to address on-air this week across the country. If you're a media producer or anchor and have already opted in, thanks. If not, feel free to reach out & we'd be happy to make time as the schedule allows.

1) THE RUSH IS ON ... AMERICANS ARE CLAMORING TO MAKE THE TAX FILING DEADLINE. IN THIS TOUGH ECONOMY, HOW QUICKLY CAN PEOPLE EXPECT TO GET REFUND CHECKS IF THEY FILE ONLINE?

2) THE REAL ESTATE MARKET CONTINUES TO FLUCTUATE ... WHERE CAN WE GO TO KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGES & REALLY DRILL DOWN ON HOW THEY AFFECT OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS?

3) HE RAN A SMART ONLINE CAMPAIGN & PLEDGED TO BE A HI-TECH PRESIDENT. WHAT HAS THE ADMINISTRATION DONE ONLINE IN THE FIRST 100 DAYS THAT AMERICANS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF?

4) "GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK" AS THEY SAY, BUT RUNNING A MORE COST EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD IS ALSO IN STYLE. WHERE CAN WE GO FOR TIPS ON DOING BOTH?

5) IT'S ALWAYS INTRIGUING TO SEE WHICH "VIRAL VIDEOS" WE CAN'T SEEM TO STOP WATCHING ... SHOW US WHAT YOU'VE DUG UP ....

A sign of the times: Online searches for coupons have shot up over 160% since the recession began. We recently talked coupons on the CBS Early Show ... Retail 101 means I want to offer you the best possible price, but no better. That's why – and this is little known secret – the sooner you start acting like a bargain bee, the better the deals targeted to you will get. It's called dynamic pricing. Here are some of the sites featured on-air + MORE. Turns out, you have more control over the total tab at grocery stores, restaurants and local establishments than you may think ... It pays to be proactive.

CLIP COUPONS VIRTUALLY – SITES FOR SAVING ON GROCERIES:

www.Coupons.com

www.CouponMom.com

www.Shortcuts.com

www.Restaurant.com

On the site, you will find pubs/local eateries and even some chains in almost every zip code nationwide, offering coupons and incentives for you to eat out .... The potential savings include:

- $10 Restaurant gift cards for $3.

- $25 Restaurant gift cards for $10.

Do the math – suddenly a $50 meal can is only $20 bucks. That's a 75% discount!

Related: Dine out for Less ... Know these Tips & Tricks

DISCOUNTS ON SERVICES:
Everything from carpet cleaning to dry cleaning ... The little blue envelope of area-coupons has moved online.

www.ValPak.com

The site is searchable by zip code and the offers are very much like the loaded envelope we grew up getting in our mailbox. I spent some time on the site & it's enough to make me switch drycleaners:)

Example: Several players in my area offering 30% OFF (limit 3 items) or .99 for shirts. If you trade off loyalty for the summer, there could be some legit savings.

ONLINE SHOPPING + COUPON CODES = DEALS:

www.DealLocker.com

www.GottaDeal.com

www.CouponMountain.com

Often there's a promo code box at the end of the checkout process. NEVER leave that box empty. If they're asking for one, that means it exists and it's findable online.

On CouponMountain.com, we found a coupon for $5 of an order of $50 or more at Target.com. A lot of bargain bees on the site reported making in the $51 realm and were able to combine the offer with free shipping (offered on select items). That's a 10% savings and they didn't spend any money on gas getting to a store location.

On DealLocker.com, we found discounts on theme park tickets, you can go directly to sites and easily save 25% at any given moment. One of the hottest coupons right now is a Six Flags offer for adults to pay kids ticket price .... $29.99 vs. $39.99.

Related: Online Shopping Unplugged

EVEN WITH COUPONS IN HAND, YOU'VE GOT TO DO THE TOTAL MATH:
If the initial cost of a product is higher, the coupon may or may not yield total savings. You've got to take the "hype" out of it and drill down on the math. Understanding coupons are – at the end of day – a form of marketing, will help you better extract the value.

WEB SURFERS SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF SPRING ONLINE:
Spring Break Travel Deals, Bathing Suit Season Shape-up, Tips for "Going Green," Fixing-up the House & Managing March Madness Bracketology.

Regina has pinpointed some of spring's most searched for topics to help consumers shake off the cold of winter and put them in the know for shaping-up, fixing-up, saving money and being ahead of the curve for the season's latest and hottest fads and interests.

SPRING BREAK TRAVEL: How can you really be sure you're getting the best price? What happens if the price drops AFTER you click to buy? Good news ... You could be eligible for the new lower fare. We'll show you how to get the credit you deserve and new cyber-savvy ways to use airline miles. Plus, this year, over 250,000 college students will go on Spring Break, and an unprecedented number of webcams will follow the action (for better or worse!). Expect to see the unexpected. We'll show you why & where your teen might think twice about striking the wrong – or even incriminating - pose in this tell-all, social networking age. www.Gadling.com

DIET DIARY: Start a Diet Diary: The multi-billion dollar diet industry isn't exactly known for FREE resources, but one of the most effective things you can do just launched online at ZERO cost. It's a diet diary to plan and track your food & nutrition in-take, plot and record your exercise regime and track your progress. According to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a recently study indicated people who keep a food diary realize TWICE the weight loss of those who rely solely on dieting and exercise. The newly available tool generates printable graphs & spreadsheets, so you can really see how your diet stacks up against recommended guidelines for the goals you're trying to reach. If you're off-course, it shows up in the reports before it shows up on your waistline! http://www.aolhealth.com/food-diary

MARCH MADNESS: Online bracket challenges are in full force. Regina has tips and sites to help make sure you're Final Four picks are a slam dunk. This year there'll also be hours & hours of basketball coverage online and it may look better than ever with improved video streams comparable to high-def TV. It's one of the first big sports event to take advantage of it & the potentially career-saving "Boss Button" will also be back (not that you need it;). If you're looking to attend the Final Four in person, "sold out" doesn't' meant you can't get tickets online. We'll point you in the right ticket re-sale direction and fill you in on the going rate. www.Fanhouse.com

FREE CLASSIFIEDS: Here's a sign of the times... In response to demand for a way to bring classified listings across the web to one place, a new classifieds service boasts listings from EVERY zip code in and allows you to post your own ad for FREE. At launch, there are more than 40 million listings aggregated from more than 80 million sites, which means less searching and surfing for what you're after and more luck trying. www.classifieds.aol.com

We're taping a segment for "The View" today. It'll air on Friday. It's about the SECRET LIVES OF TEENS. Here are some startling stats used in compiling what I hope will be a genuinely useful show. Teens really are the first group to grow up online. If you are 15 today, in many cases you have never lived a day with a computer in your home and your classroom. That's unprecedented & it makes technology instinctive for young people in a way it never will be for adults. I spoke with a lot of teen and pre-teen parents in preparation for this segment & must say, am really impressed (and inspired) by how genuinely interested parents are in staying on top of tech trends as they relate to their children. They instinctively seem to know being on top of your teen's online life and helping them mature with and through it, is a critical part of modern day parenting. Parenting is the tricky part. The tech-piece just accelerates things. Here's hoping we can do a little something to help you keep up .... This is the first in a series of related posts. First, the #'s:

TIME SPENT ONLINE
- The average 13-17 year old spends 11.5 hours online per week (Source: OTX Research – Press Release 2008/06-18-08_Teens_and_Internet.pdf)

TEXT SENT MONTHLY
- The average teen ages 13-17 1742 texts monthly according to Nielsen. And that can be conservative!

IMS DAILY
- There are 1.5 Billion AIM messages sent daily (Source: AOL data)

FACEBOOK STATS
- 150 million people currently use Facebook (as of Jan. 7, 2009). The announcement was made on the Facebook company blog by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. If Facebook sustains this rate of growth, the 5-year-old site could hit 200 million users by this spring. To try it, is to get it. Keeping up with it, can be time consuming.

The reported median age is 26, so it's important to know they can be hanging with an older crowd. Looks like approx. 14% of Facebook users are ages 0-17. The 30+ demographic is growing the fastest and has parents and teens crossing paths online. The 30+ Population on Facebook Grew By Over 200% In 2008. Nearly 50 Million Users On Facebook are Over 30. That's "creeping" some kids out - Parents and teenagers meet on Facebook - Internet- msnbc.com

Inside Facebook expects Facebook could cross 200 million monthly active users as early as April, or in about 90 days.

Some more quick Facebook statistics:

- Average user has 100 friends on the site

- More than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)

- More than 13 million users update their statuses at least once each day

- More than 3 million users become fans of Pages each day

- More than 800 million photos uploaded to the site each month

- More than 5 million videos uploaded each month

- More than 20 million pieces of content (web links, news stories etc.) shared each month

- More than 2 million events created each month

- More than 20 million active user groups exist on the site

-

CYBERBULLYING
- The most susceptible cyberbullying ages are girls 9-13.
- Sometimes parents are the last to know, because they're afraid you'll take the computer or cellphone (their lifeline) away.

OTHER STATS & RELATED ARTICLES.

- 95% of teens are online (Pew Internet)

- Parents of Teens Regulate Content More Than Time: Though the majority of teen parents do attempt to regulate the amount of time their teen spends online, they are more concerned with the types of Internet sites their teen visits (Pew Internet).

For Parents, a New Concern: Teenagers and Laptops - New York TimesWe used to always tell parents to "keep an eye on the screen" and to "keep the computer in a central location in the house like the kitchen or family room." That's getting a lot less realistic. With laptops, the computer moves around. With cellphones glued to your child's body, unless you shadow them all day ... .this isn't really doable. Also, they can put one screen in back of the other and change it up in a split second. So, as soon as you approach .... up goes the homework.

And, here's my personal favorite article title by gifted writer Michelle Slatalla: 'omg my mom joined facebook!!' - New York Times. I've shared it with every mom I know. Feel free to do same.

What a super -- literally -- night of television ... The Super Bowl more than delievered & it was great to watch it with my kids who have taken to yelling things like "Face mask!" at the TV. My sons couldn't quite understand how I knew all the words to the Bruce Springsteen songs at half time. Age is weird that way;) My daughter is wearing a Steelers jersey to school today. An overnight fan;) The ads didn't blow me over, but we'll be talking about what worked, what didn't and why on CNN Headline News this morning. If you stepped out of the room or want to weigh in on one of your most or least favorites .... You can watch them all here.

So, you could still go to the game ... Certainly -- as covering on MSNBC & FOX throughout the day -- there are still tickets available. In fact, StubHub.com is reporting record volume & lower prices than ever. Some are even predicting tickets could soon go for face value by kick-off with prices plummeting after the first punt.

Face value + use miles to fly and you're so there ....

Or, keep hope alive & imagine yourself here for SuperBowl 2010. Packages already available. No word re: pre-sales. I dare you;)

Or, NOT. None of the above is new norm, which could be why the big game is the second biggest driver of TV sales. This year, 40 seems to be the new 50. As in inches. While the discounts may be deeper on the jumbos, seems we must be coming to our collective flat-screen senses & realizing what we have or can get for under $1000 is .... big enough.

Enough said. Enjoy the game with family & friends + watch for updates re: the "other" game .... ADVERTISING + RATE ADS HERE.

We're returning to FOX's "Mike & Juliet" Show today .... Is always a pleasure & it should be fun to watch the food stylists behind-the-scenes. Juliet (Juliet AnneMarie Huddy bio) is one of the nicest hosts you'll ever meet off-camera & every time I look at Mike (Michael Eugene Joseph Jerrick bio), it reminds me of my cousin Jay. They look so much alike.

Is it really possible to eat out for less than eating at home? It really can be and the big fast food players are playing right into demand for this. Fast food has always been about convenience; in some cases they've learned the hard way (many were late by their own admission to address this) Americans - particularly women - are also trying to be more nutrition conscious; and now more than ever, we're also pinching pennies. Those three trends combined have sparked some really amazing options for consumers looking to make smart choices - for their waistline and their wallet. You're in the driver seat .... Can you walk in and run up a big tab and wolf down thousands of calories, yes (but you can do that at home too). Can you walk in get out for roughly 500 calories and $5 .... Absolutely.

One of the things the web has done is really upped-the-ante on full disclosure. Carb counts, fat grams, sodium levels .... You name it. It'll all there. I have three kids and we take a lot of road trips. Our rule is we can eat fast food when we're on the road, but I challenge them to figure out all this stuff before we stop and they make their pick (and I make mine). My daughter uses my iphone to look it up or reads of the info on a napkin invariably in car from previous weekend;). It makes for a fun little car trivia game (eg. Guess how many calories there are in one small shake?"). There are some real surprises, including some pleasant surprises, which think you'll see when you check out some of the suggested meals on the show and in this blog entry ....


Best ways to really get the prices down?

** Keep an eye out for the latest deals – even if you miss them advertised on TV, you'll find most deals also posted online by logging on to to the web site of your favorite fast food restaurant, i.e., KFC's Unbeatable Feast TV Ad - KFC.com – Dinner for 5 for $3.00 each – 10 pieces of chicken, 3 large sides and 5 biscuits.

**Sign-up for "special offers" online: Most of the fast food sites also encourage you to sign up for "special offers" and printable coupons to be emailed to you, i.e. SUBWAY FRESHBUZZ™ & Sign up for WENDYMAIL & Online Coupons - KFC.com

**Ordering Pizza? Look for online coupon codes: www.papajohns.com - PapaJohns Online Coupon Codes are easy to find online (and you can order your pizza online) – examples: Papa Johns Coupons handpicked by BradsDeals.com and Domino's posts their latest offers right on their site - Our Menu: Coupons. Pizzeria UNO has an Insider's Club. You should never order pizza without a coupon!

So there are some good food deals out there, a lot of this food is not exactly heart-healthy ... maybe it's a better for your bottomline, but what about peoples' waistlines?

**Fast Food Nutrition Info. on the Go:
A lot of fast food chains have continued to roll out healthier options. One great way to find out the nutrition information on the fly is with a mobile applications you can download for free online – here's one for the iPhone - http://www.appsafari.com/food/5704/restaurant-nutrition/ You can look up what your best bet is while you wait in the drive thru line.

**Do you want fries with that Text Message? (Mobile Coupons):
Getting back to cost-savings for a second... some fast-food chains are beginning to experiment with text message special offers/coupon codes which are sent to customers who have opted in to receive them.

- It's cheaper for the fast food restaurants to send out promotions this way (vs. mailing them) and they have the opportunity to go viral, as people fwd. the deals to friends.

- Money Mailer is now moving into "mobile couponing," in which consumers agree to receive coupons via cellphone text messages. In a recent promotion for a fast-food chain, 13 percent of the text message coupons were redeemed, said Steven Gray, chief operating officer of Money Mailer, who said that "5 percent is a good return."

Fast food chain Arby's deploys mobile coupons - Mobile Marketer - Commerce

It's a worldwide phenomen .... SMS Text Serves Up Tasty Results for Fast Food Outlets

RELATED:

Eating well on a tight budget | SCNow + News Video

What a day. There's a ton of material online re: today's magestic events, including full text of Obama's Inaugural address. I thought it was stunning. Click on image below for text of full speech.

WITH UNEMPLOYMENT, THE HIGHEST IN ALMOST 16 YEARS .... LOOKING FOR A JOB HAS TAKEN ON A WHOLE NEW DYNAMIC. HAVE WEBSITES CHANGED ACCORDINGLY? WE'LL BE TACKLING THIS TOPIC ON-AIR & SHARING BACKGROUND NOTES HERE IN COMING WEEKS.

They have. They get it. They have particular eye/slant now on "recession-proof" jobs. Business Week has this story. Perhaps there isn't such a thing, but if you're out of work & looking to figure out what the rest of your career picture looks like -- or if you have a student in college and are looking to guide them -- the changes in these sites are pretty telling. Specifically: Jobs.AOL.Com – powered by CareerBuilder.com – now offers a salary calculator + a cost of living calculator if you're thinking of relocating for work ...

Spending a few minutes HERE could really pay off.

The more you play around with the PayScale tools & calculators, the more you'll likely come to appreciate the grass isn't always greener. We're all in this together. The resources can also help you think outside of the box .... Some of the most "recession proof" jobs – teachers & nurses. Jobs that help you work less & earn more based on hourly rates? Tree trimmers, bus drivers and directors of religious activities or school counselors. Seems it pays to have specific skills and be able to make a difference on an hourly basis.

greenumbrella.com
Companies sell extended service plans for just about everything these days – from iPods and cell phones to big screen TVs, washing machines and everything in between. When you buy an extended service contract, you're betting your new gadget will break within the next three years & the cost of fixing it will be higher than the price of the warranty. The seller of the warranty is betting it won't. The odds vary. You beat the house if you pay $200 and run up against an $800 repair. They win if nothing goes wrong & they've pocketed $200 of almost pure profit.

One way to potentially pay less and possibly stack the odds a little more in your favor is with "umbrella" coverage. GreenUmbrella.com offers all-in-one extended plans for $9.95 a month that covers all your new gadgets or household appliances for three years. Green Umbrella covers an unlimited number of major brand home appliance products per customer, there are no deductibles and there are no fees for in-home repair or replacement service. Consumers can register multiple products up to 30 days after purchase at no additional cost. More than 50,000 coverage eligible products are listed on the site & right now, they're running some specials allowing you to register anything you've purchased in last calendar year. Arguably, the more items you register, the more valuable the potential service. There are some caveats: they don't cover cell phones and they don't cover accidental damage.

walletpop.com
If there's one money saving/deal-finder site you want to have book marked, especially in this economy and during the height of holiday shopping season – it's walletpop.com. The site offers up daily money saving tips and advice, uncovers information for finding the best online shopping deals and hidden coupon codes and even dishes out helpful financial advice and planning. Walletpop had live-bloggers station at malls during Black Friday and will be staying on top of the best Cyber Monday deals.

servicemagic.com - Find qualified contractors online.

Old way: Crack open the Yellow Pages and look for help.
New way: Log on and have qualified businesses contact you.

I tried it and was AMAZED how quickly I got a call back from a potential handyman. Literally within 60 seconds of submitting my online request. Think of it as eBay for services. ServiceMagic.com has a database of 52,000 prescreened contractors and other types of home service professionals, such as plumbers, electricians, landscapers, maids, on and on. With a few clicks of the mouse you have multiple (qualified/screened) contractors competing for your business. Simply typing in your zip code and the desired service. I couldn't believe how many results instantly got for refinishing kitchen cabinets. The service is FREE. They make their money by generating leads for the service providers.

www.yapta.com - Yapta.com: Short for "your amazing personal travel assistant"
You book your airline ticket, prices drop ... But it's not game over! Plug in your itinerary into Yapta.com (before or after you book) and it will alert you if/when prices drop. All major airlines offer what is called the "guaranteed airfare policy," which means you're eligible for a refund if the fare price decreases. When you get your itinerary, just email it to Yapta at flights@yapta.com. It's literally just a matter of forwarding what the airlines send you. Couldn't be easier. Even after deducting any change fee levied by the airline, if your $400 round trip ticket is suddenly $275, you might have $50+ bucks headed your way. (Yapta only sends an alert if the savings are more than the airline's rebooking fees, and claims 19% of purchased flights qualify.) Travelers can call the airline to claim their travel credit themselves or pay $15 to have Yapta do it.

DMAchoice.org – junk the junk mail.
A new Web site lets you keep unwanted come-ons from piling up. DMAchoice.org, the Direct Marketing Association's site, lets consumers pick and choose what they want and don't want to receive in their mailboxes. By logging on to the site for free, consumers can indicate their preferences by business name or entire categories, such as credit card offers, catalogues or magazines.

www.howstufworks.com

Recently read about how a baby monitor was picking up a feed from the Space Station. What a shock that would be. How Stuff Works explains this kind of thing. An award-winning, unbiased site it does what it says it does and explains how stuff works. The baby monitor mystery is all about TV & Radio satellite frequencies. The code is cracked here: Howstuffworks "Why is a baby monitor picking up video of the space shuttle?"

truveo.com
If you haven't discovered this yet, you're going to thank me. Think of it as Google, but for video. It's the leading video search engine, so you can find whatever video you're looking for -- from all video sources across the web -- news networks, YouTube, MySpace, etc. It's incredibly well organized & suspect will soon be a household name along the lines of Amazon, Google, and iTunes. No more aimless surfing.

Funnyordie.com
The award-winning web site started by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay brings in over 3 million visitors per month and has become one of the top destinations for comedy on the web. FunnyorDie.com put itself on the map a little over 18 months ago when McKay's 3-year-old daughter Pearl became a star in her own. Pearl starred with Will Ferrell in the site's first video: "The Landlord" and it pulled in more than 60 million views. FunnyorDie.com has expanded to become a repository of professional content created by top comedians, including Judd Apatow, Jack McBrayer ("30 Rock") and the comedy troupe Human Giant. Their videos are mixed with (the less popular) viewer-submitted videos, which can remain on the site if they are rated highly enough.

Lester Holt & I covered some of these sites on TODAY SHOW ..... We'll be continuing to update the latest ways to get more bang for your buck .... You may be surprised how far you can stretch what IS & ISN'T in your wallet .... Read on & check back in for further updates ...

Swinging by the popular Morning Show with Mike & Juliet tomorrow .... Have done interviews with both of them before, but it's the first time I'll be appearing on their morning show. She is full-fledged FOX-gorgeous ... tough person to sit next to! At the risk of stating the obvious, they're both enormously talented & fun to spend New year's with (they often anchor the Fox ball-dropping broadcast). We're doing a segement on THINGS PARENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEBCAMS, especially in light of the popular iCarly Show ... My Kids are big fans & this story is close to my heart ... Tune in & watch for additional, related WEBCAM 101 TIPS FOR PARENTS to be posted tomorrow.

WEBCAMS 101: FIVE THINGS TO ZOOM IN ON

RELATED POST: WINDOW INTO YOUR CHILD'S WORLD