personal finance in a coupon blog

With Halloween fast approaching there are many tempting costumes floating around local convenience stores, but often we buy those costumes and throw them away, not to mention many of them are constructed with toxic dyes that pollute waterways and petroleum products that require drilling. This Halloween, why not go crafty and make your own green costume? Or gather some recyclable materials to whip up something new.

Whatever you're searching for for your green Halloween, we're here to help.

To say that I'm obsessed with cosmetics would be an understatement of epic size and behemoth proportions. Any mention of "natural" or "organic" cosmetics nearly compels me to sit down and compose a rambling college thesis on the subject.

OK, so I'm enamored with beauty products--what girl isn't? There's something about the pop-py, pretty brilliance of color in eye makeup, as well as the loosely guaranteed but nonetheless well-intentioned assurances of age defiance in skincare products, which has me abusing my credit card. Fall is my favorite season, and it's finally here, so I can give myself an excuse to add some cool, smoky, even plucky colors to my face palette.

But, I also happen to be very conscious and extremely picky about the makeup I buy. That is, I'm a health freak and tend to be most attracted to makeup that have the words "natural" or "organic" in their clever marketing or packaging. Why? Because as I mentioned in a previous post, about 60% of what you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body. With this in mind, I try to be vigilant about checking the ingredients list on my favorite cosmetics and skincare lines and comparing it against the ratings of the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

Last week Lindsay posted some affordable green cosmetic options she's discovered. Here's a list of healthy or environmentally-conscious beauty and skincare products in MY cabinet:

I've been testing out a BalanceBall chair from Gaiam--which I, uh, "diverted" from Sara--aka "WiscoVixen. Hey, possession is nine-tenths of the law--but that also means I'm responsible for writing the review.

What follows is an Ode to the BalanceBall Chair:

Halloween is not the most distinguished of holidays. It's hard to look elegant in a Freddy Krueger mask or as a "Sexy Corpse Bride." Or "Sexy M&M." Or "Sexy Swashbuckler." Or "Sexy Tin Woman." I swear, I am not making these up!

So what's a refined hostess to do when Halloween rolls around? What can she serve that's sophisticated, not sophomoric--like dry ice in the punchbowl? Or worse, a floating hand in the punchbowl. In short, what Halloween booze won't insult your (or your guests) intelligence?

Have I got a list for you! Read on for Stylish Spirits sure to make your adult gathering a hit:

Halloween season is upon us, but nothing is quite so chilling or spooky as mounting money troubles. There are ways out of a current financial mess. Because of the state of the economy, some may not sure if some types of loans are still available. Sub-prime mortgages, for one, are not being handed out at the same rate as a few years ago, but what about debt consolidation loans?

Well, there's good news and bad news.

Cooler weather, shorter days and longer nights. All of these autumnal changes portend one basic fact: there are only 27 shopping days left 'til Halloween! In the "spirit" (Get it?) of the impending fright fest, we've themed this week's top ten to showcase our very best Halloween deals.

Whether you're throwing a Halloween party, outfitting your little trick or treaters in Halloween costumes or stocking up on Halloween candy, we've got Halloween coupons to reduce sticker shock and leave the scariness to monster masks and not your credit card statement.

Consumers are obviously holding onto their hard-earned dollars and making sure to get the most bang for the buck when they do decide to spend money. We've seen some places where consumer purchasing behavior has changed drastically during this year, and we predict that, in order to lure consumers into buying, some retailers are going to have to work overtime to provide good deals.

Based on the data we're observing, there are some areas we think are going to be good places to find deals before the end of the year.

It's time to announce the winner of the $250 Woodwind & Brasswind gift card! We asked our members to submit their "One time at band camp..." stories in the comments section of our the contest announcement blog post, and the comments we got were all very entertaining. Thanks to everyone that shared a fond band/orchestra memory with us.

Now, down to business. Drumroll, please.

We chose to forgo the usual overarching theme for this week's roundup and bring you stories from all over the place. Stay tuned to learn about a couple of hot new products for the holiday season, some valuable savings tips, and how you can leave a certain Florida strip club healthier than when you came:

Recently I posted about saving styles and not surprisingly we have quite a few savvy shoppers here at Savings.com. I put my colleagues to the test to offer up the best deal they ever scored. I got quite a few responses--along with some great shopping tips.

Here's what the Savings.com DealPros™ had to say on the subject:

School kids, college students, travelers and hikers all rely on backpacks to help them transport the maximum amount of stuff in the minimum amount of space. The perfect backpack is sturdy, durable, versatile and roomy. Recently, I had the opportunity to do a test drive (or test hike, actually...) with The North Face Isabella backpack. Read on for my review:

Happy October! Fall is officially in session and that means shorter days, warmer clothes and a mad dash towards the impending holiday season. October 1st also kicks off National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Initiated in 1985, National Breast Cancer Awareness month has raised awareness of the deadly disease--championing education, research and early detection. The "Pink Ribbon" campaign has also raised a lot of money to support efforts for a breast cancer cure.

Among the many activities and promotions occurring this month, there will be a number of fund raising events for breast cancer charities. Millions of people will be out and about as they run for the cure, walk for the cure or even shop for the cure.

That's right--I said, "Shop for the Cure." Quite a number of stores are participating in National Breast Cancer Awareness month with special "Pink" products and promotions of which of portion of the proceeds get donated to a breast cancer charity.

Here's a list of all the deals we currently have to support Breast Cancer Awareness: