With the economy down and people watching their pennies, it should be no surprise that travel deals are abundant right now. Airlines, car rental places and hotels are all offering some pretty spectacular bargains. But before you book, read this SmartMoney story about how to avoid sneaky fees at hotels.

Feel free to share your travel deals if you know of any... 

I firmly believe in bartering and trying to get the best deal you can. So I thought this New York Times story about negotiating was really interesting. It's geared more toward entrepreneurs who may be renegotiating terms of various agreements related to their businesses, but you may still find it helpful... 

You know that a news story touted as explaining "the problem with freebies" is going to get my attention. And that was the case with this New York Times story about giveaway offers.

The story really talks about deals where you get something for free with purchase or my favorite: the BOGO deal. The story argues that such offers make the perceived value of both items lower, and that means people are willing to pay less. What do you think?

It appears that shoppers prefer smaller, more intimate grocery stores — even over low prices. A recent survey from Consumer Reports showed that shoppers said they liked stores including Trader Joe's and Wegman's the best. Wal-Mart stores, which of course are the opposite of small, were toward the bottom of the list.

Other stores that ranked highly with shoppers included Publix, Raley's and North Carolina-based Harris Teeter. You can read the very extensive CR report (with tips on saving and other features) by clicking here.

I thought this was an interesting story from Reuters about how more chains are offering smaller portions or scaled-down plates to appeal to consumers who are looking after their budgets and their waistlines. The trend even extends to chains including PF Chang's and The Cheesecake Factory that are traditionally known for their extra-large portions. 

Many of you know about my 2007 quest to have a beautiful but not outrageously expensive wedding. (If you missed it, you can find links to my stories about my wedding on the left-hand side of this blog, down toward the bottom...)

But never in all of my wedding planning did I think it would be possible to get my wedding done for FREE. One local girl has that chance. Check out this story from the Daily Tar Heel about a UNC medical student who is trying to win a contest for a free wedding. You can vote for Kirby Tanner and fiance David Kurtz through Sunday here (the voting is over on the right-hand side of the page). Good luck, Kirby and David!

I don't often write about legislative issues here, but I was very interested in this story from the Wall Street Journal about the latest efforts by retailers to limit "interchange fees." Interchange fees are fees the credit card companies charge retailers for processing the transaction. In many cases, they are 2 to 3 percent of the transaction total. Retailers argue, of course, that they should be lower. But I definitely think the customer can end up paying some of that fee in the form of higher prices. It will be interesting to see how this one pans out...

Advertising Age had a really interesting story and video last week featuring Kmart executives talking about how they revived the layaway concept in retail. If you'll recall, this past holiday, Kmart heavily promoted its layaway program as a way for parents to purchase holiday gifts over time. Now Kmart is pushing purchases of patio furniture and other spring items on layway as a way to try to extend the popularity of the program.

Of course, layaway is not a new idea. But it definitely has been enjoying some renewed interest. What do you think?

Apparently, having an abundance of choices is not always a good thing.

That's what researchers found when they studied the way consumers respond to the constant overload of choices in today's shopping universe. The findings: we are overwhelmed with selections, and sometimes that causes confusion and dissatisfaction with the choices we make in the end.

One factoid I found astounding in this Los Angeles Times story about the research: Starbucks offers guests up to 87,000 drink combinations. And silly me, I always order the same thing.

This past holiday season, I saw discounts that were so steep they made my head spin. After the dust settled, retailers said they were overstocked and that the deep discounting would not be back. But this spring, it looks like the slow economy may force retailers to eat their words. Check out this story about deep discounts for spring...