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Starting this Friday, you can exchange used baby cribs, car seats, bassinets and other equipment for a discount on new products at Toys "R" Us.

The national toy retailer is launching this Great Trade-In Event in all of its stores as a way to keep potentially unsafe children's products out of the resale market. In the past several years, many pieces of baby equipment have been recalled because of safety concerns.

You'll receive a 20 percent discount on new related equipment, from select manufacturers, when you exchange these used products at Toys "R" Us. The trade-in program runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 20.

Read this story for more details.

For a list of manufacturers included in the trade-in event and more details, click here for the Toys "R" Us news release.

I found an interesting survey by PriceGrabber.com recently on the different ways that men and women react to the economy.

For one, more women say they are cutting back on certain kinds of spending, compared with men. The survey states that in the categories of dining out, entertainment, shopping online and shopping in stores in general, women are spending less money than men.

Also,  men and women definite necessities differently. For instance, in the same survey, men were more likely to view a certain technology, such as a computer, high speed Internet or a flat screen television, as a necessity, which means they can't live without it.

Click here for more information about the PriceGrabber.com findings. And I'm interested in your thoughts. Is this survey accurate, in your opinion?

School soon will start, but back-to-school shopping isn't over yet.

The National Retail Federation reported today that the average American family had completed only 41.6 percent of their back-to-school shopping, as of last week.

This is good news for retailers, who are relying on this year's school-related spending to lift slim sales. The back-to-school season ranks just behind the Christmas holiday in sales for many retail businesses.

Not surprisingly, coupons and special savings have influenced nearly half of all school-related purchases so far this year, according to the federation's survey.

Also, the six out of 10 families that still are shopping plan to take their lists to a discount store. Click here for a link to the full survey results.

"Parents don't want to send their kids to school in clothes that don't fit or with a calculator that doesn't work, but they are making careful spending decisions based on price instead of giving kids free rein to pick out whatever they want,"  stated Pam Goodfellow, a senior analyst at BIGresearch, in a news release. BIGresearch conducted the poll for the NRF.

If you're a parent buying for school-aged children, what are the best deals that you have found this year?

Should we feel lucky to have sales tax holidays  in Virginia? Massachusetts and Florida are some states that have canceled their tax holidays this year because of budget cuts.

But there are new states on the tax-free line-up, including Mississippi and Vermont. These states have added sales tax holidays this year timed to the back-to-school season.

Click here for the complete run-down of states with tax holidays.

And if you want more info on Virginia's tax holiday this weekend, click here to read my story in today's newspaper.

Also, here are tips from the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants on spending prudently during the back-to-school season. I think these tips are applicable anytime you go shopping!

1. Do a closet inventory before you start shopping. Assess which clothing still fits and is in good shape to determine what you need to buy.

2. Make a shopping list and have it in hand before you walk into the store. Try to stick to it.

3. Look for deals all year to spread out the season's spending.

4. Take advantage of sales tax holidays but don't let a good deal be an excuse to overspend.

Call it the thrill of a perceived deal. How many of you have walked into Sam's Club, Costco or some other large warehouse club and ended up at the check-out line with more than you ever expected to buy? We're all guilty of overspending when we shop for what we believe are very discounted items, especially sold in bulk.

But will you really eat all of those granola bars or the mega bags of frozen chicken tenders?

Check out this story about a study of consumer behavior and warehouse club shopping. It was conducted by Michael Norton, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and Leonard Lee, assistant professor at Columbia Business School.

They found that consumers purchased more at warehouse clubs, because they perceived that they were getting better deals.

It's easy to think that buying in bulk ultimately saves you money. But does it? What are your experiences with trying to spend smartly at a warehouse club (if you actually can stick to your list!)?

Also, here are some tips from Consumer Reports for shopping smart at a warehouse club:

1. Make a list and buy only what's on it.

2. Compare unit prices with your local grocery store's prices.

3. Split a large purchase with a friend.

4. Pay with cash. It's a reality check that may keep you from overspending.

5. Try unfamiliar products judiciously.

6. Learn how to spot super bargains, such as slow-moving merchandise that's been discounted.

When times are tough, one national retailer says it will step in to help you pay for a refrigerator, stove or some other sparkling new household appliance.

Sears makes this promise with several stipulations and requirements, of course. 

Through a new buyer program that began on Monday and ends Aug. 1, Sears says it will pay you for an appliance that you buy at one of its stores if you lose your job after making the purchase. The item must cost more than $399.

Sears will credit 1/12th of the price of any household appliance that you purchase for each month that you are unemployed. If you still are unemployed one year after you bought the item, Sears will credit your account for its remaining amount.

There are some requirements to be eligible for this incentive. You must use a Citibank-issued Sears card to make the purchase. Also, you only can qualify if you lose your full-time job after 60 days and up to one year of the day that you bought the appliance.

Click here to read more details about this program in a Sears' news release.

Hello all. I hope you had a merry July 4th weekend.

As we get settled into this new week, I have a question for you. Are you still writing checks?

I've noticed that more retailers, mostly restaurants, no longer are accepting checks. Locally, Starbucks and Bruster's Real Ice Cream  recently have posted signs stating that due to economic conditions, they no longer will take consumers' checks. They'll only accept cash or credit cards.

Let me know if you've seen other retailers make similar changes.

We're largely a card-carrying society now. Most people don't even keep cash in their wallets or purses.

So, does this decision by some retailers to not accept checks matter to you?

If you are following the investigation of bacteria found in Nestle Toll House cookie dough, here's the latest report on this refridgerated dough, produced at a Danville plant.

The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed the presence of E coli 0157 in the dough, after it was voluntarily recalled on June 19.

We've been inundated with food recalls in the past year. How have certain recalls impacted what you buy and eat on a daily basis?

Today, I'm reporting on the growth of some franchise companies, and I found a list of franchises that are supposedly resistant to the recession's woes.

Certain franchise businesses are thriving, according to FranNet, an organization that offers guidance to potential franchise owners. That's because we're not cutting out everything in life to save money, such as trips to the hair salon or vet care for our pets.

Check out this list of the franchise businesses that are growing, based on FranNet's data, and let me know if you agree with it:

1. Hair care: We're still getting hair cuts, and some hair care franchises even are adding new product lines to build revenue, according to FranNet.

2. Pet care: The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reports that people spent $43.2 billion in 2008 on pet expenditures, like food and vet care. It's estimated that spending will rise to $45.4 billion this year.

3. Cost reduction: These franchises focus on helping clients lower business costs.

4. Home repair: Some homeowners are spending money to paint, plant flowers and do minor home improvements. Still, many others may be waiting until they can afford to tackle larger repair jobs, which is evident in sales declines at some big box home improvement retailers.

5. Senior care: Americans are living longer, spurring the growth of the health care industry.

Those if you who are holding onto gift certificates for the now defunct SpaVa don't have to worry about losing money.

Salon del Sol, the Richmond-based company that recently acquired this spa business in Roanoke and Salem, still will honor SpaVa gift certificates that haven't yet expired.

But Salon del Sol will not honor SpaVa's former discount programs or point systems, said Alix Filer, marketing director for Salon del Sol.

Click here to read more about Salon del Sol's purchase of SpaVa.