If you want to take a serious plunge into the HDTV-3D experience, it might be the right time.

A popular Samsung starter kit that had been going for nearly $4,000 is slowly getting a more realistic price tag.

BestBuyPCS has the Samsung bundled home-theater package, including HDTV, a Blu-ray player and two 3D glasses, for $2,298.00. The closest deals out there right now are from CompUSA online and TigerDirect, both offering the kit for $2,599.97. But you can get another $400 off at TigerDirect if you put in this coupon code -- REM11119 -- at check out; meaning you pay $2199.99.

The discount on the kit is big, but prolonging big-ticket purchases if you can could pay off. Retailers may come in and under cut prices given the pre-Black Friday frenzy that's going on already. So, if you can wait for your 3D fix, keep scanning these sites for bargains.

One in five Americans is burying his or her head in the sand when it comes to managing personal finances, a report by Javelin Strategy & Research has shown.

Even though the recent financial crisis and ensuing recession has made it more important than ever to carefully track where our money is going, the number of Americans who say they don’t check their finances at all -- whether on a bank’s Web site or using personal finance software like Quicken -- has more than doubled, rising from 8 percent in 2009 to 19 percent in 2010, the report shows.

Javelin even found that those of us who do check our financial situations regularly using a bank’s Web site, a spreadsheet program like Excel or by logging on to a financial institution’s Web site are doing so less often.

The number of survey respondents who used a bank’s Web site is down from 59 percent in 2009 to 46 percent in 2010, while the even the number of Americans who said they use a simple pencil and paper to check their finances fell from 50 percent in 2009 to 46 percent in 2009.

“When your 401(k) is turning into a 201(k) we find that people just don’t want to open that [statement] envelope,” said Mark Schwanhausser, a senior analyst at Javelin and the author of the report. “We’re finding the same thing is happening when it comes to personal finances.”

The report’s findings have important policy implications for America’s financial institutions, said Schwanhausser. They need to make sure they are doing a better job of giving their online customers the ability to track their finances more effectively, he said.

“Right now, most banks don’t do that well, but there’s an opportunity here for them to make their online tools more practical, to show you how much you’re spending each day and what you’re spending your money on. It needs to be more of a Mint-like experience,” said Schwanhausser, referring to the popular online financial management Web site.

“The more information you have, the easier it is to make smart decisions about your money,” he added.

(Thanks to WalletPop for pointing out the report.)

Just in case you didn't know, Target has been running its own daily deals site and including one-day sales on a host of items, touting the best deals out there. There's even a clock ticking down the savings that they say only last for 24 hours.

Alas, one site's deal may not be another site's dud.

As part of Target's daily deal, the latest model of the popular D-Rex Interactive Dinosaur is going for $119.99, down from $148.99 regularly. The item is also eligible for free shipping because it's over $50.

But the same D-Rex is going for $99.98 on Amazon.com and there's no ticking clock. This is a great example of why you should be careful not to get caught up in the pre-Black Friday hype.

With nearly 15 million people out of work, it may seem surprising that anyone would quit their job. But it turns out lots of folks are – more, in fact, than are getting laid off.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 2 million people quit their jobs in September, while nearly 1.8 million were laid off or discharged.

That’s flip-flopped from a year earlier. In September of 2009, about 1.7 million people quit their jobs, while 2.2 million were laid off.

The Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, which is conducted monthly, shows an even bigger gap between private employees who quit and those who were laid off. That’s because the overall number includes government Census workers who completed temporary assignments.

The fact that more people are leaving jobs voluntarily than a year ago could be a sign that workers are starting to feel like they can move on to greener pastures. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. As we’ve reported already, the recession has left many workers feeling overworked, underpaid and anxious to seek new work.

Still, the job market remains incredibly difficult. According to the Economic Policy Institute, there were 5 jobseekers for every job opening in September.

Thanks to Today’s Workplace for pointing out the trend on workers who quit versus those who were laid off.

The economic recovery may be struggling to find a foothold, but the presidents of America’s private colleges aren’t feeling the pinch.

A record 30 private-university presidents earned more than $1 million in 2008, up from 23 in 2007, according to an analysis of federal tax forms by The Chronicle of Higher Education released Monday. None of the presidents made that much as recently as 2004, the report notes.

Columbia University’s President Lee Bollinger was the Ivy League’s highest-paid president in 2008, earning $1.75 million, according to the report, in which the Chronicle analyzed pay for presidents of 448 private U.S. colleges and universities.

The analysis found Touro College’s Bernard Lander was the highest-paid president in 2008, raking in $4.8 million. The amount includes $4.2 million in deferred compensation and benefits, according to the Chronicle. The Orthodox Jewish rabbi, who founded the New York school in 1971, died of congestive heart failure in February, aged 94, according to the school’s website.

Paychecks are getting fatter in corporate America too, according to The Wall Street Journal’s latest CEO pay survey, which shows the leaders of the nation’s largest public companies saw their compensation grow in the latest fiscal year, as share prices recovered and profits jumped alongside the nation’s emergence from recession.

In a study of the 456 biggest U.S. public companies, the Journal found the value of CEO salaries, bonuses and long-term incentives -- such as grants of stock and stock options -- grew by 3 percent to $7.23 million.

Investors also did well, the paper notes, with total shareholder return (based on the change in stock price plus reinvested dividends), coming in at 29 percent. Total net income at the companies in the study doubled from a year earlier to $510.9 billion, the Journal said.

If you're looking for an after-lunch treat tomorrow, head over to a Jack in the Box near you. The fast food restaurant chain is saying "thanks" to its loyal customers by offering some free tacos.

But you don't have to be a Jack devotee to get the gratis eats. Jack in the Box is offering the free tacos after 2 p.m. to anyone who walks in the door. And you don't need a coupon to get your taco fix.

The one catch: don't come too hungry. Only one, two-piece order per customer.

How's $1,000 off a fancy stainless steel dishwasher?

ConsumerWorld tipped us off to a Family & Friends sale at Sears stores on Sunday from 6 pm to 9 pm CST offering a host of bargains. But the big one that may rival Black Friday specials, according to the site, is the KitchenAid dishwasher for $530.99, regularly nearly $1,600. It's listed right now on Sears' site for $1351.39, and there were no deals online below $1,000.

The Family & Friends' deals will also be available on Sears' website starting tomorrow at 8 pm CST through Monday until 4 am CST.

Time to call your friends.

For many families, restaurant visits were one of the first things to go when the economy began sliding in 2007.

Now, the kids appear to be coming back.

After several years of weak traffic, this summer saw a slight year-over-year gain in the number of restaurant visits by groups that included children. That’s according to researchers at The NPD Group, which closely tracks the food service industry and other retail segments.

The 1 percent year-over-year increase in restaurant visits with kids during June, July and August isn’t much. Still, NPD says it could be a sign that business is starting to pick up for the restaurant industry.

Although childless diners may not love their pint-sized counterparts, families are an important demographic for the industry. For all of last year, NPD said groups that included kids accounted for $70 billion in sales, and 14 billion meals and snacks. That was out of a total $386 billion in sales and 59 billion restaurant visits.

Readers, are you eating out more with your kids?

Think 1982, legwarmers, permed hair and Blue Light Specials. In the right frame of mind? Good. Now prepare to take this in: Layaway is making a comeback. For real.

Kmart is doing it. Sears is doing it. So are TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Best Buy, Burlington Coat Factory, Men's Wearhouse, Toys "R" Us, a slew of jewelers and dozens of retailers who are accepting layaway payments through this eLayaway site. Stores that began reviving long-dormant layaway programs over the past couple of years are keeping them going, even expanding them.

But why?

It's the economy. The Great Recession may have officially ended a year and a half ago, but consumers are continuing to exercise caution in their spending habits. Growing numbers of people from every imaginable income level are shunning credit-card debt and embracing frugality. And what's a sure-fire way to shop with discipline and make big-ticket purchases without taking on any lingering, crippling debt? Put stuff on layaway.

With layaway, you don't get to take anything home until you're done paying for it. Stores' nominal layaway fees -- often in the $5 range -- appeal to many shoppers more than the potential interest charges and other costs associated with credit-card debt. Basically, you can just plan to pay for your holiday gifts or other purchases over a period of 30 days to 13 months, depending on the retailer. Once you're all paid up, you get your goods.

That said, caution is still needed -- proving that even the most well-intentioned, thrifty and careful consumers can get tripped up and hurt. The Better Business Bureau says it's received hundreds of complaints in the past year from people who lost money when they attempted to put purchases on layaway. To prevent financial heartburn right before the holidays, consider these tips from the BBB and the National Endowment for Financial Education:

--Know what you're getting into. Retailers' layaway policies vary quite a bit. Some require hefty down payments; some don't. Some give you lots of time to pay off your purchase; some don't. (For instance, Sears recently began allowing shoppers to spread their payments out over 12 weeks instead of the usual eight weeks. Good to know!)

--Understand when the deal will disintegrate. The BBB says many consumers complained about diligently making payments on an item for weeks or months, then learning that the item had been sold to another customer. Find out exactly when final payment must be made so you don't get burned.

--Do business with reputable retailers. Other BBB complaints centered on stores that went out of business before customers received their merchandise. To avoid that, enter into layaway agreements with well-known businesses, and remember that making those gradual layaway payments on a credit card could afford you at least some protections. (Unlike cash payments, you can dispute charges if your products never get delivered.)

--Budget, budget, budget. If you're opting to use layaway because money (or credit) is tight, make sure you'll really be able to handle the layaway payments. Consider this scenario from the National Endowment for Financial Education: "If you buy $300 worth of presents for your children, make sure you can commit to paying off $50 each week."

--Find out what fees will apply if you change your mind. Clarify the retailer's layaway cancellation and refund policies. Many consumers who complained to the BBB were shocked when they tried to cancel layaway orders and got hit with restocking fees of 10 percent or more. Others were disappointed to learn that refunds only involved store credit, not cash. So remember: Ask first.

In honor of Veterans Day, a number of restaurants and retailers are offering deals and giveaways to active military personnel, veterans and their families.

Here's a sampling of what's on offer:

Applebee’s is offering free entrees to all active duty and veteran soldiers.

Outback Steakhouse has a free Bloomin' Onion and beverage deal.

T.G.I. Friday's is offering a free entree with purchase to active and retired military. The deal runs through Sunday.

The Golden Corral will offer a free appreciation meal to active military and veterans on Monday.

Pizzeria Uno is offering a free entree or pizza, with purchase of another, to active military or veterans.

Brides Across America is giving away dresses to military brides.

Home Depot and Lowe's are both offering 10 percent discounts to current and former military personnel.

Dollar General also is offering a 10 percent discount to military and their families.

And finally, everyone can take advantage of the National Park's free entrance deal.

Thanks to WalletPop, The Military Wallet and Personal Money Store for some of these leads.

If you do just one thing today, please do it in a simple, easy-to-understand way.

That’s because Thursday is World Usability Day. In the words of the people who created this event, “It’s about making our world work better.”

From the organization's website:

“Technology today is too hard to use. A cell phone should be as easy to access as a doorknob. In order to humanize a world that uses technology as an infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, government, communication, entertainment, work and other areas, we must develop these technologies in a way that serves people first...”

We’ll be honest here and say we think that explanation could use a little more usability, or at least an editor.

Still, the point is clear. Every day, we come across products that are unnecessarily complicated, technology that has too many buttons, instructions that are difficult or impossible to follow.

So, in honor of World Usability Day, we’re giving you the floor.

Readers, what are the products, technologies or institutions that you think could use a little more usability? Leave your answers in the comment section below.

Appliance deal watchers have been waiting for this one.

Home Depot just announced a deal where you can get $800 off when you buy a LG Electronics 4.2 cubic feet extra large capacity front load SteamWasher and a 7.3 cubic feet extra large capacity electric SteamDryer.

It's part of a bigger appliance discount event at the retailer that kicks off today. Home Depot is also offering a free delivery and haul away service.

We were tipped off earlier this week about the impending bargains by folks at WellConnectedMom.com, a technology blog for moms.

A tweet about the washer/dryer deal hit Twitter last night via @PowerUpGaming, but it officially showed up on the Home Depot site this morning.

The appliance blow out, which is offered online, goes through Nov. 17. One local store in Pennsylvania said they have a floor sample of the steam washer/dryer pair but do not stock the item. You can, however, order it at the store and have it shipped to your home.

Happy washing!

Thinking of getting married? Instead of popping “the question,” you might want to consider popping these three questions:

• If the chance of getting a disease is 10 percent, how many people out of 1,000 would be expected to get the disease?
• If five people all have the winning numbers in the lottery and the prize is $2 million, how much will each of them get?
• Let’s say you have $200 in a savings account. The account earns 10 percent interest per year. How much would you have in the account at the end of two years?

A newly released study finds that middle-aged couples who both answered those three questions accurately had an average family wealth of $1.7 million.

In marriages where neither spouse could answer any of those questions correctly, the average household wealth was just $200,000.

The study was conducted by researchers at RAND Corp., the University of Southern California and the University of Michigan. It used a sample of married couples from the Health and Retirement Survey, a national survey of Americans who are at least 50 years old that is funded by the National Institute on Aging.

The results were published in this month’s editions of the Economic Journal.

Update:

In case you’re curious, the answers are:

100
$400,000
$242

It's snug sweater season! What's packed away in your closet?

If you've rummaged through your sweaters and found some don't fit, some are that scary must-have orange color from last season, or some have given their lives to the moths, don't fret.

Target is running a buy-one-sweater, get-one-for-50-percent-off sale through Nov. 13.

The deal applies to hundreds of sweaters including men's, women's and children's; and you get 50 percent off the lowest priced item you buy. But the discount is only for online shopping; and make sure the sweater you pick has the "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" logo on it or it's not part of the deal.

You can also get free shipping if you spend more than $50.

It might be a good idea to go with the muted oatmeal and purple color palette this year; a bit more timeless than orange.

Here’s a crazy idea for reviving the economy: Give your workers a great big raise.

Maybe it’s actually not that crazy. After all, it worked out pretty well for Henry Ford.

John T. Landry, a contributing editor to the Harvard Business Review blog, proposed the idea in a blog post earlier this week. According to Landry, in 1914 Ford decided to double his workers’ salaries from $2.50 a day to $5. The move had the effect of making workers more loyal, and it also made Ford’s primary product – the Model T – more affordable to them.

These days, Americans aren’t just facing high unemployment. Many who are working also are grappling with stagnant or declining pay, making it hard to afford everything from basics like food to splurges such as vacations.

Before the credit crunch and housing crisis, many Americans financed their free-spending ways through cheap credit. But that’s no longer an option for most people, and one reason the economy is still in the doldrums is because consumers just aren’t spending money like they used to.

Meanwhile, Landry notes that many large corporations are sitting on piles of cash, which they could be using boost wages. (Or, although Landry doesn’t mention it, to add more workers.)

Update:

Perhaps Google - in some ways the modern-day iteration of what Ford was back then – is thinking the same thing. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the company is giving all its employees a 10 percent raise, in an effort to keep them from defecting to competitors such as Facebook.

Readers, what do you think of Landry’s proposal , and Google's move?

One of the first games children play with is Candy Land, the race game that allows kids to move plastic game pieces through endless paths of candy.

The game was designed by a recovering polio patient named Eleanor Abbot in 1949, and has been a family favorite ever since.

Today, you can practically get it at 1940s prices. Toys R Us is selling the game for $3 today online and in stores. There is also a mail-in rebate of $1 at the stores and $2 online. So, if you're diligent and mail it in, your final cost could be one buck.

The deal ends Nov. 13. The list price is $8.99, and the only place you can get it for less than that is Amazon, which is selling it for $8.65.

The only thing better than retro games are retro prices.

The economic outlook for most Americans is improving, but not enough to give the all-important holiday shopping season a boost, according to new data from Consumer Reports.

The publication's Trouble Tracker Index, which measures financial difficulties faced by consumers in the past 30 days, has declined for five straight months and now stands at 49.3 for November, down from 50.5 the prior month and down significantly from a reading of 62.1 one year ago.

Similarly, the Consumer Reports Stress Index, which measures the stress consumers feel in their everyday lives, was down in November to 58.5 from 63.2 in the prior month, and is also down sharply from a reading of 60.5 one year ago.

Put together, these data point to potential improvement among consumers, but Consumer Reports Money Adviser's Amanda Walker notes that, as Black Friday approaches, there are still some troubling signs for retailers.

The Consumer Reports Next 30-Day Retail Index for November, which measures consumers' intentions to shop in the next 30 days, is down from one year ago, she said, with particular weakness seen in planned purchasing of personal electronics relative to a year ago.

The Consumer Reports data point to improvement in the economy, but this year's holiday shopping season is likely to get off to a slow start, Walker said.

"It doesn't mean no one will buy an iPad or a MP3 player or an ebook reader, but [consumers] are saying they plan to buy less than they did last year, at least in early November," Walker added. She also said that as Black Friday nears and retailers begin to tout their sales, consumers might get into a spending mood.

Consumer Reports' Amanda Walker discusses the report on CNBC here: 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There's an e-mail circulating today bringing a bit of giving into pre-holiday getting.

Gap Inc. is offering shoppers 30 percent off at all its stores, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Banana Republic Factory Store, and Gap Outlet in-store, from Nov. 11–14.

I got an e-mail from a friend this morning with the offer, which included a barcode you can take into any of the stores mentioned above. Lots of people were tweeting their barcode offers on Twitter as well.

Go to this web page, then choose a charity and a printable barcode will be generated which can be used in store as many times as you want. You'll get a 30 percent discount and 5 percent of what you spend goes to a charity. You can choose from the following: Big Brother and Sister, Feeding America, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, (RED) to benefit the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, TEACH FOR AMERICA, World Wildlife Fund.

If you just can't wait for your Gap fix until later this week, the retailer is offering 25 percent off for products bought online from today through end of day Wednesday. Just type in "ONSAVE25" in the promo-code box when you check out.

The holiday hiring season is off to the strongest start in several years, according to an analysis by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

Retailers added 150,900 jobs in October, about the same number as in 2006, the company said Monday.

That’s three times the number of jobs added in October of 2009, when many retailers held back amid fears that recession-weary shoppers couldn’t splurge on presents and other holiday goods. In 2009, retailers ended up adding 501,400 jobs in the October to December period, according to Challenger.

Even if retailers only add the same amount of jobs this November and December as they did last year, Challenger said that would translate into more than 600,000 total jobs added during this year’s holiday season, the strongest showing since 2007.

The numbers are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ non-seasonally adjusted employment figures.

The overall employment rate is typically based on seasonally adjusted figures, which smooth out seasonal fluctuations such as holiday hiring or summer vacation employment. On a seasonally adjusted basis, retailers added 27,900 jobs in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Of course, a seasonal job will not be a permanent solution for the millions of Americans who are seeking full-time, year-round work. In an October survey of employers, job search firm CareerBuilder reported that 40 percent of employers who are hiring seasonal workers plan to transition some of them into full-time permanent jobs. That’s up from 31 percent in 2009. The survey included 2,457 hiring managers and human resource professionals.

When it comes to necessities of life, the television is losing some of its glory, according to a recent Pew study.

Flat-screen TVs, however, are another story.

The study found "10 percent of the public now says that a flat-screen television is a necessity of life, up from 5 percent who felt that way in 2006."

If you're one of the consumers hot for a flat screen, this may be your lucky week. A TV price war of sorts is starting, prompted in part by Walmart's announcement this week that the retail giant was going to start slashing prices on electronics as of Saturday.

One item, the 47-inch Vizio flat screen TV is going from $798 to $698 starting tomorrow at Walmart. But, if you just have to buy it today, you might want to keep watching other major retail websites. I found the same TV on Target's website this morning for $699.99, but by noon today the product came up as out of stock. It was in stock for $699.99 at a local Target.

Walmart also is cutting prices on other flat-screen models, selected laptop computers and even $50 iTunes gift cards, on sale for $35 ("while supplies last.")

Happy watching, and don't hog the remote!