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By Lauren Young, Digital Special Projects Editor

With Black Friday around the corner, the online shopping deals are flooding my inbox. 

So far I’ve taken advantage of a 40% off everything offer at the Gap, and I purchased holiday cards from Shutterfly at a huge discount. 

There are also lots of travel sales out there, so my devoted husband spent some time on Sunday booking various 2024 trips for our family.

As the holiday shopping season gets under way, there is another interesting trend: TikTok-popularized “dupes” – sufficiently similar replicas of higher-priced products, such as Lululemon athletic gear, Bottega purses and Birkenstock shoes. 

Growing demand for lookalike products coupled with a pullback in spending due to inflation is cutting into sales of some trendy, big-name products. “Dupes” have become widely accepted, particularly among younger consumers.

I read a story in the New York Times earlier this year about the rise of “superfake” handbags. It’s getting harder and harder for experts to spot a fake.

So what do you have your eyes on this holiday season? What are you buying, and where have you found the best deals? Email me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

All you need is a mobile phone to find the Black Friday deals at a Target store in Port Washington, New York. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Speaking of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, retailers are already sounding the (jingle) alarm bells.

At Walmart, U.S. consumers are acting more cautious with spending as the holiday season commences.

Higher interest rates and dwindling household savings made sales “somewhat uneven” at the major retailer during the past two months. Best Buy is singing a similar tune.

To adapt to shifting consumer behavior, Target said it is placing a big focus on value, offering more than two-thirds of its holiday toy collection and holiday decorations priced below $25 and $20, respectively. But other companies remain bullish on shoppers.

Speaking of toys, favorites such as Barbie dolls, Transformers action figures and Hot Wheels cars will still be at the top of children’s wish list, said Loo Wee Teck, consumer electronics industry manager at Euromonitor International.

But many parents can’t afford them this year, according to executives. A best-selling Barbie doll on Amazon, “Barbie Pop Reveal,” currently costs parents $30. 

“The most important thing for people this holiday is to have food on the table for their families,” Isaac Larian, CEO of Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment.

Is this the ‘last gasp’ for the consumer? 

While consumer spending will be scrutinized during the holiday season, the bigger question is how consumers will fare during the first quarter of 2024. Click on the video where Anna Rathbun, Chief Investment Officer at CBIZ Investment Advisory Services, explains the chances of the Fed raising the rates again.

The president pardoned two turkeys named Liberty and Bell this week at the White House in Washington, DC. REUTERS/Leah Millis

With gas prices and airfares falling, it will be cheaper for Americans to get to Grandma’s or wherever they celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

When they arrive they’ll find another happy price shock: The turkey and sides will cost less than last year.

U.S. Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Vonn strikes a pose at the Academy Awards. REUTERS/Danny Molos

If you think investing is scary, imagine skiing down the world’s most challenging mountains at 70 or 80 miles an hour.

After doing that for years – and being the best in the world at it – nothing much fazes Lindsey Vonn.

The former World Cup overall champion and Olympic gold medalist may be retired from the slopes now, but slaloms her way through multiple business ventures at age 39.

She recently spoke to Chris Taylor about attacking your career with speed, skills and courage. But she also shares what it is like to miss the mark: “Failure is your best lesson and your biggest opportunity,” Vonn says. “From a financial perspective, the biggest mistake I ever made was not managing my own money. I was making money at a young age, but I didn’t pay enough attention. That’s my biggest regret.”

Did you know that one in five American adults provides uncompensated care for loved ones with health problems?

On average, caregiving expenses – from housing to healthcare to transportation – add up to more than $7,000 a year, according to a new report from the TIAA Institute and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

As a result, almost half of caregivers say they have suffered financially: withdrawing from their own savings, taking on debt, paying bills late, or cutting back on retirement contributions.

It is a quiet crisis, and a tricky one to solve.

“What stands out for me is the number of people who are not only caregivers, but financial caregivers too,” said Surya Kolluri, who heads the TIAA Institute. “They basically become the family bank, providing money out of their own pockets. That puts a lot of pressure on them.”

No wonder caregivers’ financial lives are impacted: On average they have fewer assets and higher debt than non-caregivers, the report found. A quarter of them have less than $1,000 in savings or investments.

Here are three ways caregivers can minimize the financial hit. 

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