Last week, I decided to pay $79 for shipping on cotton pads — and this may be one of the smarter financial moves I've made recently. Sounds crazy, but let me explain. Amazon.com has a program called Amazon Prime, and the annual $79 fee covers free two-day shipping on millions of items. Naturally, it covers the beauty department (which has more than 400,000 items!) along with books, snacks, Read more

We first heard about the possibility of Amazon Prime movie streaming last month, and this morning, Amazon officially announced the ability for Amazon Prime members to stream over 5,000 movie and TV titles to their computers, Internet-connected TVs, as well as Blu-ray players and set-top systems. The service comes at no additional cost, which makes the $79 a year Amazon Prime membership well Read more

Rumors of an Amazon video subscription service have been circulating for some time, and its recent purchase of a UK-based streaming service has laid framework for the Internet giant to compete with Netflix. Now one user screenshot suggests that Amazon may be planning an unlimited video streaming service for Prime members. According to the screenshot, the service includes "unlimited, Read more

If you shop a lot online (yes, that's me), you know there's a trade-off for the convenience of shopping from the comfort of your computer: the wait for the goods. If you want something closer to instant gratification but haven't signed up for Amazon Prime, now there's another option for paying for speedier delivery: the members-only site ShopRunner. Much like Amazon's fast-shipping service, Read more

Being the proud owner of a .edu email address just got another perk: Amazon is offering college students a free year of Amazon Prime as part of its new Amazon Student service. Amazon Prime, which usually costs members $79 per year, gives members free two-day shipping on purchases, including textbooks. For an additional $4 per item, members can upgrade to next-day shipping. Additionally, Amazon Read more

We're thrilled to present this smart Business Insider story here on Savvy! With the Internet, helpful mobile phone apps, and retailers scrambling to keep consumers in their shops, there's no need to pay full-price for much of anything these days. To give you a boost, we tapped a few savvy shoppers for their tips on all the ways you can save. Theater tickets "One of the greatest savings areas Read more

Winter's prime time for comfort foods, and what could be more reassuring on a bleak day than truffle mac and cheese? Cooking in Pajamas expounds. You could go to a restaurant and pay $15 for a bowl of this decadent pasta, or simply make it at home for a fraction of the price. That's right. You can make this at home for a surprisingly reasonable price. The secret is truffle oil. The use of Read more

Perfect timing for holiday shopping season, Barnes & Noble is set to announce its next version of the Nook on Monday with an expected release date of Nov. 16. Called the Nook Tablet, leaked documents indicate that the device will look and feel just like the Nook Color but with a few internal and external changes. But with the Kindle Fire also coming into the fold a day earlier on Nov. 15, Read more

Kindle owners with an Amazon Prime membership now have even more reading options as today Amazon introduced a free lending library for Prime subscribers. The virtual library boasts over 5,000 books and can only be read via actual Kindle devices, not smartphones or computers with Kindle apps. One book can be checked out per month, though unlike your city library there is no due date for when that Read more