As we move into the retail industry’s most important season of the year, Consumer Reports is out with some helpful guidance on what to watch out for. The biggest trap, according to the magazine, is purchasing an extended warranty. These are significant profit generators for the stores that sell them, but are rarely a good […]
Tag Archives | Holidays
I Will Not Overspend, I Will Not Overspend…
Navigating the many temptations of the holidays can be a challenge. It’s a time when a lot of people overspend, overeat, and miss out on all that makes this time of year so meaningful. When I teamed up with the Market Research firm Synovate a couple of years ago to conduct a Holiday Regrets survey […]
Gift Card 411
Gift cards are this year’s most requested holiday gift, topping the wish lists of nearly 60 percent of adults, according to the National Retail Federation. The good news, as reported by Walletpop, is that recent laws have made gift cards more user-friendly than ever. For example, all cards must now be valid for five years […]
Now Trending on Twitter: Deals and More Deals
As you search for the best bargains on holiday gifts this year, Mainstreet.com has compiled its picks for great deal sources to follow on Twitter, including: @TweetCheap is a Twitter deal aggregator, searching Twitter to find and tell you about the best coupon codes and other deals it finds. @HeyItsFree finds, you guessed it, stuff […]
Spice Up Your Marriage With a… Budget!
Okay, a budget may not exactly add romance to your marriage, but it may help reduce marital money fights. A new national survey I commissioned from the market research firm Synovate found that married people who use a budget experience fewer financial disagreements with their spouse than those who don’t use a budget (see the […]
Keeping Cupid From Overspending
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, and since romance has a way of fogging our financial sensibilities, MSN is out with a helpful story about gift giving. According to researchers at Stanford University, gift recipients tend to appreciate inexpensive gifts as much as expensive gifts. Researchers explain that gift givers usually have a number […]
Frugal and Creative Gift Ideas
Mix a tough economy with the biggest gift-buying season of the year and lots of us are looking for inexpensive yet meaningful gift ideas. Which is what makes this list of 50 gift ideas from BibleMoneyMatters.com so timely. The ideas range from the unusual, somewhat complex, and not too frugal (make your own digital picture […]
Reconsidering the Gift Card
Gift cards have been among the most popular gifts in recent years. However, there are signs that they are starting to fall out of favor, and for good reason. As MSN’s Liz Pulliam Weston pointed out, any store-branded card can become worthless if the retailer goes out of business. Other problems include the fact that […]
Gifts for Job Seekers
Chances are good that someone on your gift list this year is unemployed. The holidays can often make matters worse for someone without work. It’s harder to line up interviews, and all the emphasis on spending money on gifts can just compound the pain of a jobless person’s financial problems. That’s why, with the holidays […]
One Simple Word
Do you find it more difficult to feel thankful this year? Even if you still have your job, you probably know someone who has lost his or hers. Or have the tough times made you more aware of and thankful for some of life’s simple gifts? We have felt the pain of financial loss this […]