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Christmas is on December 27th this Year

In case you haven’t heard, there has been a change in the calendar for Christmas Day. No longer celebrated on December 25th, as it has been traditionally. This year, Christmas falls on December 27th. News Year Eve will be celebrated on December 30th or on January 3rd. Is this for real? Yes. That is, it is for real for many people who decide to save money, into the hundreds of dollars by celebrating Christmas and New Years on days that most of us don’t. Celebrating the major holidays on off-days is a trend that has been embraced by more and … Continue reading →

Did You Go Overboard with Gifts?

Now that the gift wrap is off and the gifts are spread around under the Christmas tree, there might be a sense that you went a little bit overboard. If it isn’t the sheer number of gifts, perhaps it is the credit card bill or the drain on your bank account that tells you that  you might have done a little too much. For me, it is usually the couple of extra gifts that I have left in the closet, too embarrassed or overwhelmed to bring them out. Ah, isn’t it so easy to be Santa these days. Still, it … Continue reading →

Save Now for Summer

It may be hard to think about summer when there is snow in the forecast and we haven’t even hit January. Even so, I suggest that you do think of summer, because if you plan ahead now, you will save later. Swimwear Believe it or not, some stores will start putting their swimwear out on the floor as soon as the Christmas season is over. In fact, we haven’t even hit Christmas, and I’ve already seen bikinis in department stores. Take advantage of this to get some advanced sales on brand new swimwear. After Christmas, use those gift cards you … Continue reading →

Protecting Your Holiday Cash

Happy Cyber Monday!  The day many of us celebrate finding phenomenal deals on holiday gifts for loved ones, and then wallowing in mild discontent knowing that even though we saved some dough, we’re still out a good chunk of change. Like it or not, Cyber Monday has morphed into the biggest online shopping day of the year.  This is great news for tech-savvy individuals, but if you are a parent or grandparent, who hasn’t embraced the convenience of online shopping, today can be bittersweet.  While you’d love to take advantage of the amazing online sales, there’s a bit of hesitation … Continue reading →

Why Smart Shopping Strategies Can Ruin Your Holiday Budget

It is usually the early bird that gets the worm, but when it comes to holiday shopping, the early bird may also get the bigger bills. People who shop the sales may also spend more than those who plan on buying items at full price. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But according to the American Research Group studying holiday spending, the average family who shopped early spent 14 percent more on gifts on average, and those who shopped the sales spent a whopping 53 percent more on average. what about online Yikes. Want another strange statistic? Those of us who … Continue reading →

Great Frugal Gifts for Teachers

Honor your favorite teachers with thoughtful gifts without going broke. Don’t forget the bus driver, the nurse and anyone else who has taken care of your child this year. The gifts don’t have to be large, and they don’t have to be expensive. Just put a little creativity and thought into each one, and you’ll create a lasting impression, as well as brighten up the day for a special person in your child’s life. Group Present This year, organize a group present. You can do this formally, through the home room moms for a class, or informally, such as asking … Continue reading →

Save Big on Your Gifts This Year

With even tighter budgets, families may have to make some tough decisions when it comes to gifts for Christmas and the winter holidays. Make it a little easier for you family when you save big dollars on your gift giving. Get Social Skills When you go on Facebook and like your favorite company or store, or follow it on Twitter, you put yourself in a position to get special coupons, secret sale days, advance notices and more. You can also take advantage of other social networking apps, such as Wrapp, that work with Facebook. Basically, you gather your friends and … Continue reading →

Last-Minute Holiday Money Savers

This is it. With just a few hours left until Christmas morning, there is not much time left to procrastinate. If you’ve been holding out on shopping for gifts because you planned to take advantage of last-minute doorbusters, you may be in for a big surprise. Money experts warn that while some stores claim their last-minute deals are major money savers, in most cases they aren’t. In fact, financial wizards are quick to point out that retailers prey on procrastinators and the amazing deals you think you are scoring are in fact not much bigger than those advertised at any … Continue reading →

Overhaul Your Scrapbook Space

Part of my New Year’s ritual is to purge my home of unwanted and unnecessary goods. I’m not big into New Year’s resolutions, but this annual pre-spring cleaning ceremony comes pretty close to the formal promises people make at the beginning of a new year. I take one room or fraction of a room at a time. The process takes a few weeks, but by the time I am done my home is much more organized. Currently, I am working on overhauling my scrapbooking space. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to organize your space. After … Continue reading →

Being Thankful for Your Spouse

I think we’ve all heard friends or family members make critical comments about their spouses, and I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of that ourselves. Sometimes it’s easy to fall in the trap of fault-finding when life gets stressful and things aren’t going our way. But as we contemplate our blessings at this time of year, I’d like to encourage each of us to spend some time thinking about the wonderful qualities our spouses possess that make us thankful we have them in our lives. Right now, I’m particularly thankful for my husband’s thoughtfulness. I had a little outpatient procedure … Continue reading →