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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 →

Making Christmas Simple

A simple Christmas can have wonderful meaning. Often, the less that we have, the more that we have to appreciate the wonder, the joy, and the glory of the season. This applies to both using up too much time and too much money. A couple of days ago, we picked up a few bags of bird seed from a discount store. That inexpensive purchase was one of the best ones we have had this season. It brought a number of colorful song birds right to our window. In the early morning hours, a hot cup of coffee and some time … Continue reading →

Is Your Business Ready For Holiday Shoppers?

Today I began to wonder whether I had missed Thanksgiving. I went grocery shopping at my local grocery store after returning from a vacation, and everything is ready for Christmas. There are Christmas decorations on the store windows, Christmas displays on the shelves, and Christmas music too. I remember a time when stores used to decorate for Thanksgiving, but I saw no sign of that today. In fact, the only things that hinted that it is nearly Thanksgiving were the great prices on frozen turkeys and the end cap displays filled with stuffing mixes, canned pumpkin, and other Thanksgiving must … Continue reading →

Winter Packages That Won’t Bust Your Budget

Our city’s Christmas parade takes place on Thursday. This Thursday. As in a mere two weeks after Halloween and more than a month before Santa makes his trip around the world delivering presents to good little boys and girls. Consequently, I am not at all surprised to see an onslaught of advertisements for Christmas-themed travel packages. The bundled accommodations and activities are a cost-effective way to enjoy holiday festivities with your family. Some popular choices being offered for winter 2012 include: West Virginia: White Sulphur Springs is home to the stunning Greenbrier Resort which is featuring a winter package dubbed … Continue reading →

Time to Start Thinking About Christmas!

I know Halloween was only yesterday, and that we still have another holiday in between now and Christmas, but if you are like most single moms you don’t have a bundle of cash sitting around come December when it’s time to start Christmas shopping. If you start now, it helps keep the holidays a little less stressful, plus now all the Halloween candy is on clearance. That means you can get a ton of candy to fill those stockings for dirt cheap! Candy can get expensive around Christmas time because it is in such high demand. This way you don’t … Continue reading →

October Christmas Deals

Think October is too early for Christmas? Maybe not. Just look in any of the stores where Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations are displayed side by side. Perhaps it is the season of Hallowgivingmas? I’m not sure of that, but what I am sure about are some deals and savings that are available now, in October, as the stores try to get a jump on the competition for holiday shopping. Toys I’ve been seeing a lot of discounted board games out there. Whether these are left over from the summer, or an early start to the winter holidays, I don’t … Continue reading →

How Christmas Creep Can Cost You Part 2

Yesterday I talked a little bit about how Christmas creep, the practice of retail stores displaying and selling Christmas and holiday items months in advance, is not only annoying but dangerous to your budget. Christmas creep can cost you, and I shared two of the main ways that it does. There are more than two ways that Christmas creep can affect your budget, and knowing how it does can help you avid the pitfalls. Wanting the Latest and Greatest If you rush out and purchase your Christmas items right away, you may be proud to have everything done so soon. … Continue reading →

How Christmas Creep Can Cost You

If you haven’t seen Christmas decorations and other items in your local stores yet, then my guess is that you’re living outside of the United States, or maybe even the planet. As soon as the back to school items went away (the first week in September!) the Christmas stuff came out. Forget Halloween, those items started being displayed in August. While all of my friends are hunting for those Candy Corn Oreos that have already sold out, I’m avoiding the stores as much as possible, so I can ignore the Christmas creep. There are a few ways that thinking about … Continue reading →

Money Saving Ways to Prepare for Christmas Now!

Yes, the summer is still here, and temperatures may still be in the 90s or higher, but it is a perfect time to start making some preparations for Christmas right now. From gifts and decorations to food and entertainment, making the right moves now will be big savings during one of the toughest seasons for the budget. Stock up on the following items during the summer and fall, while you still can. Fresh Produce You’ll get the best prices on fresh produce right now, thanks to the bounty of late summer. Blueberries, strawberries, cherries, corn and other fruit and vegetables … Continue reading →

Year End Strategies to Fatten Your Tax Return

While it is not time to file your taxes yet, there are a few things that you can do before the end of the year in order to make sure that your home – based business generates you as much of a refund as possible when you do file within the coming months. There are some tax benefits that are usually always available to small and home – based businesses as well as a few that may not be around after tax year 2011 unless legislation is passed which will extend them. Here are a couple of deductions that might … Continue reading →