Holiday Spending and College Kids: Setting Boundaries Before the Season Starts
During her freshman year, my daughter Alexis Facetimed us to discuss a carefully thought-out proposal about spring break plans with her boyfriend and some friends. She’d researched costs, looked at alternatives, and even started setting aside money of her own. What impressed my husband Earl and me wasn’t just her planning. It was how she’d […]
5 Strategies for Using Rewards Credit Cards When Holiday Shopping
While the goal is to avoid racking up debt, you can use rewards credit cards to your advantage during the holiday season. With some intentional thought and strategy, these cards can help you spend wisely and take advantage of a variety of perks during this time of year. However, there are some tips and strategies […]
Six Holiday Money Hacks That Can Help You Save This Season
Holiday gifts are not the only expense you have to prepare for this season. There are many ways the money in your bank account can quickly start to disappear. If you are hosting family in your home, traveling, cooking for family and friends, or decorating, these are all expenses you want to take into account. You […]
Holiday Shopping: 5 Apps to Save Cash, Make Money & Protect Your Credit
Americans engaged in record levels of online holiday shopping during both Black Friday and Thanksgiving online sales in the United States – a spending surge that suggests online holiday shopping will continue to be strong for the rest of the 2017 holiday shopping season. According to Adobe Analytics, which tracks purchases at the largest 100 […]
3 Reasons to Think About the December Holidays in July
Over the past few years, a growing number of retailers have started their holiday marketing plans earlier than ever. Long-gone are the days when November and December were the only times you’d see big in-store sales, promotions or TV commercials tied to Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Nowadays, the run-up to the holiday season starts around […]
5 Ways to Save Money While Holiday Shopping
If you’re like the average American, you’re going to drop a nice chunk of change this holiday season while shopping for gifts, decorations, and other holiday-related items. In fact, the National Retail Federation says the average person celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa and/or Hanukkah will spend $804.42 in 2014, up almost 5% from 2013 spending levels.
A Teenager’s View on Why Parents Should Give Their Kids Holiday Gifts
As a sophomore in high school, the holiday season is an exciting time: there are winter break projects, class-wide Secret Santa missions, and of course getting to spend the Season of Giving with my family and friends. However, I’m noticing a growing trend in the blogosphere: parents saying they will give their kids far fewer presents than […]
4 Cures for a Black Friday or Cyber Monday Shopping Hangover
Like a binge drinker who chugs back one too many shots and regrets it the next day, you might be experiencing a peculiar hangover of your own – a financial hangover brought on by excessive shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By some estimates, 147 million Americans headed out shopping Black Friday weekend. Some […]
Broke Again This Holiday Season? Here Is What To Do
While retailers roll out their Black Friday and pre-Christmas deals, and people start talking about doing their holiday shopping, you might be broke – and feeling like you’re sitting there with a 600-pound gorilla in your room.
Don’t Gift The Gift of Debt This Holiday Season
Would you like it if somebody gave you a “gift” this holiday season that wound up costing you more than $30,000? I don’t know about you, but I’d consider that one very expensive “gift” that I’d certainly want to return. Yet, every year people give their loved ones financed or leased cars as “gifts.” “I […]