From the category archives:

Holiday Spending

Ready, set, save for Black Friday shopping.

August 31, 2010

John Hussman (The Money Demand Blog, July 30, 2010) on Recession Warning – “Based on evidence that has always and only been observed during or immediately prior to US recessions, the US economy appears headed into a second leg of an unusually challenging downturn”.
Recession or not Americans feel the tradition of holiday gift giving is [...]

Read the full article →

Haggling is fun, but it is not for me.

August 25, 2010

Off on our routine 40-minute walk to our favourite coffee shop last Saturday morning, 15 minutes in and my husband says, ‘Wait a minute, let’s check out this big yard sale’. Uh-oh, what can I say, but, ‘OK, let’s go’.
He was checking out a fascinating item – a little pewter collectible.  He asked, ‘How much is this doggie [...]

Read the full article →

Panic Attack – A Cautionary Tale

June 28, 2010

You’ve finally put a savings plan together.
No more DVD’s and concerts or weekend trips.
Then you open your mail…
 The credit card balance is a little bigger than expected. That weekend trip turned out to be a bit more expensive than planned. It seems you owe some taxes this year? That’s right you took out that mutual [...]

Read the full article →

What happens in Vegas…shows up on your credit card.

June 21, 2010

One of the hardest things to do is control spending while on vacation. I mean, you’re on vacation! Reality does not come into play when on vacation. Well more accurately, reality should come into play so you can keep having vacations. The last thing that should occur is regretting the amazing vacation that happened two [...]

Read the full article →

Online Discussion at GlobeandMail.com

January 19, 2010

On Tuesday, January 19th at noon ET, I will be participating in an online discussion on how to tackle holiday bills and dig your way out of the holiday debt.  Join me in the discussion at globeandmail.com at noon.

Read the full article →

Thank Heaven for Guardian Angels

December 14, 2009

Come the holiday season, I can’t help but think about George Bailey of Bedford Falls. Otherwise known as actor Jimmy Stewart, George and his townsfolk have become a staple of Christmas viewing as TV and cable networks air what the American Film Institute has labeled the most inspiring film of all time, “It’s a Wonderful [...]

Read the full article →

Do we need a reality cheque?

January 8, 2009

 
Now that the holidays are officially over a lot of us are bracing ourselves for the bills we’re going to receive this month. Overall, Canadians did pretty good in terms of spending this year, managing to decrease their spending by about 9%, but you wouldn’t have known it in the days following Christmas. Malls were crowded [...]

Read the full article →

Make it a breath-taking holiday

December 23, 2008

 
Have any of you decided to throw-in the towel yet? Christmas is just two days away and a lot of us are running around trying to finish our last minute shopping and organize the best Christmas dinner ever, all the while staying within our budgets, keeping up with the kids, visiting friends and family, and [...]

Read the full article →