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After Holiday Sales at Barnes & Noble, Target, Michaels, and More!

Did Santa forget to bring you a gift that you had your heart set on this Christmas? Was your Christmas tree a few decorations shy from being as stunning as you hoped for? Did the Christmas lights burn out? If your answer to any of these questions is “yes” then it is definitely time to shop some After Christmas Sales. Here’s a few that are happening right now! Target is having a “Year End Clearance” sale. Items in this clearance will be up to 65% off. As with all clearance sales, you might find different products at individual stores. You … Continue reading →

Three Ways to Avoid Holiday Debt

It is easy to start racking up the debt during the holiday season. There are many demands on our money, such as holiday gifts, special events, travel costs, food, decorations, and other entertaining costs. We often get carried away when we spot the perfect gift or want to make it the best season ever. As you are planning, cooking and shopping, you might want to use the following strategies to avoid holiday debt. Start with a Holiday Budget In order to control holiday spending instead of letting holiday spending control you, you will need to set a budget. Start with … Continue reading →

Old-Fashioned Holiday Fun

“Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.”- Unknown Buy, buy, buy.  Spend, spend, spend.  These days it seems the holidays are more about spending money than bonding with loved ones.  I suppose you could bond over how much you’ve spent on each other, but wouldn’t you rather save your cash and share the richness of laughter and warm embraces? Instead of going into debt trying to prove how much you love your favorite family members and friends, consider spending time with each other having fun with these holiday-themed activities: … 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 →

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 →

Holiday Preparations: Planning

With the start of November, I know it’s time for me to start planning for the holidays. As of today, we have just over a couple of weeks until Thanksgiving and just over seven weeks until Christmas. For many this is their favorite time of the year. But for others it is one of the most stressful. However, I believe that much of the stress could be relieved by preparing and planning ahead of time. Are you starting to think about the cookies to be baked…the meals to be planned…the house that needs cleaning? This can quickly become very overwhelming. … 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 →

Are You Ready for the Holiday Hysteria?

“Turducken,” “Festivus,” and now, “OctoNovemCember”. Let the holiday cra-zy begin. Oh, wait, it already has. In fact, seeing Target’s new Christmas commercial last night is nothing compared to seeing Santa stockings hanging next to Halloween candy in Wal-Mart on the day after the 4th of July. Okay, maybe it was July 9th. Regardless, mega-popular couponing website, RetailMeNot.com has come up with a new term for the holiday-inspired retail frenzy which seems to start earlier and earlier each year. The new trademarked catchphrase: “OctoNovemCember.” Get it? To help those who aren’t quite there yet, the company has created a matching mascot … 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 →