Week of 11/17/2010

 Holiday Travel Tip

Let's face it. The holiday season means travel plans for many people. Some MUST travel; other just WANT to travel. And this year air travel especially promises to be more expensive than ever. If you haven't already made your airline reservations, you will no doubt be paying a heavy premium if you can even find a ticket.

We ran across a new web site that helps people save money on airfare BEFORE AND AFTER they buy a ticket. Yapta.com (which stands for "Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant") tracks airfares for you on any number of flights you might be considering. According to them, airfares can fluctuate by as much as 400%. They notify you when there has been a price change. If you've already bought your ticket (directly from the airline), they will track it to see if the price on the same ticket drops which may entitle you to a voucher or a refund.

With Yapta.com you may not have to break the budget after all.

Week of 11/24/2010

Rebates - Tax-Free Money

You might think rebates are more trouble than they're worth unless, of course, you could add another $2500 tax-free to your piggy bank. Taking advantage of rebates on products that you would purchase anyway may be time-consuming but well worth the effort. You can get rebates for buying cereal, detergents, dog food and frozen pizza. Many rebates are $5.00 or more, so we're not talking chump change.

You can find rebates on specially marked packages right on the grocery shelves. Sign up for e-letters of companies that make the products that you buy like Proctor & Gamble, Nabisco, etc. Rite-Aid, Walgreens and CVS run extensive rebate progrmas on many kinds of products including over-the-counter meds, baby food and household cleaner.

Week of 12/01/2010

Gifts For Difficult People

You've weathered Black Friday. You've endured Cyber Monday. Your Christmas shopping is complete except for.......? Choosing gifts for certain people in your life is a difficult task every year, and this year is not exception. You wrack your brain trying to think of something appropriate and come up short each time. Here is a short list of ideas for gifts for difficult people that won't cost you and arm and a leg:

Food -- This is truly a gift from the heart if done right. Jams, jellies, canned fruit, pickles are the usual fare. This year try filling mason jars with all the dry ingredients of sugar cookies or oatmeal cookies; tie a decorative ribbon around the jar with the recipe attached. Or buy tv dinner trays and fill them up with meals, freeze them, and give them as gifts to those you know don't like to cook. Or create a cookbook of all your favorite recipes for that feeling of "home."

Wreaths -- Holiday wreaths are a welcoming sign on anyone's front door or above a fireplace. Store-bought ones run upwards of $25. For a fraction of that price, you could scrounge around local parks or natural areas for pine boughs, pine cones, palm fronds or whatever nature can provide no matter what the climate. Some wire and a wreath frame from a craft store is all you need to purchase.

Companionship -- Sometimes the gift of just being there is worth its weight in gold. Share an experience with someone -- a movie, a play, a special dinner, a day at a spa, a night of bowling. Let the recipient dictate the activity.

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