Brighten a Soldier's Holiday

After last Christmas my friend Kim was beaming. She was so excited and couldn’t wait to tell me about her holiday. She’d received a gift that we all hope to receive. Kim and her family adopted a soldier through Soldiers’ Angels. Their recipient was a disabled single father of five. Like so many of our veteran’s this courageous dad was unemployed and struggling to support his family. Kim and her family spent time together during the days before Christmas shopping for gifts for the family. Then on Christmas day they received the call that was their greatest gift; squeals of delight and surprise.

Kim’s story is like the heartwarming holidays that we read about or watch in movies. But the story doesn’t stop there. All of us can support our troops overseas and back at home during the holidays and all year long.

Soldiers’ Angels has a long list of projects that need your help. Currently there are 1,974 heroes waiting for help. Guardian Angels for Soldiers' Pet support military service personnel by finding homes for their pets while they are deployed. The organization is in constant need of foster homes that can take in a pet for an extended period. Pets are then returned to their owners when they come home.

I’m spreading Kim’s story because it’s so easy for us to say that we support our troops, but these organizations give us ways that we can show that support beyond sporting a bumper sticker. No matter what your opinions about the War, let’s not forget the people who risk their lives and their families’ well-being

Of course there are many organizations that can use your help this holiday season and all year long. Don’t underestimate how even a small effort has an enormous impact on someone else.

Is it Too Late to Start a Holiday Savings Fund?

One Christmas I asked Santa for the Dancerina Ballerina doll. Here’s a rather poor video of the doll, but it gives you a good view of the doll’s amazing (to a five-year-old anyway) talent.



I was heartbroken when I didn’t get it. Maybe that’s because I didn’t tell anyone that I wanted it other than Santa. I remember my mother pointing out that I had received many other wonderful things including a Radio Flyer sled, which was really awesome. But all I focused on was the doll. That had to be a downer for my parents who probably spent too much on presents and tried hard to make their kids happy. Sure, I still remember not getting Dancerina, but not because I was disappointed with Santa or my parents, but because I think it was stupid to be a sourpuss over a doll. Not getting the doll did not ruin me for life. I don’t remember thinking much about the doll after that but, I do remember some wild rides on the Radio Flyer.

The Holidays can be financially stressful, but it’s really what you make of it and planning reduces a lot of the pressure. It’s not too late to start a saving for the Holidays.

Christmas Savings Clubs originated in the Depression. They weren't actually clubs, but specialty savings accounts. Savers would open a fund early in the year and contribute a regular amount, typically about $25/month. It worked almost like a short-term certificate. Savers could not take the money out until the end of the year. The clubs fell out of favor among both financial institutions sometime during the 1980s. So, while you may not be able to open an official Christmas account, you can start preparing for the season.


First, you’ve got to set a budget. Only you know what is reasonable for your situation. If you need to cut down on presents this year there are loads of ideas on alternative or no-cost gifts on the Internet.

Next, look at your overall budget and see how much you can afford to put away on a regular basis. There are 10 weeks or 64 days left until Christmas. Setting aside $25 a week would give you $250 to spend, or $5 a day would yield $320, and so on you can do the math.

The most important thing is not to jeopardize your financial health for the sake of a few minutes of happiness. Maintaining your financial health is a great gift to give your children. Avoid using credit cards to purchase gifts. Stay within in your means and you’ll also avoid the January blues.

Happy Holidays!

Ecards: Tacky or Savvy?

It's either another telling sign of the state of the economy or I've been Christmas card blacklisted. Every year on the day after Thanksgiving I receive a card each from two friends. It's been so consistent that if I somehow ignored Thanksgiving (which I did this year) I would still know that the day had passed because these friends' cards would have arrived. But not this year. In fact we've only received a couple of cards.

photo by SpacePotato

I'm not upset by this. Hey, I haven't sent any cards. But then I usually send them so close to the day that they either arrive just before or significantly later.





But anyway the lack of cards got me thinking about some people I know who only send some form of electronic holiday greetings. So I wonder in these times of struggling national and personal economies, and focus on greener living, "Is it okay to send ecards for the holidays?"





I posed my question online at Yahoo Answers. It might be because the Yahoo group is online, but I was surprised that more people thought it was fine to send ecards. Most did, however, think sending ecards was a sign of being cheap.





Here are a couple of the responses:


I think it is fine for friends and close acquaintances, but for family you should probably get traditional cards.





We always send emails to electronically connected friends, but because we use the money we save to support our favourite charity. We always send cards and a short letter to our nearest and dearest.





Or you could print the e-cards and hand deliver them with maybe a hand picked flower / or a plate of cookies or something with a personal touch. Email is really impersonal.





Yea I suppose its okay I mean the real ones are better if you cant afford it then I see no reason why that's bad.





Lame.





I think so yes. And better for the environment that having millions thrown away after Xmas.





For me I still haven't warmed up to ecards, at least not mass mailed ecards. But I still write a personal greeting inside every Christmas that I send. But we'll see maybe I'll change my mind after this season.

Dig in the trash to decorate for the holidays

photo by baldheretic

Last Christmas I couldn't wait to take down the tree and all the other tacky Christmas decorations around my house. I wasn't feeling creative or festive when I put them up which was boldly obvious from the lame way I put up our outside lights. And now that the season is creeping up once again. And oh my I am surprised by how many of neighbors have already had their trees and outside lights turned on for over a week. Isn't there some sort of law that you can't do that until the day after Thanksgiving? Or am I just being a bit too Bah-Humbug? Maybe they've caught the spirit of the season early---good for them. I hope it rubs off on me.

But dragging out the ancient boxes of ornaments and artificial garland and lights and lights and lights is bringing me down more than anything. So instead I keep thinking how can we do it different? Honestly I think it was more festive before we gathered all that stuff. Our tree was decorated with popcorn and cranberry garland and gingerbread cookies. But over the years we've accumulated so much stuff.

I have however been inspired, probably for the first time, by a shopping mall. Belmar Center's marketing team must have shared my feelings when they were planning their holiday decorating. They opened their boxes, sighed and thought "what a bunch of junk". But instead of chucking it all away or dumping it at the Goodwill donation center and running away they got creative.

Belmar gave old decorations and some other "junk" a new life as recycled holiday trimmings with a very Colorado feel. Actually the team at Belmar has been at the recycled decoration bit for 4 years now. This year they're really on a roll and have taken creative recycling to a new level. It started in 2004 when they used old artificial Christmas trees to make new wreaths and other "greenery". This year they took the idea a step further to create seven, 20-foot in diameter wreaths made from recycled Colorado Avalanche hockey sticks and pucks, empty wine and beer bottles, past issues of 5280 magazine, Belmar shopping bags, Chipotle cups, skis and rope. The Avalanche and others were of course happy to indulge and unload their used stuff. Hey, wouldn't you love it if someone asked for your trash?

Seeing what they've done makes me all warm inside and I think I'm ready to pull out those boxes and take a new look at my old junk. Oh but then there is that tree thing...I'll tackle that another day.

Bargain Holiday Shopping

Continuing our frightening reality that The HOliDAys are coming...

If it seems that retailers put out the holiday goods earlier this year, well that's because they did. I've heard that one reason was to give shoppers a longer season. Though don't expect that to mean bigger sales. Many retailers have also scaled back on inventory to avoid discounting. Still if you're looking for bargains to keep your budget on track it's time to do some sleuthing.

Non-gifts: Cards, decorations, etc.

• Shutterfly is running holiday specials that ends Wednesday, Oct. 29. For example, buy 50 cards and get 25 free or save 50% on photo calendars.
• Garage sales are a great way to pick up decorations.
• Also check out thrift shops which are loaded with artificial trees and tons of decorations.

Shopping online

• Dealnews gives you bargain prices on a crazy assortment of items from laptops to running shoes and more.
• Don't forget to comparison shop. Spending time can save you big bucks. For quick comparisons checkout DealTime which will give you a range of prices and show you who is charging what.
• Watch your shipping deadlines and fees.
• Try to combine your purchases to save on shipping.

Traditional shopping

• Sales could actually be slim this year so grab one whenever you see it
• Signup for Border's rewards and other retail loyalty programs that offer coupons

And don't forget:

• Whenever you shop have you're list handy. You're more like to overspend than you are to leave someone out if you don't have the list with you.
• Remember the budget. Give yourself a gift and don't overspend this holiday season.

Here's a useful spreadsheet from Credit.com that starts your budget for you and sets up all the categories you should consider.

Have you budgeted for the holidays?

Yes, it's Halloween, but it marks the beginning of your wallet's most frightening event known as "the holidays." There are just 58 days until the big spending season. You've got nothing to fear if you are one of those people that prepares all year long. But for the rest of us, I'll be taking this week to look at ways we can prepare our finances. We'll look at quick ways to set aside some cash and stick to your budget. We'll explore some smarter shopping strategies. You might have noticed that Wednesdays are usually dedicated to small business articles, so we'll take a look at how the holidays affect small biz retailers. I'll give you some ideas for non-traditional gifts that keep giving. And we'll wrap up the week with an appropriate Friday Encore.

Saving up for the HOliDAys

Maybe you might think it's too early to start thinking of Christmas. Or you're nauseated by the appearance of holiday items in the store. I have to ask, "Have you budgeted for the holidays?" Typically the same people who are organized enough to shop early have also budgeted and saved throughout the year. For everyone else this is the ultimate savings challenge.

I just read this article distributed by Kiplinger entitled, "There's Still Time to Save $1,000 for Christmas Shopping". The most unique idea in this article is to Adjust your tax witholding.

The average tax refund last year was about $2,700. If you got a refund, that means you paid Uncle Sam too much money! Keep it for yourself to pad your holiday fund instead. You simply need to change your tax withholding by filing a new W-4 with your employer's human resources department. To find out how many withholdings you should be claiming, try our Easy-To-Use Tax Withholding Calculator. The changes will go into effect on your next paycheck.

The smart thing about this is that by now you've paid your tax dues for the year. Why loan the money to the government? If you eek out 2 months of average witholdings you could put $450 toward your holiday budget. But don't forget to change it back or you'll end up oweing Uncle Sam a bundle the next year.

Other ways to save might sound cliche, but now is a great time to test them out. There are tons of tips on how to be more frugal. Apply just a few and stuff the savings into your holiday budget. Who knows, you may even be able to use these savings tricks in the future and reach your savings/investing goals.

Some other simple ideas:

Skip holiday movies. The movie industry always pumps out their holiday movie fare right about late October. They know that colder nights leave you with less entertainment options. Be creative and you can find plenty of ways to occupy your Friday night and save a bundle.

Split dinner. Eating out doesn't have to reduce your wallet and increase your waisteline. You can enjoy a night out at your favorite restaurant and save money by splitting an entre.

Adjust your daily budget. Gas prices are sliding down for the short-term and chances are that we'll see them rise again. So take the money that you've budgeted for gas and allocate it toward your holiday shopping.

Speaking of the "B" word--Set a holiday budet. Most people overspend for the holidays because they haven't set a budget. So follow these basic steps to keep your spending under control.

1. Review your monthly budget for adjustments to put toward the holidays.
2. Establish a total amount for the season.
3. Make a list of the people you'll be giving to and divide your budget accordingly.
4. If your giving list outweighs your cash flow either cut down your giving list or adjust your spending per person.
5. Avoid borrowing from future earnings by using a credit card. Use your credit card for online purchases and for items that could be insured by the card. Don't use your card to push holiday purchase payments to your 2009 paychecks.
6. Most important-Spend within your means.