I know there are a lot of people who finish their holiday shopping before December 1. But a lot of us thrive under deadline pressure to find that perfect gift.
Luckily for those working on a smaller holiday shopping budget, Mr. Cheap Stuff is here.
15 Ways to Spend Less On Holiday Shopping is a great blog post.
Sure, the list features the normal money saving tips such as making a gift and giving services like a coupon for a free house cleaning.
But the more creative ideas such as using mall Web sites to sign up for promotion newsletters and monitoring prices after purchase (because many stores will provide a refund if the cost of an item you bought there drops within a specific time period, according to the blog)make this list a must read.
The tip of signing up for mall promotion e-newsletters led me to a few mall Web sites where I also found coupons that can be printed straight off the site. Here are some links to local malls:
- Eastwood Mall in Niles
- Southern Park Mall in Boardman
- Summit Mall in Akron
- Aurora Farms Premium Outlets (this is to join their free VIP shoppers club, which is to sign up to get coupons and promotional information)
- Chapel Hill Mall in Akron
- Beachwood Place in Beachwood
- Westfield Mall in Strongsville (there were no coupons, but you can join their mailing list)
I always like to recommend a visit to The Wallet to treat the personal finance blues. This post gives a bunch of links to financial tips.
Here's a post I found (via The Wallet) about how to escape living from paycheck to paycheck.
The blogger chronicles his transformation from being a paycheck to paycheck survivor with only $500 in savings into a stable father of three. He breaks it down into 10 steps that he took to beat the bad habit.
With all the problems with the economy stemming from people and businesses borrowing too much money, saving seems like a legitimate action for a turnaround.
My final link is to a post on Bizbox, a blog on Slate.com for small businesses.
Chicago Workers Fight For Bank Loans! isn't a post that will save you any money, but it is an interesting story that may all to familiar to local business owners.
A group of 200 laid off workers at a Windows and Doors factory staged a sit in protesting Bank of America's refusal to lend their company money.
This all stems back to the $700 billion government bailout of the financial institutions that was meant so those institutions could continue to lend money (though it is really being used to create even bigger financial institutions).
It's definitely something to think about if you're also having trouble getting a loan to keep your head above water. Remember this next November when several Congressmen who voted for the bailout come-up for reelection.
Here's a classic holiday movie clip to end this post on a happy note. The week of Christmas I'll come back on and post a bunch of holiday clips for everyone to enjoy. Until then, I wish you a happy holiday season.
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