ArchivesCategory: Tips

According to the American Research Group, Americans spent an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season. Let's say you put all of that on credit cards. Paying it off just in time for Christmas 2012 would require boosting your bill payment by $64 a month, enough to cover the principle debt and the interest. Continue Reading

Research shows that it takes about 66 days in order for a new habit to form, but unfortunately many of us will have given up on our New Year's resolutions long before that. But just because many resolutions don't live to see February is no excuse to avoid them. Consider these five powerful resolutions for Continue Reading

Return fraud is a serious problem for retailers who will lose an estimated $3.48 billion this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. That is actually a bit lower from last year's $3.73 billion lost to return fraud during the holiday season. Annually for 2011, return fraud will cost retailers a whopping $14.37 billion. Continue Reading

Nearly three million households have become renters, with another three million expected by 2015 according to data from Harvard's Joint Center for House Studies and The Associated Press. The crumbling house market is one problem. Another is the amount of crooks preying on this group of homeowners-turned-renters. Officials say 38 million people now rent apartments Continue Reading

A new survey finds that twenty-nine percent of workers have admitted to playing hooky from the office this year. This is a risky move because fifteen percent of employers polled said they have fired a worker for faking a sick day. Many say important errands and plans with family and friends are among the top Continue Reading

As temperatures dip, the demand you put on your furnace increases. Don't get left out in the cold—it's important to make sure your home's heating system is ready to kick into high gear. However, before you hire someone to do the work, consider the warnings issued by the Better Business Bureau. The organization says reports Continue Reading

Have you checked out the countdown at xmasclock.com lately? Don't let it freak you out too much, but the holidays are here. And if you really want a shot at the gift you've been dreaming of now is the time to get to work. According to MarketLive's 2011 Holiday Shopper Survey, nearly half of shoppers Continue Reading

Shoppers spend more than a billion dollars on Cyber Monday. With all that money changing hands it's important to keep cyber security in mind. Studies show that two-fifths of shoppers have stopped or abandoned a purchase on a website in the last year because of a safety or security concern. But when the deals are Continue Reading

I'm a Black Friday fanatic and this year I'll be working a new tool into my deal preparation: my iPhone. Besides pouring over ads on Thanksgiving, sketching out a plan of attack and making a shopping list I'll be using my smart phone as a tool to take my Black Friday shopping to a new Continue Reading

You've probably already seen the commercials for it on TV—shop for your Christmas presents now and pay for them a little at a time over the next days, weeks and months so that when the holidays actually arrive your presents are paid for. It's called layaway and it's nothing new. According to reports it was Continue Reading