Dear Sharon, During Thanksgiving week, there are several things I do that make the end of the year so much easier: Order my holiday cards Order stamps to mail my holiday cards Review my holiday address list Finish up my charitable contributions Thanksgiving weekend has always seemed like an endless stretch of free time for me because for many years I was performing in a show or had directed a show that played in the first half of November. I…
Read more →Everybody loves a bargain. And it’s well-known that the larger package will generally cost you less per item than the small one. But what if space is at a premium? Purchasing decisions should not only be made in terms of dollars and cents. Clutter and storage space should also factor into the mix. As I discussed in my recent post The Dangers of Buy One Get One Free, when you buy more than you need, you are in danger of…
Read more →I have written in the past about how coupons and sales cause us to behave in ways that waste our time. (You can read these rants in Coupons: To Clip or Not to Clip? and Sucked in by a Sale.) I have a new chapter to add to the legion of examples in which we waste so much time to save money. My daughter wears contact lenses. Earlier this year, she went to the eye doctor for her annual exam and…
Read more →I’m guessing that you have some unused gift cards stashed away somewhere. You may have forgotten about them. Even if you didn’t, you may not remember how much money is left on them. An article on cnbc.com posted last year states: “Half of Americans currently own unredeemed gift cards or store credits, according to a new survey from Bankrate. The average person with unused gift cards is sitting on $167 in free money.” Gift cards are a convenience for the gift…
Read more →If you’ve ever donated money to a charitable organization, you’ve probably experienced the immediate and ongoing communications from that charity asking you for more money. While I understand the organization’s need to generate funds, it’s frustrating to me that this is how some of my donation is being used. Is it likely that, having just made a donation, I will make another one so soon? Well, maybe I would if I were disorganized and didn’t know how recently I had…
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