An Old-Fashioned Approach to Avoiding Gift-Budget Blues

Tis’ the season to be jolly – and a little frantic about how to stretch your budget to cover gift purchases for all of your nearest and dearest. Not to mention gratuities and thank you gifts for teachers, garbage collectors, the mail carrier, newspaper deliverers and other professionals  – the list seems endless.

Whether celebrating Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanzaa or kicking off the New Year by hosting a Champagne soiree, tis’ definitely the season of spending. This year, try starting a new tradition that will take the strain out of holiday splurging for next year:  Start an old-fashioned “Christmas Club” or “Holiday Club.” Get started with our holiday budget tips:

New parents have to make a host of important decisions, including whether to buy life insurance for their children. This might not make sense to some. After all, do kids need life insurance? Not surprisingly, there are two sides to this argument.

Enticing and healthy school lunch options are among some of the most often sought parenting tips online and off — and for good reasons. According to an online U.S. News & World Report article on Aug. 30, 2010, 20 percent of kids and teens are overweight and school lunch staples of pizza, chicken nuggets and French fries just add to the problem. Unsurprisingly, kids who bring their lunches from home have been found less likely to be obese and more likely to include veggies and fruits as regular parts of their diets. Healthy school lunches require fresh foods, protein for learning and complex carbohydrates for energy.

Most households – especially those with children in them – do some type of decorating during the winter holiday season. Whether for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or simply to celebrate the natural beauty of winter, winter holiday decorations can be costly and consume a lot of natural resources. To make your holiday decorating more eco-friendly this year, consider taking advantage of some of these natural holiday decorations.

The recent recession accelerated an already growing debt crisis for many Americans. Parents can easily become overwhelmed by their debt levels and the typically high interest rates that come with unsecured loans and credit cards. However, if you can maintain control and stay somewhat objective, you can systematically reduce your debt, while saving money on credit card interest and fees. Here are tips to create a successful plan to reduce your debt.