I am one of those people who others call and ask, “How much should I pay for an oriental rug?”

Friends call and ask me if $1,500 is a good deal for a new leather sofa.  They ask me which store is having the best coat sale. 

While I cannot give that kind of advice to everyone, I can tell you where to find this information.   
 
CostHelper.com is a new website that tells you how much you should pay for what. 

The site consists of a database of hundreds of items, where you can investigate how much others are paying and find similar deals. 

Charitable contributions may be the last thing you have on your mind during tough times. 

But, the truth is, giving away money, time, and items is always a good idea. 

Here are the top 3 reasons to consider making charitable donations this year...

 

Whether you're on your way to a birthday party, or a Christmas dinner, you don't want to show up empty-handed. 

Finding a last-minute gift may seem like a challenge at first, but it's simple really. 

Here are some ideas you can use to purchase that last-minute gift on the fly...

Don't let Christmas get you into debt.  While it's fun to purchase everyone you know a cool gift, and it is wonderful to see people's eyes light up in appreciation, it's not so great to see the pile of bills in January. 

There are still ways to provide gifts for all of your loved ones without putting yourself in the poor house.

Here are some ideas for ways to have a frugal but merry Christmas this year...

If you're in the midst of planning your wedding and your wedding budget is falling short, you basically have 2 choices:

Cut back on some of your wedding plans

Do some last-minute saving for your wedding 

Here are some fun and unique things you can do to find more money for your wedding... 

While I find I am truly gifted at squeezing blood from a proverbial stone, I have one major weakness.  I love magazines. 

I have a couple of subscriptions, usually purchased through neighborhood kids at a discount.  I also hear Woman's World and First calling my name whenever I am in the grocery aisle.  I have no self-control over my magazine habit.  That is, until now. 

If this article about keeping track of unused gift cards has not motivated you to use your gift cards yet, here is some recent news that might...

Did you know that 10% of all holiday gift cards end up unused, devalued, or misplaced? 

I know that my husband has never used a particular gift card he received.  Between my husband and others like him, $8 billion dollars are lost each year.

Finally, there's a simple solution for managing all of the gift cards that you give or receive, plus info for trading or swapping gift cards to use them at different stores... 

 

I realize that it might seem strange to put "impulse purchase" and "good" in the same sentence, but this statement is true. 

Just today, an impulse purchase I made about 2 years ago paid off. 

 

 

I came across a special deal on Restaurant.com some time back where they were offering $25 meals for only $3. Needless to say, I purchased 10 of these coupons. The thought of getting a $23 savings on a restaurant meal was too good to pass up. My husband agreed.

While this was an extraordinary deal, Restaurant.com normally offers discounts of $15 selling $25 gift certificates for only $10. This is still a great deal.

Although DVDs are gradually getting cheaper, they are still pretty expensive.

But I still love to get my favorite movies and TV series on DVD.

One way to save money and still do this is to download them to your computer and then burn them to a DVD.

Of all the online shopping sites, my all-time favorite is Amazon.

Why? Because they have virtually everything under the sun. And, while I don't download mp3's, I'm told even their online music service is worth its weight in gold.

Overall, I think they've got the best selection... the best reviews... and the best prices!

Anyway, here's how to get the most from your Amazon.com shopping experience...

I recently talked about the way that store coupons appear to be changing -- they're going more toward a gift card look and feel.

Now, it turns out that gift cards (or gift certificates) are actually getting a facelift of their own...

They showed these photo personalized Macy's gift cards on The View today.

Everyone on the show was really excited about them, so I thought I'd check 'em out online and see what all the hype was about.

Ouch!... Ready for a slap of reality?

Check out these heart-wrenching commercials from the Ad Council.

I had seen one of them on TV, but not all of them until now...

Ever wonder what the real difference is between ordering a magazine subscription direct from the company (or publisher) versus ordering through a 3rd party magazine subscription service?

I recently ordered 2 different magazines on the exact same days... one was ordered directly through the publisher, the other was via a 3rd party service.

Here's what I learned...

Savings bonds are a great way to invest income conservatively. Not only is the bond guaranteed by the United States government, but it also pays interest based on current market rates.

While the interest on these bonds is taxable at the federal level when redeemed, there is one way to avoid it.

According to H&R Block, these are some of the most often overlooked tax write-offs...

Got a gift card from Barnes & Noble for Christmas but haven't read a book in years? Or how about that Lane Bryant card from your Aunt Gertrude when you are a size 6?

You can always "re-gift" your unwanted treasures, but how's this for an alternative - sell or trade it instead.

Here's a creative way to advertise yourself, your company, your website, your upcoming party, or about a dozen other special events in your life:

Photo Stamps

Brand new in the PhotoStamps lineup are:
officially licensed NFL teams for football fans!
collegiate teams for the diehard college sports fan!
even the ability to put your business logo on U.S. postage stamps!

These are in addition to the original postage stamps offered by PhotoStamps -- where you put your own photograph, or a photo of your pet, your kids, your wedding (...you get the idea) on U.S. postage stamps.

Do you like giving gift certificates as gifts?

What about receiving them? Do you mind receiving them as gifts?

So many people poo-poo the idea of gift certificates as gifts, but I say how much more PRACTICAL can you get?!?!

Online shopping is on the rise, as more and more people are realizing how secure it is, how fast the order arrives on your doorstep, and how great the deals are.

If you're in need of a last-minute gift or two, check out the following websites that currently feature some of the best prices, the best quality products, and the best deals around. And, most are offering free shipping or other discounts this holiday season!

Our recommendations (in this order) are:

Aside from the fact that they are probably the most popular online shopping site around, their products are also of the best quality and they offer the lowest prices. They also make it easy to buy for others, thanks to their online Wish List registry.

One of the best online shoppings sites for electronics and computers, among other things. We buy a lot of "big" items through Buy.com

An Internet leader for name brands at clearance prices. You'll find top-quality name-brand merchandise at 40-80% off every day of the week -- all backed by the warranties and service you'd expect. They're VERY well-respected as a reputable online shopping site.

Here, you'll find daily deals and bargains on home and technology products. These are up-to-the-minute sale prices on everyday, popular items! Just scroll down the list til you find what you're looking for. The best part: You're likely to find a great deal on something you hadn't thought of!

The best way to go broke saving money! They publish great deals from over 1,000 well-known vendors, and their specials are lower than you'll find anywhere else. You can sort by category, or just scroll down the list to see all of the last-minute specials.

For all things personalized, and the largest selection of unique and hard-to-find gift ideas, they are the Internet's personalized gift mall! Every single item includes free personalization and shipping within 24-48 hours.

A long-time favorite of ours... You can find practically anything at eBay!

$20 Off When You Spend Over $100 at eBags.com Looking for bags, purses, or luggage? We get all ours at eBags. Our favorite luggage: Skyway!