Before you groan at the thought of yet another holiday-themed post, hear me out on this one. Nearly everyone will have some sort of get-together before the month is out, whether it’s a holiday cocktail party, traditional family gathering or a New Year’s Eve bash to ring in 2009. Problem is, it’s too easy to… Read More »
My idea of gift giving getting smaller is this: Spend less money. That’s not exactly a novel concept. But the trade off to spending less may also mean more work for you – more time, more effort, more thought may have to be put into the gift, in order for the gift to be meaningful…. Read More »
I’m a sunshine-loving California girl. So it should come as no surprise that this winter thing is a little hard for me to stomach. It’s freezing cold in the mountains where I live and though we haven’t had snow yet this year, the ski resorts are praying it will come soon. I, however, am not…. Read More »
First the bad news. Americans lost 533,000 jobs in November—the worst string of layoffs in three decades. Suffering businesses are cutting employees loose in all forms—old-fashioned layoffs, buyout and early retirement packages, and company closings. In total, almost two million people have been let go from the job market since the recession began a year… Read More »
Last week we heard more bad news on the economic front. Government officials said they expect the recession to stretch into next year. They also pointed out a few more gloomy facts: the last time Americans cut back this much on spending was right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, new home sales are at the… Read More »