celebration - Surviving and Thriving

Whose Christmas costs more?

August 2, 2016November 23, 2014 by Donna Freedman

When it comes to paying off holiday debts, who finishes last? If you guessed “low-income shoppers,” you guessed wrong. According to a study from the NerdWallet personal finance site, the middle class takes longer than anyone else to finish paying off Christmas costs.

People who earn from $50k to $75k take an average of 2.6 months to cover holiday celebrations. Compare that to folks who earn $50k or less and take an average of two months.

“Those who spend more in an effort to ‘keep up’ end up paying the price later,” says Matthew Ong, senior retail analyst at NerdWallet.

“Middle-class households could end up in a risky position this holiday season if they have ample credit to make purchases but incomes too thin to comfortably pay the bills later.”

How to spend less on Christmas 2014.

November 18, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Planning to do any Amazon shopping this holiday season? Have I got tips for you.

“10 Amazon Shopping Tricks to Save You Tons of Money,” over on the Grandparents.com page, actually features 10 categories, some of which have more than one tip involved. For example, did you know that Prime members get a half-hour head start on Lightning Deals?

That a tool called PriceJump will compare Amazon tags to those of 5,000 other online merchants? That Amazon-specific sites will do the best-price legwork for you? Or that if you haven’t spent quite enough to get free shipping a site like SlickFiller.net will find the 39-cent bolt or 79-cent cup hook that will push you over the $35 threshold?

The most-wanted Christmas gift? Cash.

November 10, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Shocking, huh? Filthy lucre was the favorite holiday gift among those surveyed by the Ebates cash-back shopping site.

At 39 percent of the vote, it blew away a few categories that surprised me: tablets (15 percent), smartphones (12 percent), tickets to an event/destination (10 percent), televisions (7 percent).

Maybe the majority of respondents don’t have relatives wealthy enough to pony up enough for a new e-gift or a weekend in the Bahamas. Still, they seemed hopeful that somebody would send a few dollars their way.

Or maybe they’re having trouble making it in the current economy (recovery? what recovery?) and even a $50 bill in a Christmas card would give them a little breathing room.

Talkeetna in December: Join us!

December 21, 2014November 2, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Once again the Talkeetna Bachelors Auction and Wilderness Woman Competition is approaching — and once again, Linda B. and I have rented the entire top floor of the Latitude 62 hotel and restaurant.

We’re lining up some other wild wimmen to accompany us, but there’s always room for a few more. Why not make this the year that you throw caution (and possibly good sense) to the winds and join us?

The actual event is Saturday, Dec. 6, but we always go up on Friday afternoon. This year the bachelors of Talkeetna have an actual theme for the party, along the lines of the Roaring ’20s/Great Gatsby/Talkeetna Speakeasy. “We haven’t settled on a title, but you get the idea,” said my e-mailed invitation.

“Dress the part if you’d like, or come as you are. We will take your donation no matter what you’re wearing.”

Is orange-and-black the new black?

October 10, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Before I forget: Women can get a bunch of free medical tests from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 (that’s today) at any Sam’s Club with a pharmacy.

Among them: thyroid, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure. You don’t have to fast for these tests. For more details, see my previous post on the subject.

Now: Back to All Hallows Eve. According to the National Retail Federation, just over one-third of U.S. adults plan to do the Monster Mash this Oct. 31, either at private homes or bars. Remember when Halloween used to be about kids and cavities?

That’s the main topic of my monthly gig at Retail Me Not. “What to buy in October: Look for boo-coup Halloween steals and denim deals” notes that while the Grinch may have stolen Christmas, adults have purloined Halloween.

The frugal state fair.

December 21, 2014August 26, 2014 by Donna Freedman

The county or state fair is one of the biggest money pits in the world. These places exist to part you from your cash, whether it’s for food or rides (or both).

A partial solution: Be a judge at the chili cook-off. I promise you won’t want to eat another bite for the rest of the day, or possibly until the next afternoon.

It’s not that the chili and salsas were bad. Quite the opposite: All were good and most were excellent. But after you’ve had 70 or 80 spoons’ worth, with bites of tortillas and sips of water in between, you simply can’t face any other comestibles.

You might also be averse to any carnival rides that move faster than the average baby can crawl. At the end of the day I did manage one ride, the “1,000 Nights” – a large platform that rotates clockwise, very high and very fast. By the time the first full rotation had ended, I was second-guessing that decision out loud.

I stand (sort of) corrected.

May 12, 2014May 10, 2014 by Donna Freedman

When I announced my fifth anniversary giveaway, at least one reader pointed out that it isn’t the anniversary of five years’ worth of writing but rather the fifth birthday of my first-ever post (April 30, 2010).

Duly noted. Sorry about the misstatement.

Now let’s get on with the important part: the fact that you still have time to enter and the fact that the prizes are really swell thanks to some very generous fellow bloggers.

How swell? Glad you asked.

Some last-minute Mother’s Day deals.

May 6, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Yesterday I put up a post about what moms want (and don’t want!) for Mother’s Day. Today I got an e-mail from the FatWallet shopping and cash-back site that mentioned increased cash-back rates in certain categories.

You realize that Mother’s Day is in five days, right?

Forget the flowers — Mom wants a massage.

May 5, 2014 by Donna Freedman

According to the Insure.com website, your mother may not want roses or candy on Mother’s Day (May 11 this year). Of the 1,001 women surveyed, 38 percent chose “a day at the spa” over those stereotypical gifts.

In fact, blooms and bonbons didn’t even make the top five in terms of highest-ranked gifts.

Five years and counting.

May 1, 2014April 30, 2014 by Donna Freedman

In 2010 I was living in Seattle but traveling a lot. Having recently obtained a college degree in midlife and quit an apartment management job, I was happy finally to be able to go places: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, London, Phoenix, Anchorage.

Although I made my living writing for MSN Money, I wanted another place to sound off. On April 30, 2010, I started this website as my playground for words.

I couldn’t have imagined the changes that would take place in five years’ time. But really, how many people can accurately predict their futures?

Now I’m no longer living in Seattle, working for MSN Money or traveling very much. Still got the degree and the website, though — and a wonderful relationship.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of my first post, I’m having a really big Friday giveaway.