It’s the hot topic of the gift-giving season: regifting. Everywhere you look these days, you find advice about how to regift – web sites, news publications, blogs and other sources of information are falling all over themselves trying to de-tacky-fy the practice of giving a…
It’s always fascinating to get a look at other people’s – i.e., richer people’s – idea of frugality. The New York Times reports that for many people accustomed to dining out several times a week, this year has marked a return to the kitchen. Tracey…
Here’s an excellent piece from Smartmoney.com – a roundup of web resources aimed at helping you get your financial house in order in 2009.The article, titled “Financial Resolutions for the New Year,” includes advice and resources to the theme of seven resolutions: 1 – Take…
It’s an eternal family conflict, like dark meat versus light meat, or whether you open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.How big do you go on Christmas?Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Neal Templin explores the tension in his own family.By the time…
The economy’s not hitting everyone hard. Times are good at McDonald’s (Nod to The Daily Beast, which headlined the following item “The Recession Makes You Fat.” Scroll down...)The fast-food restaurant’s worldwide sales were up 7.7 percent overall in the month of November – a month…
If you’re still out there hunting for gifts – and if you’re already done, just keep it to yourselves – Kiplinger.com has a little guidance in this post: What’s Cheap Now?The doldrums running through the retail economy means good prices on just about everything. TVs…
If you’re still looking for the right gifts, there are a whole lot of suggestions out there. Newspapers, web sites and blogs are full of holiday suggestions – from the best gifts for your pet to the best gifts under $5. Here are a few…
Money magazine, reporting from the Department of Looking on the Bright Side:If you're struggling to see a silver lining in the beaten-down real estate market, consider this one: It may be a rotten moment to sell your house, but if you've postponed a much needed…
Everyone knows – or at least pretends to know -- that money doesn’t buy happiness.But can saving money make you happy? Truly happy?The proposition seems faintly ridiculous to me. But a column in today’s Wall Street Journal takes on the question thoughtfully:
Tough times can be good for you. That’s a commonplace idea lately, as people go looking for the silver lining in the cloud. But it’s also one that anyone who’s suffered – whether it’s poverty or personal loss – can attest to.It’s not a new…
It’s not just your imagination. Christmas really is getting more expensive – from swans-a-swimming to turtle doves to partridges in pear trees.The annual CPI – Christmas Price Index – is up by a whopping 8.1 percent, according to PNC Financial Services. The firm has calculated…
Everyone’s got a different idea of the line between frugality and lunacy.This post – from Wise Bread – might tell you a little bit about where you draw that line.As I type this article, dozens of other weary holiday travelers are hunkering down in chairs…
Online retailers are going after shoppers with a vengeance, a new study suggests.A survey by Shop.org shows that more than 80 percent of online retailers expect to offer deals for “Online Monday” – a response to Black Friday. Last year, only 72 percent of online…
How much is organic food worth to you? SmartMoney broke down the cost of an organic Thanksgiving and found it was more expensive.No big surprise. But how much more might be a surprise. The analysis found an all-organic meal ran about $120 more.
Your credit score is more important than ever right now, the experts say.One result of the credit crunch is that banks and credit-card issuers have changed their view of who among us constitutes a good credit risk. Here’s an excerpt from a piece at Kiplinger.com:…
Wine with dinner. Pre-cut veggies. Bottled water.These are just some of the “retail rip-offs” you should avoid, according to the blog Wallet Pop.The post, titled “10 huge retail ripoffs you can no longer afford, despite your cravings,” identifies some areas where you’re paying the greatest…
Consider the chicken. When it comes to spending choices, chicken provides a range of choices that mirrors the overall series of decisions we make when we buy lots of different things. How much more are the “best parts” worth? How much is preparation – the…
OK, we’re back on Black Friday here… We saw a post at MainStreet (via the blog Wallet Pop) titled, “The Money-Sapping Secrets of Black Friday Sales.” As you might have guessed, it comes from the anti- side of the aisle. The story says you can…
Bankruptcies are reaching new highs in recent months, with October posting the most bankruptcy filings – both locally and nationally – since laws were changed in 2005 making it more difficult to do so. We reported on this in the S-R on Nov. 9, and…
When Black Friday comes, people are divided. Wake in the dark and wait in line? Or get the best deal of all by staying home? Is it a chance to save money, an expression of frugality? Or is it just wallowing in consumerism? The Friday…
Consumer confidence is apparently so low right now that more shoppers are changing their minds after they buy something and taking it back.The New York Times reports that 2008's retail returns are expected to surpass the figure for 2007. (subscription site)
Today's Everyday Economy page brings you a showdown: School lunch vs. brown-bagging. In our basic comparison -- a PB&J -- school lunch stacked up pretty well, running $2.60 (in Spokane) compared to $2.64 for the bagged lunch. But if you're frugal, you can beat that…
Congress is now considering a big increase in funding for a program that helps the poor pay for winter heating.
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Everyday Economy is a blog and weekly page in the newspaper dedicated to the way people are living their financial lives. Shawn Vestal, a longtime Spokesman-Review writer and editor, is overseeing the project.
