What the terrible title of this blog post cleverly hides is that I have found some excellent tips for keeping you on track with your budgets and lives this holiday season (and in the months that follow it… you know, the bill-arrival months).

Here’s a look at how some online gurus are helping me keep more of my money and sanity.

Online Shopping: Be Smarter about It

Because I hate crowds and parking, I am a sucker for online shopping. It saves me time and usually money (because I’m less likely to fall for impulse buys, though I’m sure online retailers will soon find a way to sell me overpriced candy bars when I check out). But there are definitely dangers to shopping on the web. Here are some ways to avoid them (adapted from Kiplinger.com):

• Go where you know:You wouldn’t wander into a dark and out-of-the-way store without good reason, and you shouldn’t click blindly onto unknown web sites either. Be especially wary of links in emails from strangers and links that take you off a merchant’s page. There was an identity theft case a while back that the FTC caught, but that doesn’t mean the Internet is completely safe now. Do some research before you visit a site, and especially before you enter credit card information.
• Choose credit: I admit that I tend to favor my debit card over my credit card, but when shopping online, that’s generally not a good idea. Most credit cards come with more extensive protection for users (ranging from refunds for defective goods to better protection against identity theft). Remember that purchases with a stolen credit card can be canceled, but a drained bank account resulting from a stolen debit card cannot.
• Shop at home and check your statements: Using public computers or even public WiFi connections can be dicey, and invites more potential identity theft and fraud than staying in the security of your abode. And, to make sure nothing’s getting past you, be sure to check your credit and debit card statements every month with an eye for unfamiliar transactions.
• Don’t wire money: Just don’t do it to pay for something. It’s usually a scam.

Convenience: How Much Do You Need?

When things get hectic around the holidays, it can be easy to choose convenience over cost-effectiveness. But, as this post from WiseBread.com reminds us, convenience can cost big time – do you really need as much as you have? Consider these places to trim your spending to make more room for holiday travel and gifts.

• Cell phones: You don’t have to give yours up, but you probably don’t need every available upgrade – and check your bill each month. Is there a cheaper plan available? Could you catch up with more people via email or when minutes cost less?
• Televisions: How many do you have in your house? How much electricity do they use? How much do your channel subscriptions cost? I’m not preaching, but TV ownership is one area most of us could afford to cut back. (Bonus: the less TV you watch, the less you’ll “need” all the things advertised thereon.)
• Food: No, I’m not advocating starvation as a budget tool. But do you eat out a lot? Do you throw away food because it’s gone bad? Try a “food budget” for your house: track your usage for a month and look for areas to cut spending.

Any other tips? Let me know! Hooray for the Holidays and savings!

I guess the holiday shopping season “officially” begins after Halloween, which seems early to me, but then I look down and realize November is already half over, Thanksgiving is a week away, and a post about shopping and spending smart for the holidays is overdue.

So here’s a look at what you need to know for making sure your good, gift-giving intentions have the best possible results.

Check out Your Charities

While donating money can be both in tune with the holiday season and a nice gift for folks who have it all, it’s important to make sure your donated dollars are making the largest impact possible. Here’s how.

• Check out the Charity Navigator. This site allows you to figure out how charitable organizations spend the money they collect.
• Enter the name of your favorite charity. You can search by name and learn various statistics about how an organization spends its money and what percentage of funds go to which operations.
• Browse for a charity to suit you. The other way to work the site is to browse charities by location, impact or concentration. This can allow you to target your charitable donations to causes you care about but may not have known how to connect with.

This site is wonderful for people who are happy to give but tired of worrying about getting duped by promoters of less-than-honorable causes.

Understand Gift Cards

While gift cards are generally viewed as a convenient and welcome gift by both givers and receivers, an article from the New York Times reminds us what to watch out for when buying or giving gift cards (even though they were made more consumer friendly with the introduction of new credit card rules).

• Know the expiration date: While the Credit CARD Act requires gift cards to display their expiration information, that particular provision won’t become effective until after the holiday season, so be sure to ask at the checkout how long the card will be good.
• Keep track of your cards: Sources note that most gift card issuers are not legally responsible for refunding money on lost or stolen gift cards, so set up a system for yourself (and recommend that any recipients do the same).
• Realize there might be fees: While inactivity fees can’t take effect for a year or more after the card was last used, they still exist and can eat into a card’s value (or deplete it altogether). So make sure those bits of plastic don’t get buried under all the wrappings, or else they will have been an expensive and useless gift indeed.

Avoid Holiday Debt

Finally, take a moment to read this post from WalletPop.com about avoiding holiday debt.

The holiday season can trick us into spending more than we can afford (and it’s always for a good cause, isn’t it?), but if we enter the season armed with the right tools, we can hopefully salvage the financial stability we work so hard for during the rest of the year.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Now that retailers are stringing lights and piping Christmas music for shoppers to enjoy, it’s time to give some thought to your house’s ability to withstand colder weather. Taking a little time now to tune everything up can save you money on heating costs for the next few months.

Here are some basic winterizing measures to consider to help you stay on budget this winter (adapted from WalletPop.com).

Making Sure the Heat Stays In

• Tune up your furnace: Call in an expert to make sure your heating system is in fine working order. There’s nothing less pleasant (trust me) than waiting until the first really chilly day to find out something’s gone wrong with your house’s heat system. This will cost a little money up front, but hopefully save you from unexpected, more major repairs down the road.
• Batten the hatches: Patch holes and air leaks in your windows and doors with caulking or weather stripping. You may even want to seal your windows with plastic (available at most hardware stores) to keep heat in.
• Check your insulation: This handy guide to insulation can help you figure out what kind of insulation you need, based on where in the country you live. Padding your home now can save you serious money on your monthly energy bill.
• Prevent ice damage: If you have water spigots outside of your home, turn off water going to them if there’s a chance of a freeze. Even if you don’t use that water all winter, ice could cause a backup and pipe bursting for your entire house (which is never fun in freezing weather).
• Clean your gutters: Too much weight in a gutter (from snow and ice) can lead to detachment and breaking-off; a loose gutter can lead to sneaky water freezing in nefarious ways to parts of your house meant to be snug. Take some time to empty your gutters so the winter weather doesn’t cause long-term damage.
• Do a fireplace inspection: If you have a fireplace, now might be a good time to get your chimney cleaned, double-check your fire extinguishers and make sure the flue is clear. A small obstruction can lead to serious fire damage if unnoticed.
• Check your thermostat: If you don’t already have a programmable thermostat, consider investing in one. You can set your house to a lower temperature when the family is away or sleeping under warm covers, and a higher temp for when everyone’s home. This can lead to significant heating cost reductions.
• Stock up on supplies: Whether you need a snow blower, a shovel, salt or just a few extra pairs of socks for the season, make sure you have them around and in working order. It’s better to remember that your only winter coat has a broken zipper now, before you need to wear it to the tailor’s.

It has come to the Debtress’s attention that certain commercial outlets are trying to lure their shoppers in (and pry our wallets open) with all-new “savings events” that really amount to nothing more than over-hyped regular weekly sales.

This recent post from CreditBloggers.com discusses the shopping scheme known as “Black October,” which seems to be just a premature version of Black Friday and not really a very good deal at all.

Avoiding the Hype

The rush of getting a really good bargain is pretty great, and part of the reason for that is because true bargains generally take a little legwork to find. Here are some pointers for distinguishing between real bargains and hyped-up quasi-sales:

• If it’s heavily advertised, it’s probably hype: Guess what, bargain seekers. Advertising costs money. If a store or company is exerting a lot of energy to create a new “sales event” or coin a new savings term (like “Black October”), proceed with caution. Many consumers will likely be drawn by the novelty, but if too much money goes into promoting something, you probably won’t be saving much at the register. These companies have their bottom lines to think about, after all.
• If you feel that “buy now or forever lose your chance” feeling, it’s probably hype: One way marketers trick us into spending more than we intend to is to create a false sense of urgency (which might involve making up new sales events, as mentioned above) and thus convince us that we must buy now or forever regret not doing so. But usually, you’ll have another chance. We all make worse financial decisions when we’re under stress or experiencing strong emotions.

So how can a consumer who’s just looking to save some money navigate the world of hype?

Tips for Finding Bargains Consistently

This smart shopping post from WiseBread.com offers some pointers for people interested in saving money on their everyday purchases.

• Learn to haggle: Negotiation, while not always fun, can lead to lower prices and better savings. The art of haggling requires a little chutzpah, a willingness to pay cash, and a friendly demeanor.
• Shop in the off-season: End-of-season sales are tough to beat, but they generally mean buying stuff that you won’t be able to use for several months. Learn to bear the pain of postponing enjoyment of your purchases, and you can end up a richer person.
• Look for secondhand goods: The double-whammy savings here is that hunting for clothes and other necessities at secondhand stores provides free entertainment and the potential to save serious money on stuff you need. If you don’t like the secondhand offerings in your neighborhood, do some research – areas with higher income levels tend to have higher quality goods in the “used” section.
• Learn to comparison shop smartly: The Internet is a valuable tool for comparison shoppers because it allows us to compare prices without burning valuable gasoline or wasting our precious hours. So commit to researching purchases before making them. That way, you’ll be confident in pulling the trigger when you see a good deal.