by: Robert Landis
With the rising costs of gasoline and heating oil, as well as rising interest rate charges, saving money is at the top of everyone's wish list this holiday season. Here are some tips on getting the most out of your gift shopping dollars this holiday season.
1. Set a budget. This seems like a simple step, but many people fail to do this before starting their holiday shopping. Figure the total amount you can afford to spend on gifts and then divide that number by the total number of people on your list. This gives you the average amount that you should spend on each person. Try and stay within this limit for each person on your list.
2. Compare Prices. With the internet, it is easy to compare prices on most products. Some websites even offer customer comments which can give you valuable information on quality, ease of use, customer service, and overall ratings for many products. Some of the best websites for this are nextag.com, epinions.com, pricegrabber.com, and shopping.com.
by: Cyndi Seidler
What's your vision of this holiday season? Creating a memorable holiday is like orchestrating a major production. There are people, props, and agendas involved.
Appoint yourself as the producer and bring together the pieces to transform your vision into a reality.
Start a list of what activities would give you the most pleasure, and then decide what the main event(s) will be.
Are you going to be throwing a party? Having a tree-trimming party? Doing charity work? Going on a light-gazing tour? You might need to do meal planning, party planning, travel planning, and/or gift planning.
Break down your holiday event(s) into action tasks. Set priorities and schedules of the activities that need to be carried out.
by: Ginny Dye
Sometimes elderly people can be fierce about maintaining their independence - some would say downright stubborn. But it is hard to give up taking care of oneself and give the reins over to someone else. It can diminish their spirits to depend on others to do tasks they used to do so easily.
How can you help without taking away their independence?
Following are five ideas from the free e-book, 101 Ways to Change the World. Use them to stir up your own ideas. Let’s keep our seniors involved in life – they are a valuable commodity!
