Shopportunist: Prevent yourself from holiday overspending
I'm done Christmas shopping for my kids.
I think.
Their wish lists are most weighty and eat up the bulk of my budget. It's a relief for sure - or should be - but I'm finding the barrage of retail emails promoting sales and price drops too tempting. Browsing through the perpetual blast of fleeting deals and flash doorbusters has become almost a compulsion. What's one more gift? And another? What if this is the best price, ever?
Creating a display of Pinterest-worthy royal iced sugar cookies is hard. Overspending is easy. Impulsive buying in pursuit of the perfect holiday can derail good spending intentions and cause financial stress and hardship. In fact, about 48 million Americans are still paying off credit card debt from last holiday season, according to a survey conducted by personal finance company NerdWallet and the Harris Poll.
I blame the head cold I can't seem to kick for leaving me dazed and defenseless to every alleged deal, but we can be compelled to keep shopping for a variety of emotional...
The last Posts from Times Union
- Ice safety day planned at Great Sacandaga Lake site
- Transfinder revenue jumped 15 percent in 2019
- Bartender doesn't get job, wins suit for 'consulting' fees
- New Cobb ads knock Stefanik's vote on drug costs
- Hannaford joins Price Chopper in charging for paper bags
- Blotto, Lena Spencer among Eddies Hall of Fame honorees
- Wanted: Troopers hunt for suspect with fentanyl, heroin
- Jason Gough's forecast: Wimpy storm on way
- A.M. Roundup: Cuomo pursuing ‘regional symmetry' with marijuana legalization
- Cameron Healy sets school record as UAlbany rolls
- Lawmakers to host Route 30 listening forum
- UAlbany women's lacrosse brings back almost everyone
- Broad ideas, few details as NY pursues 'regional symmetry' on cannabis
- Urban Co-Works to host Startup Weekend in Schenectady
- Limo operator's court date moved to May
- Columbia County man gets 18 years in fatal overdose case
- Schenectady mayor vows fix to troubled sidewalk program
- Siena's Jordan King tries to keep starting spot
- Saratoga Springs creates collaborative to address homelessness
- With new schedule, CDTA boosts service
Legendary PBS journalist Jim Lehrer dies at 85
Jim Lehrer, the journalism giant who spent decades behind the anchor desk at PBS, died Thursday at 85. Read more ...
President Trump to attend anti-abortion rally in Washington
President Donald Trump will become the first president to attend the March for Life. Read more ...
US imposes visa rules for pregnant women on 'birth tourism'
Applicants will be denied tourist visas if they are determined to be coming to the U.S. primarily to give birth. Read more ...
Tanker Plane Fighting Australia's Bushfires Crashes, Killing Crew Of 3
The crash occurred south of the capital, Canberra, as Australia continues battling massive fires that have scorched a Pennsylvania-sized section of the country. (Image credit... Read more ...
3 months after New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel collapse, the bodies of 2 killed...
The outcry to recover the two bodies reignited this week after a tarp meant to conceal one of the bodies was blown away by the wind, exposing the body to the public. Read more ...
Fotis Dulos removed items from missing wife's memorial: prosecutor
The estranged husband of missing Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos who has been charged with her murder “violated” the terms of his release when he removed items from a memorial... Read more ...
China extended its Wuhan coronavirus quarantine to 2 more cities, cutting...
China has extended travel restrictions to two more cities as part of an unprecedented quarantine to try and control a coronavirus that has killed at least 17 people. The city... Read more ...
George Kittle or Travis Kelce? The NFL's best tight end debate is more...
There's no question that the best tight end in the NFL will be on the field for Super Bowl 54, but the question between the 49ers' George Kittle vs. the Chiefs' Travis Kelce... Read more ...
Democrats hammer constitutional case for Trump's removal
House Democrats are launching phase two of their impeachment case on Thursday: the constitutional argument for why President Donald Trump should be removed from office. The... Read more ...
After move, Las Vegas Raiders pledge $500,000 to eliminate school lunch debt
Money to be allocated through Nevada Community Foundation Read more ...