I recommend designating one or two places in your home to stash these gifts. If you have children you may need to get a bit creative to hide their gifts. I like to tag the items with the name of the person I had in mind when I made the purchase. I tend not to buy large items so I use a drawer in my guest bedroom for my gift zone. I have seen clients use a shelf in their basement, an under the bed storage container, or an area in a closet. These spaces do not have to have supe

Everyone loves a bargain! A word of caution, many bargains are not really bargains but just clever advertising. Some examples: “Buy this and receive a gift!” Cosmetic companies are really good at this one. “Purchase $55 or more on cosmetics and receive a free gift bag.” You really like their foundation for $39.50 and you find yourself looking for something else you might use just to get that cute gift. “It pays to stock up! Earn a $10 gift card every time you buy $50 in parti

You need a pair of shorts. Off you go to your favorite store. You find the shorts and a top that will look great with them. If you buy three tops you will get a better price. The necklace laid out with one of the tops would just finish the outfit. On the way out, you see a pair of sandals you like. They fit perfectly and look nice too. Man, if the shoe fits you’d better stock up. You buy the sandals in five colors. When you get home and try to squeeze your purchases into your

Do you wonder where in the world all your money goes? Let’s find some of those holes and turn them around. 1. You buy items you already have. You buy that cute green shell only to later realize you already have four in your closet. You buy BBQ sauce only to find a bottle in the fridge and several on different shelve in your kitchen. The answer to this is to group all like items together so that you can see what you have. Then look before you shop. 2. You are continually payin

Poor time management costs you money. Here is a short list of ways I have seen clients lose money because they did not use their time well. Paying bills late and accruing a late fee because of not scheduling regular times to work on household budget/bill paying Overdrawing accounts because of not taking time to reconcile bank statements Paying for missed appointments because of not recording the appointment on the calendar (or not taking time to look at the calendar) Getting