The cost of Christmas

Suze drives me nuts, you know the money helper that seems to be EVERYWHERE on tv. I usually turn her off when I see her or change channel. This morning I couldn't though because I didn't have time to find the remote.

In this clip from the Today show when she is on with the even more annoying Kathie Lee Gifford, Suze makes some good points that are worth sharing.

1) Return gifts you hate for the money.

2) Don't go in to a store today and buy something because you feel you have to. The stores are going to begin marking up prices to make back some of the money they lost these last few weeks. They know you are coming and will pay the extra money on an impulse buy. Resist the urge.

3) Give a gift of the heart. Ask yourself about the gifts you received last year. What did you get? She says, and I find this to be true. The gifts that had the most time/thought put in them mean the most -- the ones that cost the most, not so much. Example, last year right when my hubby was first laid off, we decided to seriously cut back on gifts. He gave me a crock pot cookbook, and thats it. I LOVE to cook, and I cherish this $15 book.

Just some food for thought.