Tis the Season Not to Overspend!

By: Red Hot Mamas

Published: December 1, 2014

Article created by our financial expert, Liz Allen.

No matter how much turkey we ate on Thanksgiving, tryptophan is not the hormone that helps us get through family gatherings, but it’s over. We made it. Yet another Thanksgiving has passed through our lives and our mouths. Hopefully, none of us went all Sweeny Todd on the turkey when it was time to carve…

What’s up next on the stress meter?
Perchance you avoided the early hours of after Thanksgiving shopping, parking lot rage and gross disappointment of Black Friday pseudo-deals and opted to do your holiday shopping virtually.
I, for one, love the deals on Amazon.com, but for me it’s all about the books and maybe a kindle upgrade.

Speaking of e-readers, how many of you reading this article have one? Or know someone with one?
I would venture to say at least one out of three people own some sort of electronic reader or download e-versions of books on their computers, phones or tablets.
Why? Because the burgeoning world of electronic reading has not only become one of the most popular and convenient ways to read a book, it’s absurdly economical.

By all means, give great books as gifts this year, but make it a wireless walapalooza of gift giving!

Do you think a budget of $10 is too chintzy for a recipient? Hold up! There are novels on kindle for 99¢ and some are FREE! And these are good books, including classics.
Trust me, if someone has an e-reader, they love books. I would be thrilled to discover someone wirelessly gifted me ten books! You can’t go wrong. Your wallet and savings account will be quite grateful. But wait! There’s more! No gift wrapping paper, no lines at the post office (do people still do that?), no potential out of stock tags, and no lost or late deliveries.

You won’t have to wonder if they’ll like it or not because – TADA – The recipient can request a refund for items purchased from the Kindle Store within seven days of purchase, without having to contact Customer Service! How cool is that!

All you need is the email address of your recipient to send them an e-book.
That’s it. Simple. Not even a stamp!

“But I like the feel of a book in my hands. Nothing else is the same. No thanks. Gimme ink and paper.” Fine. They get one book which will retail at B&N for $24.95. They’ll read it and then either sell it on ebay for $7 if they’re lucky or a buck at their next garage sale. Actually, we really don’t care what someone does with a gift after we’ve given it. Right? It’s the thought that counts…

This is one general idea for my meno-mates out there to help reduce stress during the holiday season but more importantly, NOT to begin the New Year in credit card debt due to excessive generosity!