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EZINE CONTEST
From this week onwards, we are
starting weekly contests specially for the Ezine subscribers!
Today's contest is:
Send in a 'Holiday Moneysaving
Tip'.
Send in your moneysaving tips to
lata@dotcomwomen.com
with the subject 'Holiday Moneysaving Idea' before the 15th of
October, 2004. The best 3 moneysaving tips will win 'Chocolate
Recipes' ebook containing 50 delicious chocolate recipes.
MONEY MATTERS
Holiday Budgeting Tips
Most of us know what we should do
to avoid overspending during the holidays: draw up a budget, set a
price for everyone on your list, start shopping before Halloween,
visit discount stores, bypass upscale boutiques, and give
home-made gifts. Sound advice, but if you??™re like most people, you
don??™t have the time or inclination for it all. Fortunately, you
can still find ways to save a few dollars.
Know your
weaknesses
"People are out there to appeal to your emotions, and you have to be
armed and prepared," says Joyce Brown, a bankruptcy counsellor with
BDO Dunwoody Ltd. in Hamilton. "I know my hooks," she says. "I don??™t
go looking for stocking stuffers two days before Christmas because I
know I??™ll end up spending more on them than I do on gifts."
Don??™t be a
sucker for a sale
Make sure you read the barrage of flyers we all get at this time of
year. If the "last-chance, blowout extravaganza" isn??™t advertising
anything for the people on your list, don??™t go.
Think twice
According to Brown, "We don??™t spend with our heads, we spend with
our hearts." That??™s not always a bad thing, but "if you see
something you want, and it??™s not on your list, make sure to put some
space between seeing the article and buying it."
Dress the
part
"Christmas shopping is like grocery shopping," says Laurie Campbell,
a program manager at the Credit Counselling Service of Toronto.
"Don??™t go when you??™re tired or hungry and don??™t go during peak
hours." Forget the weekend; try Monday night. And while you??™re
there, wear comfortable clothes ??“ "no heels," Campbell says. If
you??™re uncomfortable, cranky or needing a nap, you??™re just going to
buy whatever you find to get home ASAP.
Enjoy one
big blowout
"My husband and I tend to go to the Midnight Madness Sales [at the
mall] and we only go once," says Brown. That way she gets to enjoy
the festivities and take her time comparing prices at different
stores. The most important reason to follow her example: "The more
frequently you go, the more you??™ll spend."
Leave your
plastic at home
While you??™re on that one big shopping spree, limit your spending by
only carrying cash. "Debit cards are as bad as credit cards," Brown
says. "You??™ll spend till you??™re [wiped out] and if you have
overdraft protection, you??™ll spend that too."
Shop in
pairs
"If your spending gets out of control," says 27-year-old TV reporter
Angie Lau, "a friend will remind you that you don??™t have anyone on
your list who needs a $50 scarf."
Prepare to
return
Not every gift is going to go over like gangbusters. Know the store
policy wherever you shop: cash refunds are better than credit. Avoid
buying "final sale" items.
Don??™t buy
seasonal wrapping
"Buy solid-coloured paper, or at least something with no reindeers
or Santas," says Lau. "That way you can use it all-year round." Some
people also use magazine pages or newspaper comics.
Be creative
Last year, Lau recreated the Twelve Days of Christmas for her
boyfriend. "I remember that on the sixth day, he got a six-pack,"
she says with a laugh. "None of it cost a lot, they were all tokens,
small items to show my affection. And that??™s really what Christmas
is all about."
HOLIDAY RECIPES
Granola Muffins
Sweet delicacy for Trick o' Treaters
1 cup granola
1/2 cup snipped dried apricots
1/2 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cooking oil
In a mixing bowl combine the granola and apricots; pour boiling
water over mixture. Set aside.
In another bowl stir together the flour, sugar, walnuts, baking
powder and salt; make a well in the center.
Stir the egg, milk, and oil into the granola-fruit mixture; add all
at once to flour mixture, stirring just till moistened.
Grease muffin pans or line with paper bake cups and fill 2/3 full
with batter.
Bake in 375 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till done. This is a
wonderful sweet to give to Trick or Treaters on Halloween!
Makes about 18 muffins.
Source: Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Cooking, 1985
ELKE'S WEEKLY BEAUTY TIP
Have a too blue based lipstick?
Mix a dot of yellow concealer into
your lipstick, or apply a yellow based loose powder on clean lips,
and apply lipstick on top. There will be just enough warmth in the
product to take the edge off a too blue shade.
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'Elke's Weekly Beauty Tip' brought
to you by E. Von Freudenberg, Editor of The Beauty
Newsletter:
http://www.beautynewsletter.gq.nu. For a free subscription,
email
BeautyNewsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Ms. Von
Freudenberg is also a top celebrity makeup artist whose work has
been seen in Allure, W, Rolling Stone, Paper, Detour and many
more. Von Freudenberg Ent. ?© All Rights Reserved.
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