• "On the second day of Christmas, my true love told me this: 'Honey, two-for-one deals don't save you money.' " You may be inclined to think your sweetheart is nuts to say such a thing. How is it that you don't save if you get two items for the price of one? But think about it. You never save when you spend. And you certainly never save when you buy two of something you need only one of -- or none at all.
• "On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me three hours of a financial planner's time." Spending time with a specialist to better your finances is well worth the money, don't you think?
• "On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me four I Bonds and not a fondue set." Really, how much hot cheese do people eat? Inflation-adjusted savings bonds, or I Bonds, are currently paying 3.67 percent. I Bonds are low-risk, liquid-savings products. While you own them, they earn interest and protect you from inflation. You can buy I Bonds directly from the government, at most financial institutions or through payroll deduction. Go to www.savingsbonds.gov for more information.
• "On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me f-i-v-e g-o-l-d-e-n r-u-l-e-s for simplifying the holidays." They are: The best present is your presence; it really is the thought that counts; it's the quality, not quantity, of the gifts; presents are forgotten, debt isn't; and finally, nobody sees a therapist as an adult because she didn't get a life-sized Barbie or Xbox as a child.
• "On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love reminded me that six months of living expenses set aside will help me weather a sudden financial storm."
• "On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love reminded me that if I fell behind on my bills, negative information could stay on my credit report for seven long years." For more information about how credit reports work, go to www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/bbcr.htm.
• "On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 'The Power in Your Money Personality: 8 Ways to Balance Your Urge to Splurge With Your Craving for Saving' by Susan Zimmerman." In this book, Zimmerman discusses the psychological issues that affect how we handle our money. By the eighth day of Christmas, it may be too late to address your bad money habits, but at least you have a year to work it all out and not overspend by the time the holidays roll around again.
• "On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me this Web address, info.insure.com/auto/autosave.html, where I found a list of nine ways to save on my auto insurance."
• "On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me this Web address (www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/MinPayment.asp), where I could compute how long it would take me to pay off the average Christmas shopping bill of $800 at an interest rate of 13 percent if I made just the minimum payment required." And the answer was -- 10 years!
• "On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me an 11-month Christmas savings plan so I won't overspend next year." Here's a link where you can find an online saving calculator (www.asec.org/ycalcs.htm) to figure out how to reach your savings goal.
