Agreed. If you have kids, the pressure to compete with their friends' gifts is ever present, too. So and so is getting a TV. They're going to Hawaii. And on and on and on.

Good luck in the New Year. My husband and I have had rough times before, too, around the holidays. Depending on your abilities, you can do little things to show people you care without spending money. Offer to help out a friend with a project or offer babysitting/dog walking services. Write a poem or story about…

Depending on your tax rate and whether you itemize, donations can really lighten your tax burden come spring. You don't get the whole amount, but every little bit helps. We have two kids who go through clothes really fast due to growing, so we are constantly donating stuff to local charities. The big thing is to…

We keep our can by the garage in the alley and they pick up there. They've done a great job with taking extra stuff and even found an ornament on last year's tree we missed.

My kids. Always my kids. :)

I'm not going to leave a tip for the newspaper guy as I give him one in my bill. I am going to leave a holiday tip/treat for the garbage man who is AWESOME.

We have a local coffee shop that my whole family frequents - it is right across the street from my house. I always tip them and will do something for them on Christmas Day. They go out of the their way to be nice to my kids and have created a lovely neighborhood spot.

Our room was blue. With white trim. Ahoy! Our taste has improved since then.

We made the finish error when we painted our living room. The color was nice but the wrong finish (semi-gloss) made the room so ugly. And it showed every single imperfection in the walls. The new eggshell finish paint is so much nicer and hides the 100 plus years of wear and tear on the walls.

Not caring so much about what people think of you is the best part of getting old.

Glad to lighten your day! Now get off my lawn. (I've actually said that to someone).

Interesting. We are switching to Costco in January. I'll remember this. Thanks!

I love mine. We mainly make fizzy water. The kids like the orange and lemon-lime flavors for soda. I was buying carbonated water by case from Trader Joe's so I did the math plus the environmental impact and it was no contest. I barely drink soda anymore. And I drink more water because of the bubbles.

I have bi-focal reading glasses. One level is for the computer and the other for reading, knitting, etc. Helps me tremendously as I have to switch between paper and screen a lot.

We've found that the Trader Joe's cereal really varies. We used to go through their version of frosted mini-wheats (the brown sugar ones) and noticed over several months the quality declined. Their corn flakes are quite tasty. The big one there - their guacamole. It is exactly the same as the Wholly Guacamole but…

If you have a KitchenAid mixer, you can make butter without the fancy kit. I almost ordered the kit last year until I balked at the shipping cost. I found a bunch of recipes online. It was so worth it. My son, who pretty much only eats Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, keeps asking to make it again. Takes about 20…

If you swim, wear your suit in there to wash out the chlorine stank. Same goes for funky bike shorts. Dr. Bronners is good for those chamois pads.

I use plain white vinegar. Not only do the sheets make your towels less absorbent but fabric softener can coat the lint filters in the dryer.

Hang a tension rod or old curtain rod where you do laundry for hanging clothes you can't put in dryer. Do back to back dryer loads so the second load or later retain the residual heat. Don't use dryer sheets. Ever. They are awful for your towels

Leftover turkey sandwiches with real full fat mayo and cranberry sauce.