Dealman

Last week I posted about ways to use credit cards effectively during the holiday season. If you're not careful, you could make your 2010 very difficult because you'll be owing interest on your holiday credit card bills for months to come (if not all of 2010). This problem will only be compounded if you've got a big tax headache coming to you next year. One thing to always keep in mind is how you spend money today can affect your financial future.

So how can you make sure that your tax burden is a little less burdensome? The surest way to lower your tax income is not all that helpful, but you'll see it mentioned: make less money. Helpful, right? On the flipside, there are probably a lot of people out there who would love to have to pay more taxes--it means you've made more taxable income. That said, there are good ways to lower your burden if you're looking to save some money in 2010.

Here at Savings.com, we stress that credit cards are not your best bet when saving money. A 20% off sitewide code is great, but if you're putting that payment on a credit card with a 15% APR, that will basically negate the savings from a coupon. If you don't pay off that bill immediately, you're going to be paying interest for months into the future.

When it comes to Christmas shopping, the same principle applies...and then some. If you carry a balance on your credit card, it's quite likely that you could be paying off this year's holiday gifts well into the next year - if not the whole year round until the next holiday season comes around! If you bought Christmas gifts on credit in 2008 and your credit card is not yet paid off, it's like you're paying for Christmas throughout the year. The answer? Don't pay with credit. Of course, that's not a feasible strategy for everyone.

Halloween's over and with it the scary season. Some would say the scary season of the bad economy is coming to a close as well. How true is this? Well, it depends on who you ask because if you're struggling financially, there's no doubt that you're going to be pessimistic about the overall economy as well. But there are some encouraging signs that the economy is coming out of its slumber. This is good news for retailers who are probably a bit worried about the spending habits this coming holiday season.

Let's look at some of the major indicators. Last week it was revealed that the Gross Domestic Product went up 3.5%. Given that a recession is defined as two negative quarters for the GDP, it would appear that the GDP is a great indicator of our new fiscal health. Still, there are those who argue that the GDP isn't that great of an indicator, and may not mean that we're in a recovery mode, just that we're effectively treading water. However, there is some evidence that we're entering a recovery as well.