When I was a child, each year on December 1 my mom would post an advent calendar on the laundry room door. Each day from then until the 24th, my sister and I would pull open a little door on the calendar to see what was behind it. Some days it was a chocolate treat; others it was a little toy or sticker. Each day the anticipation grew as we inched ever so slowly closer to Christmas. I was reminded of that feeling when I was flipping through the Pottery Barn catalog the other day and I saw this gorgeous advent calendar. It's a little on the expensive side at $149, but you can fill it with Christmas treats and reminders year after year. If it's a little out of your price range, here are a few more adorable options in a range of price points.
House Advent Calendar ($129, PotteryBarnKids.com)
Christmas Courier Advent Calendar (on sale for $89.95, Lenox.com)
Gingerbread House Advent Calendar ($24.99, Target.com)
At the North Pole Advent calendar ($13, Galison.com)
photos (top to bottom): courtesy of PotteryBarn.com, PotterybarnKids.com, Lenox.com, Target.com and Galison.com
Choosing where to invest your retirement savings is confusing enough, but when your employer starts throwing out terms like 401(k) and 403(b) it can difficult to know where to put your money. CNBC personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich explains the differences between a 401(K), a 403(b) and a Roth IRA.
Find more information on coping with the economy with our Bail Yourself Out resources.
Here's a sampling of what will be on sale:
SVALKA red wine glasses ($1.99 for 6, reduced from $4.99)
CHARMIG flatware ($9.99 for 20 pieces, down from the usual $39.99)
99 cents for a 3-roll pack of ONSKA gift wrap or a 4-pack of ONSKA ribbons
See the rest of IKEA's Black Friday specials.
photos: courtesy of IKEA
Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is just the first step in a long process. Once you've filed you can be rejected or told to reapply under Chapter 13. To find out how long the process will take you, advises CNBC personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich, consult a bankruptcy lawyer who'll look at your personal situation and give you an estimate.
Find more information on coping with the economy with our Bail Yourself Out resources.
Every year on the weekend after Thanksgiving, we pull out the Christmas lights and plug them in to see if they still work. Inevitably, there are strands that don't and—my personal favorite—strands where only half the bulbs light up. Then we spend the rest of the afternoon swapping out bulbs and looking for the problem, only to give up in utter frustration after a few hours or days and head to the store to buy yet another string of lights at an exorbitant price.
But this year there's help for these holiday lighting dilemmas. When you discover one of these lighting emergencies, pick up your phone and call the Ulta Lit National Toll-Free Helpline at 1-888-Ulta Lit (888-858-2548). Beginning the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, a lighting expert will answer holiday lighting questions 7-days-a-week from 9 am to 5 pm (Central time). Ask them about your pre-lit trees, light strands for indoors and out, yard ornaments or lighted wreaths and take some of the stress out of decorating your home for the holidays.
photo: r. mcvay/getty images
Do you really need a financial advisor to help you manage your money? That depends on your financial situation, says Carmen Wong Ulrich. Before you pay someone to tell you how to allocate your money, look at where it all goes. Do you have enough in savings to cover all your living expenses for between 6 and 8 months? Are you debt free? If the answer to both of these questions is no, then Carmen recommends that you focus on saving more and paying down your debt. Watch the video to find out more about when you need to find a financial advisor.
Find more information on coping with the economy with our Bail Yourself Out resources.
Are online will services a safe way to protect your assets after you're gone? If you shop around for the best price and check out the website carefully, getting a simple will drawn up online is an affordable alternative to consulting a lawyer, says CNBC personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich. Watch the video to find out what to look for.
Find more information on coping with the economy with our Bail Yourself Out resources.
Find more information on coping with the economy with our Bail Yourself Out resources.
For my husband's 40th birthday, our extended family all pitched in and got him the big flat-screen television that he's been craving. This, however, has left me with something of a dilemma—what to do with the old one. It's too ancient for us to sell, but it still works so it just seems wrong to put it out with the trash. Even if I put it out at the curb, it's not like they'll take it away with the recycling. I know I'm not the only one asking this question. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans discarded nearly 27 million televisions in 2007 and only about 6 million of those were recycled. It's a similar situation with old mobile phones, computers and other electronics.
My first step in getting rid of this TV is to call around to local charities to see if they'll accept the donation. If that fails, there is another alternative. We can recycle it through the EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program. The EPA has partnered with 25 different manufacturers, retailers and service providers—including Best Buy, Dell, Sony and AT&T—to collect out-of-date gadgets. Best Buy even has a program that will give you a gift card for each product that you turn in at one of their stores or on their website.
Check the Plug-In to eCycling website for more information about how and where you can donate or recycle your old electronics or get a state-by-state listing of recycling locations near you.
photo: m. kemp/getty images
Gold prices hit a new high this week, so you may be thinking that now's the best time to sell some of that old jewelry that you never wear. But before you send your bracelets and necklaces off to an internet service, CNBC personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich has some important advice. From working with a local reputable jeweler to shopping around, watch the video as she explains how to get the best price for your gold.
Find more information on coping with the economy with our Bail Yourself Out resources.
