gift giving

    By Mercedes Cardona

    | 12:15PM 2/15/2011
    January's retail and food services sales rose a sharp 7.8% from January 2010 and 0.3% from December. For the most part, merchants and manufacturers worked to line up wares that consumers want at prices that attract those who are now more frugal.

    By David Schepp

    | 4:10PM 12/20/2010
    Retail sales have perked up, but consumers aren't resuming their old habit of using credit cards to splurge on gifts. According to a new poll, more than half of American adults say they're sticking with cash this holiday shopping season.

    By Lynnette Khalfani-Cox

    | 1:00PM 11/29/2010
    If you've got children or grandchildren on your holiday gift list, instead of just buying sweaters or electronic gadgets, try turning your year-end gift giving into smart estate planning, too. Tax experts say that before 2010 comes to a close, many older Americans, retirees and well-heeled...

    By Sarah Gilbert

    | 4:30PM 11/23/2010
    Ho, ho, ho! Talk about holiday spirit. After the initial excitement of scheduling a booth at a holiday bazaar or picking up my super-special heritage breed turkey for Thanksgiving, I realize how expensive this is all going to be, and my holiday spirits drop considerably. Especially my financial...

    By Josh Smith

    | 10:00AM 2/02/2010
    According to a survey on Valentine's Day gift giving, overall Valentine's Day spending is up 50 cents, but the average gift people are giving to their significant other is down almost $4 from 2009. Even though this brings Valentine's Day gift spending down to the levels we saw in 2004, ladies will...

    By Elizabeth Harris

    | 5:41PM 12/19/2009
    An economist at Duke University believes that "gift inflation" is a prime problem during the holidays, one that makes everyone less happy in the long run. The solution? Spending less and keeping it simple.

    By Bonnie McCarthy

    | 9:00AM 12/01/2009
    After a random survey of 1,000 online members, online cash-gift registry Lottay.com believe it has an idea of what shoppers will be searching for come holiday gift-giving time. And according to the survey, it ain't gift cards. "A cow, a monkey, a hookah, and Satan," well, yeah, but definitely not...