Dear Crabby, Should I Tip My Delivery Person During the Holidays?

Dear Crabby, Before the first flake fell, I was seeing Amazon Prime, FedEx, and UPS vans zipping through my neighborhood. This got me wondering if there is any tipping or gifting protocol for these poor folks who have to schlep all my Cyber Monday deals to my doorstep. Thanks! Ima Giver Dear Ima Giver, Ahh, yes. Cyber Monday. The supposed reason brick-and-mortar shops are going out of business. After Thanksgiving dinner, my daughter and granddaughter were working on spreadsheets for … [Read more...]

Dear Crabby, What is Small Business Saturday?

Dear Crabby, I usually do all my shopping online, can you please tell me what Small Business Saturday is? Sincerely, Indoor Girl   Well Hello Indoor Girl, Small Business Saturday has been around since 2010, but if you're an indoor kind of person, I can understand you not knowing about this special day to get folks into true blue American stores. For decades, the day after Thanksgiving, as most people know as Black Friday, is the start to the holiday shopping season. It's the … [Read more...]

Dear Crabby, Are fewer stores open this Thanksgiving?

Dear Crabby, I hear fewer stores are opening on Thanksgiving this year, is this true, are we getting back to the way things used to be? Sincerely, Traditional Girl   Dear Traditional Girl, If only, we could get back to the way things used to be. Seems things change quickly in the wrong direction and slowly in the right ones. But you are correct. More stores will be closing this year than in previous years. In recent years, during the recession, retail stores were looking … [Read more...]

Dear Crabby, How Much Money Should I Spend on Christmas Gifts?

Dear Crabby, It’s been a week since my mailbox and inbox was taken over by Black Friday ads and Cyber Monday emails. While I want to help the economy and I certainly want to give great gifts to family and friends, I’m overwhelmed trying to decide how much I should spend. Can you help? Sincerely, Sally Spendthrift Dear Sally Spendthrift, Last week I gave my two cents on whether it’s worth the hassle shopping on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the like. As I said in that post all these … [Read more...]

Dear Crabby, Do You Shop on Black Friday?

Dear Crabby, Do You Shop on Black Friday? Sincerely, Hunter Diels Dear Hunter Diels, Seems like the holidays bring out the shopping questions all too much. I’ve tried shopping on Black Friday, it was horrible, and I’ll never do that again. All that yelling and running – I mean people have died trying to get in a store – no bargain or deal is worth that. I’ve tried buying gifts on the Internet, something called Cyber Monday. That too was a disaster. Shopping is just a chore. What’s … [Read more...]