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Holiday Guide

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Speak Out: What Will You Spend on Holiday Gifts?

Do you plan to spend more on holiday gifts this year? If you’re the average shopper, one survey says you probably will.

If you’re the average shopper, chances are you may be spending a bit more on gifts this season than in years past. Earlier this month, American Research Group reported that its phone survey earlier this month showed that Americans plan to spend an average of $854 on gifts this holiday season, up nearly a third of last year’s average of $646. That’s also the highest average since ARG’s 2007 survey, when survey respondents’ average was $859—that amount fell by about half in 2008. Here are the average amounts of planned spending survey takers have reported since 2002. Year Average Spending Percent Change   2012 $854 + 32% 2011 $646 - 2% 2010 $658 + 58% 2009 $417 - 3% 2008 $431 - 50% 2007 $859 - 5% 2006 $907 - 4% 2005 $942 - 6% 2004 $1,004 + 3…

Monday, November 19, 2012

Speak Out: Christmas Shopping Starting Too Early?

Want a great deal? You may have to spend part of your Thanksgiving to get it. Tell us what you think about retailers pushing the start of the holiday shopping season onto Turkey Day.

Looking to grab some great Black Friday deals? Better be prepared to scarf down the turkey and put away the pumpkin pie quickly. It’s becoming a tradition for the holiday shopping season to start well before the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone. But your holiday food might still be warm by the time retailers offer the first “Black Friday” deal. Take, for example, Walmart. The retailer is rolling out its first Black Friday deals Thursday—that’s Thanksgiving night—at 8 p.m. Not to be outdone, Target is inviting customers to grab its Black Friday deals at 9 p.m. Thursday. The early deals means those hoping to save money during their holiday shopping will be spending part of another holiday heading to stores, fighting the crowds and waiting in …

P D Murray

8:21 pm on Monday, November 19, 2012

It leaves nothing for kids to get excited about, by the time you start decorating and putting out displays in the store the same time as halloween, it's confusing. Let us have the opportunity to "Give Thanks" with our families. The poor folk who work retail deserve that time for themselves. Enough already!   more ›

Friday, December 30, 2011

Need a Sober Ride Home New Year’s Eve?

There’s an app for that, courtesy of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

In order to ensure that anyone who has had too much to drink doesn’t hit the roads on New Year’s Eve, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has come up with a plan. GOHS has joined with safety partners across the state to create a list of contacts for free rides to help everyone get home safely – and in keeping with the technological age we’re in, an app has been created to make it just that easy. Across Georgia on New Year’s Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday, there will be a wide variety of taxi companies and designated driver services providing free rides home for people “in need of a sober driver.” The service, and corresponding app for it, is part of the GOHS program to eliminate drunk drivers on Georgia roads. The following are …

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