Budget

From the day after Halloween until the new year kicks in, stores start changing over their merchandise, commercials promote the "must haves" for the season and from your local pharmacy to the biggest mass retailer, there is a battle for your hard earned dollars.

It is no wonder that many find holiday's stressful. From social obligations, family gatherings and monetary expenses, the pressure can feel overwhelming. That is why planning for the holidays will give you the guidelines and parameters needed to keep it all in check.

Perhaps you already learned from the ghosts of Christmas past that your biggest stress comes from not having a holiday budget and spending way to much on everything from gifts to travel. If so, you were probably wise enough to have already started a Christmas Club and are now actually in the process of receiving your disbursements from the investment. This year was an especially fruitful year for those looking for savings plans specifically for holiday expenses as several major retailers like Sears, Kmart and Macy's all got into the act.

No need to kick yourself if you did not put money aside, as you still have time to plan accordingly. We have some ideas how you can save money on all your holiday expenses including ideas on how to get the best prices for:

• Travel
• Menu Planning
• Decorating your Home
• Shopping

Buy carefully minding your holiday budget you can more easily face whatever holidayconundrum may be lurching. Familial criticism, loneliness and exhaustion and it will all be easier to handle when you have full control of your finances.Only by taking the steps now can you ensure that you have a happy, healthy and affordable holiday season.

Having a large family is great, but when it comes to vacation time, planning for the whole family presents its own challenges. How many people can you fit in your hotel room? Are your small children accustomed to plane travel? And how about meals? Having one or two children is challenging enough, but if you have more than two, vacation time may make you feel as though you are planning the invasion of Normandy Beach. Here are some tips to make your family vacation plan headache-free.

First: what about your accommodations? When it comes to hotel rooms, it's good to know what the restrictions are for occupancy. Most hotels base their room pricing on what they call "double adult occupancy," which means that the hotel room price you see is based on at least two adults sharing one room. Hotels also generally define a "family" as two adults and two children sharing a room. Which means that if you have more than two children, according to the pricing rules for double occupancy, you will have to pay what's called a "single supplement fee" if you purchase an additional room for your third child, or pay extra, even if you are all staying in one room. Many families have no idea that they are subject to these additional fees until they arrive at the hotel, so make sure you call ahead and let the hotel know how many people will be staying so you can plan your budget accordingly.

Speaking of budgets, in these tough economic times, you may be wondering if you and your family can afford a vacation at all. Search the internet for low cost vacation ideas, or see what is in your area for a cheap vacation package. The good news is, many airlines and hotels are offering special vacation rates, so bargain vacations can be had. You'll just need to compare rates online to find a package that suits your family's needs.

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