An APA poll a few years back revealed that 80% of Americans expect to be stressed during the holiday season. One source of that stress? The unexpected costs that creep up on us in December. Here are some tips to sidestep some of those pricey problems.

It's stressful enough when your kids' holiday wish is filled with high-tech gadgets that aren't in your budget. What's worse is breaking down and buying them at the last minute because you couldn't think of better alternatives in your price range.

They are the dark side of holiday giving: returns, exchanges, refunds. The gift you so lovingly selected turns out to be not quite right. What should you do to ease the journey from disappointment to happiness?

Desperate for cash to pay for their wedding, a Pennsylvania couple allegedly stripped more than $7,000 worth of copper from utility poles and sold it. We all know how expensive weddings can get, but there are better solutions than crime -- among them, these tips for cutting down wedding costs.

Thanks to confusing and often misunderstood rules surrounding child-care tax breaks, the author has overpaid Uncle Sam to the tune of $1,000, missing out on $200 in tax savings each year for the past half-decade. Read on to avoid her mistake -- unless you enjoy filing mounds of amended returns.

ReceiptLoader, an iPhone app that has been downloaded thousands of times, was the brainchild of Pablo and Francisco Tirado, brothers who grew up almost like twins, despite a 1.5 year age difference, on the island of Puerto Rico. Personal experience with the impossibility of elegantly tracking paper receipts gave them the idea for a recession-proof business.

This holiday season, layaway is making a comeback at several large retailers. Layaway is the process of buying an item which you leave at the store and pay for over time, often with a one-time service charge but no credit check. It's not a perfect system, but here's why it beats those "no interest/no payments for X months" deals hands-down.

As the seasons change, the urge to refresh one's surroundings intensifies. Spring is all about brightening up and cleaning out -- painting dated kitchen cabinets and adding pops of brighter colors throughout the house. In contrast, this time of year calls for making things cozy and warm for the...

Ever notice how quickly kids outgrow their favorite toys? Next gift occasion, consider giving something that will last, and even appreciate in value -- if you choose it wisely: stock. The key to getting your kids interested in investing? Picking companies that match their interests.

With little in the way of financial education in schools, most of us don't learn how to save and spend wisely until we're out on our own -- and then the process can be a painful one of trial and error. Here's one person's plan to start her daughters early on the path towards financial fluency.