You want to throw a holiday party but simply cannot afford to spend big bucks in the process. The holidays are full of expenses already without dropping hundreds or even thousands of dollars on festivities. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to cut down on holiday party costs and still create a great atmosphere. Consider these suggestions to help you party on a budget.

• Invitations – Keep the invitations as simple as the circumstances will allow. What is appropriate depends on whom you are inviting. If you are throwing an informal party, make your own simple and whimsical paper invitations, or simply save on paper and postage and go completely paperless. If appropriate, consider invitations via e-mail or social media.
  
  If paper invitations are a must, consider alternatives such as a postcard that costs less to mail. At the very least, look for sales and clearances on fancier stationery. If you want more credit, check out our list of <...

Thanksgiving is a time to relax and enjoy a nice dinner with your loved ones. You don’t want to spend it stressing over the Thanksgiving budget; you want to spend it having an enjoyable day with friends and relatives, and relaxing on the couch with a tryptophan-induced nap.

Try these tips to save dollars on your holiday spread and avoid worrying about holiday budgeting woes.

1. Host a Potluck – Split the mealtime burden up by making Thanksgiving a potluck dinner. Not only will this distribute the economic burden among the Thanksgiving table, it offers a chance for new and interesting side dishes and desserts. You may end up with some tasty variations that become new family traditions.
   
   You may want to coordinate the dishes with all of the expected guests so you don’t end up with 15 desserts a...

You've set up a lame date for the upcoming weekend but you're hoping a better offer comes along. If one does, you're ready to accept it and cancel your earlier date. You're hedging your bets, so you won't be sitting home alone on Saturday night.

That logic applies to real estate transactions as well. Perhaps you've received an offer for your home that's disappointing, but you expect a better offer to come along. Maybe you want to make an offer on a home but you need to sell your existing home to make the deal work financially.

In the real estate world, you can address these issues with a bump clause.

A bump clause in a real estate transaction adds a contingency that one party must meet before the sale can be finalized. Bump clauses get their name because the clauses give the seller the right to accept another offer and "bump" the original offer if the buye...

Hackers are like any other type of thief. They look for easy targets and take advantage of them. Are you an easy target in the eyes of identity thieves?

Let's assume that you've taken basic prevention steps, like using anti-virus software and securing your router to prevent hackers from getting directly into your system. Have you considered these other five ways to keep personal and account information safe?

1. Use Strong Passwords – Surely, you've moved past "password" or "12345678." The best passwords contain upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols – but how do you remember them?

Try inserting characters in regular patterns into names you'll remember. For example, if your dog's name is Rex, try "R!e@x#1$". See the pattern? Check your computer keyboard.

To make it easier, use the same basic pattern but add an identifier in front ...