ABC: Tips for Saving Even More Money When You Shop for Holiday Gifts

Yes, I know. I am a day late and several dollars short where this headline is concerned. I stumbled upon it yesterday morning and never got around to sharing my thoughts on it until now. Anyway, I didn't want to deprive you of my ramblings on this matter, so here they are.

It is always nice being able to save money, but there are so many 'cash back' sites popping up nowadays, it's not funny anymore. Get cash back here, catch savings there, and take advantage of rebates somewhere else.

Sure, a penny saved is a penny earned, but how many dollars do you have to spend first in order to accumulate that decent amount of pennies you would be awarded in return? Let's just tell it like it is; we are being lured in to spending all our money on one specific site with little return.

At the end of the month our jaw will drop to the floor when the credit card bill hits. It may be hard to accept and admit we got carried away by the thought of getting all that cash back. I don't think after we tallied the rebates and crunched the numbers it will be enough to pay the bill.

What's the moral of the story? If you want to save money, don't spend it!