Desert Messenger

December 16, 2015 www.DesertMessenger.com 35 First locally-owned and operated music station in Quartzsite, Arizona. Proudly serving the communities of Quartzsite, Bouse, Brenda, Rainbow Acres, La Paz Valley and beyond, since 1988. Quartzsite Radio • Quartzsite's Favorite "CLASSIC HITS" • Local Information • Weather • 24 Hours Day / 7 Days Week! KBUX 94.3 FM 928-927-5111 http://kbuxradio.com How to holiday shop without busting your budget Black Friday and Cyber Monday may have passed, but consumers are still attracted to offers of a good deal. According to the annual Ac- centure Holiday Shopping Survey, they are planning on spending more this holiday season. The survey also revealed 56 percent of shoppers prefer to be targeted proactively with discounts and deals, 39 percent plan to take advantage of competitor price matching, and 18 percent will use layaway. Better Business Bureau (BBB) suggests creating a budget prior to shopping to help you enjoy your experience without emptying your bank account. Below are 12 tips to help guide you: 1. Review your fi nances and set a spending limit for your budget. Take note of your monthly salary and any other income. 2. Record your monthly expenses. Putting together a list of expenses may be more diffi cult than you imagine. For a full list to consider visit Credit Counseling Service of Arizona. 3. Create a list of who you need to purchase gifts for and carry it with you. Estimate how much you're willing to spend for each gift. Your list should include family, friends, and co-workers. 4. Take the time to price com- pare items before committing to a purchase. Research the business, product, and price. 5. When shopping online you may have delivery fees. Contact your local store and if they have the item in stock, opt to pick it up and save yourself the cost of shipping. 6. Be aware of policies and warran- ties. Ask the business about their policy regarding exchanges and returns. Do they offer warranties for their products/services? 7. Check and save your receipts. Make sure you are not overcharged for purchases. Keep your receipts in case you need to return or exchange any items. Ask for gift receipts. 8. Budget for entertainment. Throwing and attending parties are an expense you may forget to consider. Check your calendar and budget accordingly for parties where food, beverages, or gifts are requested. For parties you may be hosting, look at potential cost. 9. Inventory decorations. Budget for additional items that may be needed. Don't forget things like lights, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, etc. 10. Travelling this holiday season? Consider the cost of heading out of town or having people visit and budget appropriately. 11. Charitable gifts. If you plan on giving to a worthy a cause this season, visit www.give.org to fi nd charities you can trust. 12. Double check your budget. If more money is being spent than has come in, go over your list again. Can you work with decora- tions you already have? Consider donating time or service, in place of money, to your favorite charity. Creating and sticking to a holiday budget is a great way to enjoy a stress-free season. For additional tips on how to navigate the season visit BBB Holiday Helper. To check a company's rating, complaint history, or customer reviews visit www.bbb.org. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews Follow on Twitter @DesertMessenger @QuartzsiteRain Quartzsite has a new community calendar online Quartzsite, AZ - It's 2015 and we're accustomed to looking up any information we want at the touch of our fi ngertips. Now there's a new online events calen- dar just for Quartzsite! Quartzsite- Calendar.com website is now part of the Desert Messenger (www. DesertMessenger.com) publication family. The online, interactive cal- endar allows service groups, non- profi t organizations, and individu- als to post their events for free. The Quartzsite Calendar.com website will feature everything hap- pening in and around Quartzsite; from Community Events, Enter- tainment, Music, Meetings, Class- es, Swap Meets & Showgrounds, Non-Profi ts, Clubs, Seminars, Civ- ic Board Meetings, etc. Www.QuartzsiteCalendar.com al- lows anyone to suggest an event to be posted on the "Submit Event" button at the top of the calendar. Users can fi ll in the details about the event which will pop-up when clicked on by a viewer. Users can also attach a link to their event web- site. Visitors to the online calendar can subscribe to events, email them to friends, or share them on social media. Visitors can also print the calendar. Users can also subscribe free for iCal feeds of the calendar's events into Apple iCal, Outlook & Google. If you'd like to include a mini-calendar or events listing on your website, send an email to editor@DesertMessenger. com for details. Be sure to check it out at www.QuartzsiteCalendar.com

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