I’ve been dealing with a cold recently, at first just a sore throat but then also some sinus congestion. It hasn’t really kept me from doing most things, but it’s been pretty irritating since I’m still visiting family and such. I’m sure I’ll be better though by the time I have to go back to work (that’s usually the way it works out).

Yesterday we went to see a movie in the morning at the matinee price of $5.50 per ticket. We saw the new National Treasure (after about a half hour of previews) which was entertaining, but not as good as the first one. My parents also paid for the tickets which was nice. After the movie we went and ate at Red Robin which was at the same mall as the movie theater. You might already know that I’m not too big on the restaurant lifestyle, but since my grandma was buying I figured it was alright.

I’m still out in Utah and will be driving back to Colorado on the 30th. We’ll then be flying back to St. Louis on the 31st, and I should be able to resume my usual daily posting schedule. I’m looking forward to a great 2008 and hopefully you are as well. So go ahead…

Well, now that Christmas is over we’ll all soon be returning to our normal activities. For most this will mean going back to work (be it soon or in a few days) and saying goodbye to family that doesn’t live nearby. Hopefully we all have learned a few things this Christmas season that will carry us into the new year.

Hopefully you’ve realized that the real important things in our lives are our relationships with those we care about. We obviously talk a lot about money and other such things here at Fiscal Musings, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what’s really important to us. Let us all remember this throughout 2008.

And now that the gift giving is past, let us also remember to be grateful. Let those around you know that you appreciate their gifts and kind thoughts this season. It will go a long way with most people. And for those of you that aren’t saying goodbye yet, be sure to enjoy the rest of your time this holiday season.

During this holiday season or any other time you travel you may need to get Hotel Reservations for a few nights. And this is where HotelReservations.com comes in. You can search for most any destination and find great rates for many different hotels in the area. You can also find car rentals and vacation rentals. So when you’re looking to book your next travel arrangements, check them out to see what they can do for you.

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With today being Christmas Eve, a lot of people are headed out to do their last minute Christmas shopping. This is all well and good (mostly for the retailers), but there are a few things to remember so you don’t “break the bank” as they say.

1. Don’t buy something just because it’s there. Far too many people scramble at the last minute to buy a gift for someone that they end up buying something they don’t really care to give and the person won’t care to get. If you don’t have a well thought out gift, or the store is out of stock of the item, don’t feel bad giving a gift card instead that the person can use to purchase the item later. And with a gift card you can at least limit what you’re going to spend.

2. Don’t buy another gift for someone you’ve already bought for. When you’re out shopping, stick to your remaining list and forgo the five dollar knick knack that’s “just perfect” for Susie. All these little things will add up and the recipient probably won’t care about the extra little gifts. You also don’t need to buy extra things just so people have more things to open.

3. Just stop shopping and go home. Besides this just saving money, don’t forget what the holiday season is all about, spending time with friends and family. If you’re too caught up in the shopping frenzy, you’ll miss the time that you could have spent at home. Any more shopping that you could do will probably have a marginal impact anyway. So just go home and have a Merry Christmas.

It’s been a couple of days since I’ve written here because I haven’t’ had internet access until now. Early Thursday morning (extremely early) we had a flight to Denver to visit my wife’s family for Christmas. The flight left St. Louis at about 6am and things have been kind of crazy. I’m hoping to keep posting through the holiday season, but I apologize in advance if I’m not able to make everyday. I won’t be home until New Year’s Eve since we’ll also be going out to Utah for a couple of days after Christmas to see my parents.

As an update to an earlier post, I went ahead and made my second stock purchase with the last of my 2007 Roth IRA contribution. I decided on Jack in the Box (JBX). I’ve wanted to get something in this industry for a while now, and McDonald’s is pretty expensive. I’ve also been tracking this stock for over a year now and seen it more than double and then go through a stock split. It has recently pulled back though and I thought it would finally be a good time to get in. Jack in the Box also owns the newer Qdoba Mexican Restaurants which seem to be doing quite well and provides a little diversification from just the hamburger business. So we’ll see how this one goes.

I wish all of you a merry Christmas (or happy holidays if that be the case) and hope that you enjoy yourself this time of year.

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I stumbled across an interesting website the other day that I thought I would make you aware of. Apparently the government cares about our personal finances at least at some level. I know it’s hard to believe, but they’ve at least put up a website.

At USA.gov they’ve got a section about Money and Taxes. It covers a variety of topics including:

• Currency and the Economy
• Federal and State Financial Agencies
• Financial Crimes and Scams
• Investing
• Personal Finance
• Sales and Auctions, and
• Taxes - Federal and State

The information in these different topics is pretty ordinary. There isn’t anything earth shattering or revelatory, but it’s an interesting resource to check out. It does however, provide reliable information on some of the most common personal finance topics. Where else would you get better information about government sponsored retirement plans than from the government themselves.

Overall I think the site is worth checking out. You may find a topic that you want to learn more about, and you wouldn’t have otherwise thought of it. How else would you learn about the Check 21 Law (I will be very surprised if you know what this is). You can also order a free CD-rom called the Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) Resource Guide for Small Business Owners and Individuals (I’ll let you try and find this for yourself). Who would have thought? So poke around the site and see what you think.