I’m a big fan of the Oscars. I love the build-up and the fanfare, and I enjoy everything from the red carpet—especially the red carpet—to the final announcement of Best Picture. (I will admit, however, to occasionally DVRing...

A great way to boost your happiness is to watch a happy or funny movie. Researchers found that when people watched a funny video, for example, anger and sorrow dropped 98%, and the improvement persisted for more than twelve hours. I started m...

I love snappy words of advice. At a recent meeting of my book group, after we’d finished talking about the book we’d read -- Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa , we all loved it -- I asked, “What’s the best piece of advice...

Exercise has always been my stress reliever. Even when I didn’t feel like I could control anything else in my life, at least I knew that I was in charge of my physical health, and breaking a sweat often lowered my anxiety levels...

Now that Christmas is behind me, I’ll be waiting for my credit card bills to roll in—and dreading the balances. Every year, I feel like I spent more than I planned during the holidays, even when I think I’m being reasonable.

I’m not a big Black Friday shopper. Never have been. Given the choice between crowded stores full of crazed holiday bargain hunters and my warm bed at 5:00 in the morning, I choose my warm bed. But I respect those of you who plan to brave the long...

It’s shopping season. If you haven’t picked up on that fact, you’re just not paying attention. And retailers are trying to get your business any way they know how. One of the more popular methods: rebates. “Buy this marvelous thingamabob for...

This holiday season I'm looking forward to my extended family gathering in Connecticut on Christmas Day. For the longest time it was the ritual that we celebrated as an extended family and it could be relied on like clockwork. There was no question...

If you haven’t noticed, Twitter is a breeding ground for bargain hunters who want to share their steal-finding prowess with the world. I have no problem with this. You’d like to share the latest Gap discount code with me? Great. You found out...

A few times a week, I get emails from retailers advertising store sales and special discount codes for loyal shoppers (like myself). Everything is 30 percent off! Free shipping for orders over $100! Get 50% off of outerwear! Who can resist? Not me,...