You'll spend less if you leave cards at home

At this time of year, I'm duty-bound to deliver a fire-and-brimstone sermon about the evils of spending too much during the holidays.

Don't spend more than you can afford.

Make a budget!

Compare prices!

Leave your credit cards at home!

Obey, or find yourself in the personal-finance doghouse.

Of course, I don't have to commit all these deep insights to memory. As the holidays begin, I'm flooded with press releases on the subject.

So the other day, I waded through a raft of them to see if there were any tips that were not stupefyingly obvious. I found a few things worth mentioning.

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