CHICAGO (Reuters) - When the U.S. holiday shopping season kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving, retailers can expect to see millions of less frightened but even more bargain hungry customers cross their thresholds. Full Story »

Over the past 25 years, health-care costs have grown more than twice as fast as overall inflation. What's a Fool to do? Here are nine ways to alleviate the health-bill blues: Full Story »

Every year, you get a chance to make a decision that will have a big impact on your paycheck. The right choice can mean saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The wrong choice can cost you. Full Story »

Save or spend? That will be the question that bedevils consumers over the next several years as they replenish their rainy-day funds, rebalance their debt, and limp toward retirement. Full Story »

With a slowly recovering economy, retailers are looking for ways to lure wary customers into their stores on Black Friday. Some retailers are attracting shoppers by staying open on Thanksgiving Day, in addition to extending their hours on Black Friday. Wal-Mart leads the pack, with most of its stores remaining open for 24 hours on Thanksgiving Day as well as Black Friday. On Thanksgiving, the Gap will open at 9 a.m., Banana Republic at 11 a.m., and Old Navy at noon. Toys "R" Us stores will open their doors at midnight before Black Friday. ... Full Story »

As you rush into the holiday shopping season, you may catch a whiff of cookies baking at the mall or find a note from a roving elf on your iPhone or get a coupon by text message. Full Story »

Shoppers face a dizzying array of offers of help in the form of new Web sites, services and mobile phone applications as they set out for their holiday shopping this year. Full Story »

When's the best time to negotiate a severance package? Believe it or not, it's when you get hired. Full Story »

Look at the front page of any newspaper on any day, and you'll see stories about events (often unexpected) that changed peoples' lives. Some of these are happy events -- for example, winning a lottery, placing first in the national spelling bee, or being reunited with your long-lost quadruplet. Full Story »

Our parents, peers, the Joneses, and others have a lot of sway over our financial decisions -- both good and bad. All these outside influences can make it hard to heed that little voice inside our head (the reasonable one, that is) telling us to shape up and declare bankruptcy, rather than going back to the fridge for a third helping of Chunky Monkey. Full Story »

NEW YORK - This holiday season, a leaner budget might clarify which people truly make a difference in your life. The challenge will be figuring out how much to tip them. Full Story »

C'mon, stop being such a Goody Two-shoes. Everybody's doing it. Well, maybe not everyone, but according to a survey by Harris Interactive last year, more than half of us admit to regifting -- that is, passing off unwanted gifts as if they were being bestowed for the very first time. Given the state of the economy, you've got to imagine that even more people will be putting idle presents back into play this holiday season. Full Story »

Show of hands: What kid doesn't like getting cash as a gift? Full Story »

As the deadline approached, the National Association of Realtors urged lawmakers to extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, insisting that the perk had played such a vital role in the housing market's recent stability that its expiration was too risky. "Without congressional action now, the market and our national economy may freeze again--possibly as soon as this month," Ron Phipps, NAR's first vice president, told a Senate panel on October 20. Full Story »