The newest scam involves gift cards sold at stores and given as Christmas presents.

Gift cards are often displayed on racks in stores. Usually they come in several styles and they are not activated until you purchase them and give them a value.

However, scammers are writing down the numbers on the backs of these cards. They can then later call an 800 number to find out if the card has been activated and use the numbers to make purchases online, effectively using up the card before the recipient has a chance to even open his gift.

One way to combat this would be to have the cards set behind a counter or available only at the register from the clerk. If you buy a gift card this year, insist on one that has not been on a display rack where it was accessible to anyone wanting to record the numbers on it.

There is a huge amount of advice on job interviews available on the internet and most of them say pretty much the same thing. A very good example is Kiplinger’s article, What Not to Say at a Job Interview – all good, sound advice.

But what I’d like to add is that you can do everything right and still not get the job. So much depends on the character and personal preferences of those interviewing you – and that can come down to as silly a thing as someone not liking the fact that you wear brown shoes (don’t laugh – I had an area manager once who detested them!).

Just as an instance, I once gave the job to an interviewee who gave exactly the wrong answer to the the question, “Why do you want this job?” His answer was so clearly honest and without the usual carefully pre-constructed explanations that I just had to give it to him. He answered, “Because I need the money.”

Many interviewers would have turned him down immediately; honesty is less important to some people than others, I guess. But I see it as one of the most telling factors in any interview; if someone is not prepared to give you a straight and simple answer, the thought must occur that he is hiding something. Incidentally, that guy turned out to be one of the best employees we’d ever taken on.

So I’m saying that you cannot ever be certain that your interview technique will necessarily hand you the job. Be prepared for disappointments and decide that you will push on to the next interview regardless. That is what wins in the end: determination and persistence.

If you made a budget with us this year now is a good time to go over your books and see how well you did in sticking to it and if you made any financial progress this year. If you didn’t make your budget or plan your finances, the end of the year is still a good time to asess your annual income and expenses and check on the fitness of your financial situation.

Now is the time to review any changes in your life that occurred in the last year that will make changes in your financial needs or obligations and project how they will affect your bottom line in 2007.

Review insurance policies to make sure they are adequate. Evaluate your debt and how well you have done in paying it down. Develop strategies for reducing it in the coming year. Make a plan for savings and set a goal for a specific amount by year’s end. Review your assets, do you need a will? Look at refinancing at a better rate as a way to save money on your mortgage. Finally, review your retirement planning to see if it is sufficient and consider ways to save more for your future.

When buying an expensive item like a computer, especially when it is to be a gift, you want to be sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. As with most markets, the computer sales world is a minefield of traps and deals that look good but do not deliver. Before making your purchase, know what you want (and need) and the options for buying it.

The big companies are not necessarily the way to go with computers. They may have the muscle to force suppliers’ prices down but they also became big by making sure that their profit remains healthy. Often your local computer store can offer you a better deal; plus you have the benefit of the personal touch – usually a small store is owned and run by someone who knows computers inside out and is happy to share that knowledge.

The best advice I can give you, however, is to know exactly how much you are prepared to spend and then do the research on the net to find the best deal for that price. Don’t worry too much about obscure technical descriptions; generally the higher the figures attached to a component, the better it will perform. Make sure that the price quoted includes a monitor. Very often computer prices are made to seem low by separating out the monitor and making it an extra purchase.

I could write pages of details on the various things to look for but that is not really my intent here. It is enough that you are aware that the purchase of a computer is not something to be done in a hurry.

Marketwatch dot com has a good article on the basics of computer buying. It’s well worth a read.