According to a Harris interactive poll on Attitudes in the Workplace, employees of smaller companies found more job satisfaction than those working for larger companies.

The survey also showed that employees of smaller companies were less likely to feel their job demands interfered with personal and family needs.

Income was higher for employees of larger companies with 17% of employees earning $100,000 before taxes as opposed to only 5% of employees of small companies attaining that salary.

But income isn’t always the most important factor. Many workers cite home and family obligations, job stress and other considerations as being key to their employment decisions.

Looking for a great place to work? The Great Place To Work Institute can help guide you with their list of the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America.

A lot of us stayed home this season and did most of our Christmas shopping without ever leaving our chairs. Online shopping was more popular this year than ever with Amazon recording its biggest day ever with $4 million in sales on December 11.

The season was disappointing for retailers though, so many are slashing post-holiday prices in an effort to make up the lost sales.

And as retailers further discount high-ticket items consumers will be out looking for presents for themselves. And, why not? There’s no better time to get a great deal on that luxury item you have wanted all year but resisted the urge to purchase. Post-season savings could even make it affordable.

Christmas is over. ‘Tis the season to be selfish.

I hope you liked all your Christmas gifts this year, because retailers are determined to keep you from returning them.

You can’t blame them. Every year retailers lose part of their holiday profit on returned items. Electronics that are returned in opened boxes often cost them most, as they may have to discount the items for resale. To combat this, many retailers are imposing a “restocking fee” on certain returned items, to cover the cost of repackaging and any loss they may suffer on the resale of the item.

Other retailers are keeping track of just who returns what and how often. Wal-Mart, for instance keeps track of the number of returns for any one person and if a shopper exceeds the limit they are disqualified from any further returns.

Receipts will definitely be required. Easy refunds and store credits are a thing of the past. Retailers have been burned once too often. If you have your receipt you shouldn’t encounter any difficulty, but be prepared for long lines.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

Christmas morning will be a flurry of fancy wrapping, bows and ribbons flying, a symphony of “oooh”s and “aaahh”s, a festival of feel-good gift exchanging, a surfeit of festivities.

Then comes the sobering chill of January. No, I don’t mean the weather. I mean the bills. Suddenly the true cost of all this merry-making will start to arrive in the form of credit card bills and disappointingly low balances on checking account statements. Is it already too late?

It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf when it comes to your attitude towards finances, although at this time of year it may be more out of necessity than good planning.

If you haven’t made that budget with us yet, now is the time to do it. Finding the funds to pay off this extra debt may seem impossible, but if you are serious about repaying your holiday debt, you can do it.

Start with a few New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Make a budget and stick to it

2. Place a moratorium on your credit card spending, if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it

3. Be consistent about making payments towards credit card debt. If you are in over your head, contact creditors to make payment arrangements that could save your credit standing. Generally, it is best to pay off the highest interest debt first.

4. Start saving on luxury expenses you can do without. It may mean small sacrifices such as going without those morning coffee shop stops or making your lunch instead of eating out. Modify your cable TV choices – give up those premium channels and look into renting movies (or borrow them – even cheaper).