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.

Wal-Mart started early this year, slashing prices on electronics and other big-ticket items well before the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving Christmas season shopping kickoff.

And they continue. Wal-Mart has cut prices four times since mid-October and promises more savings and discounts for holiday shoppers. If you are a competitor, what are you going to do?

That’s right, you are going to try to keep up and that is exactly what Target is doing. Just as Target tried to follow in Wal-Mart’s footsteps over the $4 generic drug prices, so they follow in the discounting of popular electronics and other items that are high on Christmas shopping lists.

All of this can only be good news for consumers. Price wars ultimately will benefit all shoppers at both stores this season. Best advice for Christmas shopping? Before you buy, check the competitor’s price, it may have just gone down.