<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/96647177-23d9-4f6a-832d-c2eb7f75a456/8F6AA0B1-E27C-4669-9307-983882C3F1B7/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece" href="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece" style="font-size: 11px;">women.timesonline.co.uk</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><H1 class="heading">6 reasons not to give gifts this Christmas</H1></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><H2 class="sub-heading padding-top-5 padding-bottom-15">Giving costly Christmas presents to all your friends and family is a pernicious practice and I'd like to ban it</H2></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/women.timesonline.co.uk/img/465457A5-1332-4A91-AA37-532828B4CD0F" alt="Christmas Present" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><P> The festive season is approaching and swaths of shoppers are getting ready to hit the nation’s high streets and e-tailers, gathering nick-nacks for loved ones, friends and colleagues. Not me, though. I’m more interested in banning Christmas presents. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><P> My argument is not a religious one: it’s about the money moral dilemma that Christmas (or Hannukah, or Eid) raises. And my target is not the parcels from parents or grandparents that sit under the spruces. It is the ever-widening circle of present-buying that people feel a need to fulfil. And here’s why. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><B>1) We have disconnected from why we give gifts.</B></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><B>2) It creates an unfair obligation on others. </B></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><B>3) It mis-prioritises our finances. </B></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><B>4) We give gifts that aren’t used.</B></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><B>5) Kids are not born retail snobs.</B></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><B>6) “Inflationary giving” is a bad message for children.</B></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><I>Martin Lewis</I></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6911334.ece"><P> moneysavingexpert.com/tips </P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/8F6AA0B1-E27C-4669-9307-983882C3F1B7/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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