By Bari Auerbach


'Many Happy Returns'

If your gift return pile now looks about as high as your stack of post-holiday credit card bills, here are some productive problem-solvers for surviving the necessary evil of making “return-trips”:

Problem: When the traffic dissipates, you venture back to the mall to return a sweater from Aunt Betty that’s so not your style. All of a sudden, guess who you run into? “Oh, hi Aunt Betty – what a surprise to see you here!” you exclaim, frantically trying to hide the fluorescent lime green sweater with orange and purple polka dots behind your back. 

Solution: Return gifts when stores first open - or right before they close.  It will be easier to get a parking spot – plus, the odds of running into the person who knows nothing about your taste will be drastically reduced.

Problem: You want to return an electronic gift but the “best buy” on everything else you might want is at least $50 more. Repeat this scenario a few more times and you’ll see why leaving home with the best return intentions can often add to the deficit on those post-holiday credit card bills you still haven’t paid off!

Solution: Pay the difference for the item you really want and think of it as “a bargain.” Then make another New Year’s resolution to zero out your credit card balances so you can start with a clean slate on the Visa card you never got around to activating.

Problem: A friend asks if she can borrow “that cute silver purse” she got you since it will go so well with her outfit. Oops! You already returned the silver purse and bought a wallet you really needed instead.

Solution: Return to the store and when you find out they don’t have the silver purse anymore, log on to eBay and win it for a ridiculously high bid. Maybe later you’ll find out the seller is your nefarious friend who “conned you for Christmas.”