For all the benefits of shopping online, paying for shipping is not one of them. But thankfully there are several ways to avoid that pesky charge. Here are five ways to avoid shipping costs this holiday season:

FreeShippingOn.com

If you refuse to pay for shipping, freeshippingon.com is exactly what you need. You can search Amazon or Ebay for only the items offering free shipping. Plus FreeShippingOn.com lists dozens of stores offering free shipping all in one place.

FreeShipping.org

Quickly find free shipping coupons and codes to over 850 stores at FreeShipping.org. Search for free shipping offers by store or by category (such as electronics or movies.) The site also lists other coupons or deals you can cash in on for certain stores.

FreeShipping.com

FreeShipping.com is a members-only site that offers users exclusive free shipping offers. FreeShipping.com promises that if you ever pay a shipping charge at over a thousand of their approved merchants, you will get cash-back. Try the service out for free for 30 days. After that you must buy a membership.

Ebates.com

Looking for free shipping AND cash back? Try Ebates.com. Use the “Free Shipping” search function and not only will you find dozens of stores offering deals, but you’ll also see how much cash back you’ll get on your purchase. For instance, shop at ShoeMall.com through Ebates and you’ll get free standard shipping plus 13% cash back on all purchases.

PriceGrabber.com

PriceGrabber is a comparison shopping site that helps you choose between hundreds of similar products. Narrow down your choice by shopping on PriceGrabber’s free shipping section. Browse computers, clothing or cameras and find out quickly which retailers are offering free shipping.

I came across an article that asks interesting questions about Christians facing economic challenges. Do Christians find themselves in the same despair as the rest of the world? Or can we use our faith to gain strength during this time of financial struggle? Katrina Howe wrote “The Credit Crunch” for UK-based Lifetimes Magazine. Even though the magazine caters to residents in Ireland and England, the concerns are much the same as the US when it comes to the economy.

Katrina writes that by knowing that ultimately God’s plan for our lives is unchanging, we can view the financial crisis in a new way. We can actually look at this economic struggle as a positive obstacle because it’s a challenge that pushes us to grow in our faith. It’s a time when we can focus on God’s promise to take care of us. In Joshua 23 of The Message, Joshua describes victory in God:

God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it – one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is God, your God. Because He fights for you, just as He promised you.

This verse illustrates the power that is within every believer to rise above any difficult circumstance and come out of it with victory. God’s unchanging character proves that if we immerse ourselves in the Word and practice Godly principles, we will feel secure and safe regardless of what’s going on in the world around us. Isn’t that the message of Psalm 1:1-3?:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Money has gotten tight around our home over the last several months. In the last two months we have tightened up on our spending even more so that we can start saving. The good news is that we are finding fun things that we can do as a family that will not break the bank.

1. Free festivals – the holidays are a great time to visit free festivals and events. We bring along a picnic so that the money we save on the event is not wasted on the over priced food that many vendors sell at these events.

2. Watch for free days – many art museums, zoos, and botanical gardens offer a day each month when there is not admission price. Some attractions might be off limits on those days but it can still be lots of fun for the family.

3. Purchase a family membership – for the equivalent of just one or two admission prices your family could get unlimited visits to a local attraction. Many of the zoos, gardens and aquariums also participate in reciprocal programs which translate into discounts for your family at attractions all around the country.

4. Keep it at home – host a Family Fun Day or Game Day in your home. Set up card tables in rooms around the house or plan for group games if the weather is nice. Have everyone bring a drink and a dish and you will be set for the day.

There are so many ways to save a few dollars but still have a good time. Take advantage of the free activities and events offered around your home and create your own events and activities as well.

Finances are one of the leading causes of divorce in the United States – or more likely the lack of finances. It is amazing how something as simple as math can cause such a rift in a relationship. It happened in our home recently.

We were blessed to receive a small sum of money that we were not expecting and we put it into our savings account. Due to a number of equally unexpected costs the sum of money is now gone.

My husband had the following question about our emergency funds of the future:

“How do I know that future money will be left alone unless there is an emergency and not spent on things like there wasn’t enough money coming in to pay the bills?”

I began to understand that math was not the only problem but that the English language was causing some of the trouble. My husband and I have different understandings of what an emergency is. I think it IS and emergency if you don’t have enough money to pay your bills. I’m still not sure WHAT his definition is.

The one thing that I did learn from our discussion is that we have to work on communication. Maybe finances aren’t the real problem in marriages but it is actually the inability to discuss the finances so that everyone understands the path that lies ahead.

Whether you’re looking for worship music or Christian books, there are online resources handing it out for free. Here are a couple to check out:

Worship Music, Small Group Study Guides, or Message Downloads

Neue (pronounced “new”) is an online resource and community created by the makers of Relevant Magazine for ministry leaders that focuses on issues, challenges and opportunities this group faces. One of Neue’s goals is to equip you with resources including worship music, small group study guides and message downloads. Everything found on their download page is free so check it out.

Christian Book

For a limited time Zondervan is offering a free download of the Christian book Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace By Cathleen Falsani. To receive the book download the zip files to your computer and you will have a series of MP3 audio files.

Christian Music

There is a site dedicated to giving everyone access to Christian music completely free of charge. It’s called ChristianMPFree.com and according to the site they’ve got music from Jars of Clay available for free download. And thankfully it’s all 100% legal.

The government started this fiscal year with a record high deficit. This is mainly due to all of the recent bailouts that have been instituted to save companies. Not the Mom and Pop stores, mind you. The government bailouts have only gone to the big companies that are too big to be allowed to fail.

Just recently American Express was able to change its identity to one that makes it a banking institution so that it would be able to receive some of the bailout money. I have to wonder if I could be eligible if I changed the name of my company or business to something with “the bank of” in its title.

Now the government is going to step in and bailout more companies once again. This time it is the top three automakers (although I don’t know how “top” you can be if you have to be bailed out). There was a time when sound business practices are what kept a business running and not a government check.

The top three automakers in the United States pay more per hour to get a car made than the other companies – as much as 3 times more. If business A makes a product for $50 and business B makes the same or nearly the same product for $150 then can you guess which one is going to have the most profit at the end of the day.

Hand outs are NEVER good. There are times when people – individuals – need a hand up so that they can regain their balance and go on. But companies have to make it on their own or this ceases to be a free market society.

What’s worse is that you and I are paying for these government bailouts. CEO’s, administration and even workers in the companies that are making WAY more money than I am are using my money to get a paycheck. It just doesn’t seem right.

The record high deficit will continue to climb as long as the bailouts flow freely. The government is building up a debt at a time when the rest of us are being called to dig out of debt. It has to stop now or we will be selling out the future of our children.

I recently received an email proclaiming the outrageous profits made by the credit card companies in 2007. My first thought was “is this net profit?” Then I really began to think this thing through. Someone was actually complaining about the profit made by a private company.

There are some bad lenders out there – everyone knows that. The worst are the paycheck places that charge no interest but do take out a HUGE processing fee – but I digress. For the most part, credit card companies are straight forward with their information and with their rules. They are just counting on you not handling your money well so that you have to pay them to use their card.

We are completely spoiled as consumers. There is outrage that credit card companies are charging 12%, 20% or more for the use of their money. Thirty years ago the high end of those rates is what you would have paid just to get a mortgage – imagine THAT monthly payment. As early as 15 years ago, interest rates on mortgages were still in the double digits.

Debt IS a bad thing, but maybe it is time to quit blaming everyone else for problems in our own lives. Read the contract before you sign it, pay with cash as much as possible and always review your statements when they first come (and pay them on time). Keeping up with your finances will keep you from falling under the spell that is being cast over consumers everywhere.

Oil is up 60-percent. Personal savings are under 1-percent. Equity markets are stumbling. Fear of recession is rampant. No, I didn’t pull that out of today’s paper. That’s from the pages of Business Week magazine nearly 30 years ago. This interesting information comes from a brochure published by The Hartford Financial Services Group. The goal of the data is to show that, whether there is a democrat or republican in office, the economy has ups and downs, but the stock market always bounces back.

Since 1948 there have been ten recessions in the US. According to the data printed in this brochure, a typical recession lasts ten months. Five months before the recession ends, the market begins to turn around. Statistically, after the recession’s low, the one-year return is at an average of 39-percent.

Let’s look back to 1987. On October 19, 1987, the stock market crashed, dropping 22-percent of its value before the close of business. The interesting thing is, the stock market ended 1987 up 2-percent. Even if you had invested $10,000 the day before the stock market crashed in 1987, you’d still have more than $80,000 today. Imagine what you would have if you invested when the stock market hit the bottom.

So I guess the point is, more than whether we elect a Republican or a Democrat for president, what matters is that you are investing and working towards your long-term financial goals.

Dreaming of a white winter? Ready to hit the slopes? The powder may not be falling everywhere yet, but booking your ski trip now could have you seeing white soon and saving green now. Check out these deals:

Canada

Travelocity has a deal right now that will save you $50 off a 4-night stay. Book a trip to a variety of destinations including Banff, Lake Louise or Fernie. Book your Whistler ski trip by November 15 and save up to 30%. For kids 12 and under ski, lodging, and rentals are free.

Utah

Book a three-day Ski Salt Lake Super Pass and you’ll get a fourth day free. The Travelocity deal must be booked by December 1. This pass gives you access to four world-class ski resorts including Alta, Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird, as well as free daily transportation to and from downtown Salt Lake City.

California

It pays to book early. Check out the pre-season sale at Expedia and save up to 25%. If you stay three nights and you’ll save 15%. A sample 3-night air/hotel package from Seattle to Lake Tahoe starts at $545 and is based on travel from January 2, 2009 through March 7, 2009.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about BillShrink.com, a website that evaluates your cell phone bill and credit card use to try to save you money. Another way to evaluate your cell phone plan is through the site MyValidas.com. Former executives from Verizon and Blackberry developed MyValidas.com to aid consumers in auditing their cell phone bills.

The company describes itself as the “Travelocity” for the cell phone world. When planning a trip, consumers go to Travelocity which scans the biggest airlines for the best deals. In about a minute, Validas can save you an average of 22%. Upload your most recent cell phone bill, Validas will analyze it for errors, disputes and savings. If Validas finds a mistake they’ll even generate a letter that you can send to your cell phone company. A one-time audit costs $5.

Wonder if you’re spending too much on your cell phone bill? According to Validas, you probably are.

• 1 out of every 10 wireless bills contains errors
• Only 44% of what you spend actually pays
  for your minutes
• $4 of every $100 you pay is for unspecified
  fees and surcharges
• Overage minutes cost 600% to 2000% more
  than regular minutes