Business - Motley Fool

Every year, you get a chance to make a decision that will have a big impact on your paycheck. The right choice can mean saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The wrong choice can cost you.

When's the best time to negotiate a severance package? Believe it or not, it's when you get hired.

Look at the front page of any newspaper on any day, and you'll see stories about events (often unexpected) that changed peoples' lives. Some of these are happy events -- for example, winning a lottery, placing first in the national spelling bee, or being reunited with your long-lost quadruplet.

Our parents, peers, the Joneses, and others have a lot of sway over our financial decisions -- both good and bad. All these outside influences can make it hard to heed that little voice inside our head (the reasonable one, that is) telling us to shape up and declare bankruptcy, rather than going back to the fridge for a third helping of Chunky Monkey.

C'mon, stop being such a Goody Two-shoes. Everybody's doing it. Well, maybe not everyone, but according to a survey by Harris Interactive last year, more than half of us admit to regifting -- that is, passing off unwanted gifts as if they were being bestowed for the very first time. Given the state of the economy, you've got to imagine that even more people will be putting idle presents back into play this holiday season.

Show of hands: What kid doesn't like getting cash as a gift?

Right now, you're probably dreaming of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, not to mention that nice, long nap you're going to take Thanksgiving afternoon. After you wake up from your food-induced coma, the frenzied holiday shopping season will be in full swing.

There are two clear camps of consumers this time of year: them and the rest of us.

Not every company is slashing its dividend these days. Some of the market's better performers are easing up on their purse strings and sending more money out to their shareholders. So let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

Does your credit card give you something back every time the cash register rings? More than half of cards issued have a rewards component -- typically worth $0.01 to $0.03 per dollar spent -- and the goodies range from free Frappuccinos to contributions to Junior's college fund.

What are the best reasons to invest in these aggressively sold, high-fee products? Three come immediately to mind:

Dear Mrs. Riches:I love my children dearly but have grown to dislike them as consumers. They (ages 6, 9, and 14) are all well-versed in pressure tactics, including launching all-out campaigns when they want an item badly enough. I am so tired of being harangued all the time. I already refuse to take any of them along in the grocery store and try to do the other shopping online so I can avoid places like the mall that seem to turn them into little money-grubbing beasts. But beyond avoidance, teaching them money management, and lecturing them about appreciation, I'm just not sure what to do. ...

Anyone even thinking about having kids may wonder whether they've turned into some kind of bipolar monster, cooing over passing infants in strollers one minute, then freaking out over the outrageous cost of college the next.

I am a "winner." At least, that's what I'm told by the recorded voice on my answering machine, informing me that I've "won" a wonderful vacation package. Simply call back with my "winner code" and start packing!