Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, but there's one more shopping holiday before the official days of merriment arrive. Thursday, December 18, is the first ever FreeShipping day, organized by the website FreeShipping.org. While we're usually punished with premium shipping fees when we procrastinate, dozens of retailers have agreed to waive shipping fees when you shop online this Thursday.

Stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel, Bloomingdale’s, and Victoria’s Secret are participating in the offer, and a spokesman for the website said specific details will be available on FreeShipping.org and the retailers' respective websites. Orders placed on the 18th are guaranteed to make it by Christmas.

Living beyond our means has been a way of life for many Americans, and this year as home foreclosure rates skyrocketed, it became clear just how much debt people had been taking on. Time and again, our consumer culture has gotten us into trouble in the form of empty savings accounts and piled-up credit card bills. Something of a revelation came over some of us this year, and Americans began adopting more prudent money habits.

Savings and retirement account deposits increased, as we began to realize that living in debt is really no way to live at all. We started paying more attention to our big financial pictures rather than blinding ourselves with the idea that credit is the same as cash. Most of you made changes to your money habits and believe they are here to stay: 82 percent of you said you've been more mindful of your money as the economy has taken a turn for the worse, and the majority of you declared that your mindful money habits are here to stay no matter the economy.

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