Mighty Bargain Hunter

Target practice

December 11th, 2006 | by mbhunter |

‘Tis the season for lots and lots of obnoxious Christmas decorations.  Last year the big jaigundous snow globes that blow the polystyrene spheres were on display in Costco in the early part of October, I think.  The lighted deer have been around for a few seasons now; just go to Wal-Mart for your lighted deer fix.

These kinds of decorations are a pure, concentrated waste of money and energy.  It probably costs several dollars at the very least to run these things for a season, plus the cost of buying them, plus the cost in fines to your homeowner’s association for breaking their rules on tacky lawn displays.  In addition, these kinds of decorative (hah!) items have the fastest depreciation schedule allowed by the IRS.  Households may use the 15,600% declining balance method on inflatable snow globes purchased in 2006.  (OK, I admit I haven’t verified this, but it sure sounds like a good idea!)

Since the festivity is actually oozing from my pores on this post, here are a couple of free money-making website ideas for those of you who cringe at a Nativity display juxtaposed with Mickey Mouse (my wife will back me up on this one — I’m not making that one up!):

• Vote for the worst holiday lawn display.  Digg style.  The submitter gets a prize, and the perpetrator’s neighbors get vindication.
• Suburban decoration assault gear.  A nice Amazon store, stocked with assorted blowguns for the inflatables, chainsaws and hammers for the Christmas Disney, and wire snips for those strands of gangly lights that make Charlie Brown’s tree look like the one in Rockefeller Center.
• Anti-consumerism for Christmas.  Just don’t buy the stuff.  Or anything else for that matter.  (Oh wait, that one’s already taken.)

Questions tagged savings at Cash Commons:

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