Assistant web producer Chau Tu shares the New Year's traditions of her Vietnamese family.

It is the time when you need to take care of all that last-minute tax stuff from charitable donations to how you're going to spend the rest of that Flexible Health Savings Account

Inexpensive, easy-to-make gifts like infused liquor and fridge pickles look extra fancy when delivered in bottles or jars with handmade tags and a bit of ribbon. Another way to increase the fanciness level – make big batches of a few kinds of pickles or spirits, and give a variety.

The debate over credit cards versus debit cards has been raging for years. In one camp, you have the Dave Ramsey crowd, which shuns credit cards for the financial pain they can inflict on those who are tempted to run up debt. In the other, you have groups such as the Privacy Clearinghouse that warns consumers to dump their debit cards because they lack certain consumer protections. For the moment, debit seems to be winning. But many credit card issuers are pulling out the stops to boost holiday charge volume. Which should you choose?