As we all know, daily life can be trying and difficult for a plethora of reasons. It's also why we should all do our best to not sweat the small stuff. I try, for instance, to not go crazy over the cost of gasoline, but my patience is running on empty.

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The past four years or so have made many people far more frugal consumers. And the housing market is a strong case in point. It wasn't too long ago that individuals and couples would shop for a home and simply buy what they liked and qualified for without giving a thought to devaluation. But before we start waxing nostalgic for that recent history, let's also acknowledge that people are famously fickle -- or at least differentially selective -- when it comes to perceived future value.

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The opportunity to exploit economic arbitrage has steadily declined as our global economy and instantaneous access to information has burgeoned. But our local refineries have stood the traditional arbitrage model – that of buying low in one market and selling high in another – on its head. The pump price for premium gasoline is predicted to hit 4 bucks a gallon any day now because oil refineries peg the pump price to daily crude futures. Iran saber rattles about restricting one fifth of the global oil supply by closing the Straight of Hormuz, and we're paying $6.00 more to fill our tank the next day.

But the energy news isn't all bad. Natural gas prices are plummeting so precipitously that domestic oil drillers are burning off the natural gas that's a byproduct of their drilling.

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The last two weeks of December comprise a welcome respite here and there, and a great time to vacation. For me though, it's a time when I feel like a race horse in the paddock anxiously awaiting the New Year Bell and the announcer saying "They're Off"!

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We all know the holiday season that's upon us is not really about spending gobs of money. But whether or not we choose to participate in the retail frenzy, the season is definitely characterized by spending a lot more time than we'd like performing routine tasks among the masses.

Surprisingly, there are a few strategies to more efficiently negotiate the inevitable queues we encounter almost everywhere.

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I focused two weeks ago on the merits of how to utilize real market forums like Craig's List to find special gifts at great prices. This afternoon, I'd like to plug eBay as an incredibly well organized international forum and auction block from which to find truly unique items outside-of-the-box-stores, along with seasoned advice and tips for buying success.

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As the holiday season approaches, the advantages of shopping on-line become increasingly attractive. Saving time by avoiding crowds, traffic and having a seemingly endless array of sources at our finger tips makes it possible to find especially appropriate gifts, tailored to our loved ones interests, like never before. So what's the downside -- there's always one or two with matters of bargain hunting and convenience?

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When I was in primary school, back in the mid Twentieth Century, I recall our school nurse saying "If you're not bleeding or unconscious, it's back to class with you." These were also the days when physicians frequently answered the phone, listened carefully, asked questions and didn't hesitate to prescribe "two aspirins, a good night's sleep and call me in the morning." Those days, along with $5 doctor visits and polio, are long gone. But we can still all save a great deal on medical expenses by trusting our instincts and not dashing off for an office visit whenever something ails us.

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The Employment Cost Index (ECI) that reports changes in the costs of labor for businesses was widely expected to continue increasing in Q3. It did, but by only .3% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released this morning. "Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.3 percent, and benefits(which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) were virtually unchanged at 0.1 percent." And while lower than expected, the big news is the negligible increase in benefit costs which had been up 4% year-on-year in Q2.

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