New Year's tips from the Debt Diva
I got a holiday card from Clarky Davis, a.k.a. the "Debt Diva," cartooned at left. She's a financial expert and TV regular we've interviewed before for money saving tips. Her note had some good ideas for maximizing your cheddar this New Year's Eve, so I thought I'd share in case you're still cursing your closet or scrambling for fun, cheap plans tonight. Despair not!
From Clarky:
5. No one says you have to go to an expensive New Year's event or party. Throw your own at home with special friends or family to keep it budget friendly AND more meaningful.
4. You can't go wrong with a little black dress you already own. Spice it up with patterned hose or a sparkly evening bag. Trade bags with a friend if you're tired of yours.
3. Create your own confetti by running some colorful tissue paper through your shredder.
2. Find an inexpensive sparkling wine for toasting, or make champagne cocktails to stretch your bubbly.
1. Make your New Year's resolution to set time aside in the first week of 2009 to think about your personal finance goals for the New Year.
~ Deal Diva Stephanie
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Stephanie Hayes came out of the womb wearing high heels. While other kids were reciting multiplication tables, she was learning to calculate an extra third off the half-price discount during buy-one-get-one week. She loves animal prints, black mascara and anything that sparkles. She objects to visible panty lines, Crocs and anything that costs more than a car payment. And she doesn't drive a nice car. She can be reached at (727) 893-8857 or 
Since she was a little girl Nicole Hutcheson dreamed of dressing like a Vogue cover girl. But her reality was more JCPenney catalog. The fact only honed her better ability to find luxury for less. Always on the hunt for markdowns on designer labels, this Deal Diva’s weaknesses are good jeans and killer heels. She can be reached at (727) 893-8828 or 
Colleen Jenkins learned two invaluable shopping tenets from her mom: 1. Buy quality. 2. Get it on sale. Then she added one of her own: Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! This Deal Diva’s idea of a blissful Saturday includes a trip to the Ellenton outlet mall. She loves mixing classic with trendy and cheap Target accessories with her markdown Banana Republic duds. She can be reached at (813) 226-3337 or 
A disciple of the little black dress classics school, Letitia Stein stretches her budget by looking for styles with staying power. She lives for 80 percent off shoes at DSW, floral sundresses and bohemian chic tops. She confesses to being a bit of a snob when it comes to handbags and jewelry. She can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or 