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It's Christmas Eve and you still have gifts to wrap -- if you're like me, you have a good stash of paper and reusable gift bags to use but sometimes the finishing touch is the tough part. If you've got a printer, here's a few great printable gift tags you can use to personalize your gifts this year.

Got a reader question, "I'm about to buy my second pair of glasses and we're on a strict budget," and I thought it would be a great opportunity to write a post.
Eyewear can be costly -- especially without an extended health plan to cover at least part of the cost -- so what are you to do when on a budget?

You don’t have to dig too far to find coupons online; here's where I regularly check:

Most of these are print and present:
CityWide Coupon Directory -- if you are looking for services rather than products, this is the place to check (no one should ever need to pay full price for carpet cleaning!)
Flyerland.ca -- includes store-specific coupons.

University and college courses are notorious for requiring expensive text books. While some of these costs cannot be avoided, there are other options. Lifehacker offers a few options (including, amazingly, digitizing a whole book which is usually not worthwhile when you consider the time it takes and is currently still illegal), some of which are important to consider.

Rather than a list of thrift and second hand stores, I decided to curate a collective map. I will be editing this (adding and subtracting as need be). I encourage you to send me any news of thrift stores, second hand stores, and (reputable) pawn shops in the Greater Victoria area!

Sitting in a crowded cinema surrounded by people can be an enjoyable experience but it isn't what I consider frugal. There are ways to see movies on the big screen for less but the real savings are elsewhere if you don’t need to see a blockbuster on opening weekend.

The popularity of gift cards in recent years means most of us have at least one in our wallet at any given time. At least in BC, since November 2008 (pdf details), any balances on those cards don't expire and can't be eroded -- with some notable exceptions:

Both Manhunt, a grown up variation on hide and seek, and Guerrilla Drive-In, a mobile movie-house, play out in various locations around the city and if you want to be a part of the action, you need to sign up for details!

Manhunt works like this:

Did you know there is now a regular flea market happening on Sundays in Vic West? Held at the Leonardo da Vinci centre, the Victoria Flea Market charges a $2 entry fee (kids under 12 are free) -- free entry to all after 1 PM -- to browse as many as 50 vendors from 9-2 on Sundays.
More info (including any schedule changes and vendor information) at victoriafleamarket.com

If you need to build something -- from a side table to a barn -- if it uses wood, chances are you can find some assistance through the Woodworkers' Library, an amazing resource of 175 e-books (HTML and PDF) from the past hundred years or so.

[photo by somjuan on Flickr]