Work + Money

By Kara Reinhardt, Cheapism.com

Unfortunately even the best of intentions can breed unwanted gifts: the sweater that clings too tightly, the DVD you already own, the jewelry that's someone else's style. The National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will return $62.7 billion worth of holiday merchandise this year. Unsatisfied gift recipients will find some retailers more generous than others. Many issue refunds only in the original method of payment, for example, so a gift receipt often entitles the bearer to an exchange or store credit rather than cash back. Most retailers also leave recipients on the hook for return shipping, but companies with an offline presence usually take back online purchases at their brick-and-mortar stores.

Read what's in between the lines.

Related: Which shipping carrier is the cheapest: FedEx, UPS or USPS?

Cheapism has rounded up the store return policies for nearly two dozen of the nation's largest retailers. Companies including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Sea

• Exchange or return it to the store: If the kind recipient was thoughtful enough to include a gift receipt, use the opportunity to trade the present in for an item that you actually want or to get a refund. Remember not to take too long when returning the gift, because there usually is a time frame for when the store will accept a return. Also, check the return policy to see if you're allowed to get a full refund or if you're only allowed to trade the item in for another.
• Sell it online: Sell the unwanted gifts on sites like Craigslist, eBay, or Amazon. If you don't have much experience with

Photo by: Thinkstock

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be." Shakespeare's words have stood the test of time, unlike most other bits of money advice you've probably heard. And yet many of us continue to follow old money rules-some outdated, some never good ideas to begin with-that are more likely to cost us dough than save us any. Learn which ones to forget and which new tips really pay off. Photo by Thinkstock.

1. Old rule: Buy stock and let it sit and grow over time.
New rule: Rebalance your portfolio every year.
If you have a mixed investment portfolio, such as your 401(k) which contains bonds and stocks, buying and holding shifts the ratio of these investments over the years, since riskier vehicles usually grow faster. "You could be taking on more risk over time, which isn't necessarily what you want as you get older," says Eleanor Blayney, a consumer advocate for the CFP Board (the organization that credentials certified financial planners) and the author