Sometimes, a well-thought out gift is better than just throwing money at a big-ticket item.

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Nearly every big-ticket item that Americans consume is paid for with borrowed money, with foreign lenders supplying the credit.

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So for years to come, many more households will be firmly focused on saving, splashing out only occasionally on a big-ticket item.

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It changes the equation, however, if she thinks she might want to buy a big-ticket item like a house in the not-too-distant future.

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Parents can make their own cases for special treatment but usually hire lawyers if they are going after a big-ticket item like private school tuition.

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But on May's priorities list, the passenger-rights controversy falls well below another big-ticket item: the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, whose programs expire next September.

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If Wayne Huizenga thinks so -- and he probably does -- then we suggest three words for him (and for any other big-ticket-item broker): Virtual Fleet Sales!

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Her government's other big ticket item, the roll-out of a state-of-the-art national broadband network, is a hold-over from Mr Rudd's abbreviated prime ministership.

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