that was mary kenney of the illinois housing development authority. standard hedge funds foreclose on the homes and then sell the property. more americans are beginning their december holiday shopping in october. retailers have noticed this trend in the last few years. and as our cover story explains, one reason is that it helps consumers lessen the impact to their monthly budgets. in a poll by market research company ipsos commissioned by online coupon site retailmenot.com, 40% of americans surveyed start their december holiday shopping before halloween. and 32% are done by the monday after thanksgiving, dubbed recently "cyber monday" for all the online shoppers back in the office after turkey day. even if you aren't done, a lot of people have made a sizable dent. "i'd say maybe 50%." "maybe 40%." "we started calling this 'christmas creep.' it helps consumers absorb the impact on their budgets." the national retail federation, the world's largest retail trade group, predicts holiday shopping to be up 4.1% - not as high as 5.6% in 2011 - with online h