Yellowknife is no exception. For many city businesses, the territorial and federal governments' yearly drive to avoid finishing under budget makes the Christmas shopping crush look as hectic as a bikini boutique in February.

"Things get extremely busy," said SSI Micro manager Darrel Marshall.

Generally, the store sells the same stuff it does the rest of the year, he said. "As far as government goes, it's hardware over software -- computers, more memory, hard drives, CD-ROMs, accounting software."

The spending drive is motivated by budgeting policy that seems -- no, make that "does" -- fly in the face of all the belt-tightening and cost-cutting that politicians have preaching for several years now.

Basically, government offices are spending money to save money. Budgetary policy tells managers the fewer tax dollars they use, the fewer they get in next year's budget.

And should they -- horror of horrors -- come in under budget at year's end, guess who will be first on the chopping block?

Though the SSI store may not look as busy this time of year as it does at Christmas, orders coming in over the fax make business down the fiscal home stretch of the fiscal year the best of all.

Government budget cuts over the last year and a half have cut into sales at GW Business Products, but manager Dennis Johnson said March is still the busiest time of year.

Johnson said desks and chairs are among the most popular items during the March rush.

At the MicroAge Computer Store, it's "everything from laptop bags to software programs to computers, toner cartridges and mouse pads," said sales manager Greg Fandrick.

He estimated MicroAge used to do 35 per cent of its business in the last six weeks of the government's fiscal year, before cutbacks cut that back.

If you see lineups in stores that cater to offices over the next month, don't think of it as office Christmas time on your tab, think of it as an exercise in Financial Recovery Equalizing Effort directed at Cost Actualizing Self-Healing (or FREE CASH).