O Christmas Tree and Thanksgiving Sale Haul

Thanksgiving day I was able to shop online and finish putting lights on the tree. We had dinner by noon and headed out to Walmart at 6pm. It seemed a lot busier than last year. I got everything I really wanted except for the 6qt crockpot. It wasn't the exact model I wanted any way, so the search will continue. Then we went to Target and waited in the car for an hour till most of the line was inside. Again it was really crowded, but we were in and out in no time. My sister and brother in law had no plan, so I don't think they did as well as I did, but really Black Friday is not a day to browse people! Next was Kohls were we waited in line for a little over an hour, but we had $10 off coupons to not waste. We then hit the mall which was jam pack full of teens! I thought our town had a curfew but apparently in is not in effect on Thanksgiving day. It was so crazy and it was just a social hour for the teens. We were leaving the mall and heading home by midnight. My sister and her husband went home to bed while my other sister and I went to Micheal's and the other mall, both were not bad per crowds. We were in bed by 2:30am.

Friday we got some shut eye and then were back out. Shopkick had 200 points at a lot of stores plus lots of big scans at Target. My phone died since I didn't charge it but I still got 1200+ kicks.

Here is a picture of my haul from Thanksgiving night. I haven't totaled what I spent yet. I think I'm over what I wanted to spend, which isn't good but there is still time to return or my family might want to give something I bought to my kids. It is so hard not to over spend when there are so many good deals. It isn't the best time to but most clothes, but I think it is a good time to buy home goods. I think Justice had a good deal with the plastic bands for the hot item Rainbow Loom. They had 40% plus 20% and they were buy 2 get 2 free. Three hundred packs came out to be $1.90 pre-tax. They are 400 count packs at Micheal's for $3.99, but you couldn't use a coupon.

Friday I came home about 4pm and was able to decorate. I still have two days left for the weekend and I plan on relaxing, exercising, and starting my Advocare Challenge on Sunday. Tommorow early I will post all the websites I have bookmarked to help with the Challenge.

10 Christmas Gifts for my Husband

My Husband is so hard to shop for on any occasion. Most things he wants, he buys. The other things cost more than I make in a year. My budget this year is $75, so here are some gifts for a man like mine:

1.Portable iPad Speaker Dock

source: Brookstone

I actually got this for him last year for his birthday. It's great because you can use batteries or plug it in. The price is reasonable, too.

2. Lacoste Eau de Lacoste Noir gift Set

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source: Macy's

 

3. Michael Jordan shoes

source: Foot Locker

 4. 59Fifty, Black on Black or White on White fitted baseball hat

Source: Lids

My husband has been wearing these for years, and usually buys a new one every year or two.

5. Call of Duty Ghost

source: Game Stop

He already has a few version of this game so I know the chance of him liking this is 80% or more.

6. Apple iTunes gift card

source: Apple

My husband listens to music a lot and it is usually coming from his iPhone or iPad.
7. Team jacket

source: Dick's Sporting Goods

8. Armor All Complete Car Care kit

9. Shot glass

source: Amazon

Oddly enough, all the shot glasses in the house are mine from before we are married, but I don't do shots. It's about time my husband has some for him.
10. Keurig

source: Keurig

Okay, I know these are more than $75, but maybe Black Friday there is one on a good sale.

5 on Friday - 11/8/13

Yeah, its Friday!!!! I wait all week for this day.

5 Things I'm doing for Christmas:

1. Saving all receipts to help track my Christmas budget for Christmas budget 2014.

source

2. Giving the kids something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.

source

3. Make some ornaments with my kids.

4. Wrapping presents in groups to keep organized: 1 theme for kids and husband, 1 theme for his family, and 1 theme for my family. No forgotten presents, easy to pack.

source

5. Going to attempt to make PJ's for my kids, nieces, and nephews.

Christmas Savings Club - October Edition

Join the Club at Family Balance Sheet

Yeah! My last deposit will be in the bank, next item is to cash out! It only takes a few days to get my money so I will wait until the week before Thanksgiving to transfer the funds. I also have the option to put the money on gift cards and increase my funds. I doubt if I am going to do this since I haven't decided where my money will go and I don't know how long it takes to receive the gifts cards. I'm super excited about the holidays. My plan for Nov and Dec is to hide my one and only credit card so I can get out of the holidays without extra debt. I just need to pay the fee for my doctors visit and I will feel a lot better. I would feel awesome if I could sell the step 2 princess bed I've been trying to sell all month.

This year the day after Thanksgiving is an automatic paid holiday at work. I also have scheduled the week before Christmas off, which I'm sure we will travel so I will have to make sure to budget this in as well this year.This will also mean visiting my husband's family. I'm not sure how to handle this and I might have to rearrange my budget to fit in more presents. I think it should be my husband who buys presents for his own family, since we have separate accounts and I pay for my own family. We will see how that goes, but I'm not showing up without something!

Family Balance Sheet is also having post all October called 31 Days to Find $1000. Here are some ways I plan to get some extra cash my way:

Coupons - I barely use coupons, but this month I will sure take anything I can get to save some dough.
Turn in Cans - pop cans and bottles, wine and beer bottles gain $.05 each which can add up.
Say NO! - say no to my kids when they want something extra, say no to Starbucks, say no to the vending machine, and so on and so on.
Consignment Shops - I have a leather jacket I never wear, also a bunch of kids toys. I find it is easy to get rid of things at the consignment shops then on Craig's list.

Shop Around - My husband only goes grocery shopping at Walmart and it drives me crazy. I am going to look at sales and try to cut down on the grocery bill which I hope will influence him to pay down more debt.

Christmas Savings Club - June Edition

It's the 25th again and Family Balance Sheet is hosting its monthly Christmas savings club. So far I still need to transfer this months $63 for June to my online savings account, but it is there. I ended up moving some more money to my savings account and it made me hit my goal, which stopped the automatic payments. I am so proud of myself for saving this money and I know I will love myself come Christmas time.  This month Krista at Family Balance Sheet is suggesting ways to earn money if you are short on saving for Christmas:

• Host a yard sale. Or sell some bigger items on Craigslist.
• Have a pantry challenge. Or challenge yourself to reduce your grocery spending by your shortfall.
• Sell your unused gold.
• Pick up extra hours at work.
• Cut your cable TV.

I have tried to have a yard sale but my area has not proven to be a great area. I have sold my trail bike for $50 this month on Craigslist plus this week I hope to sell my old stroller for $25. It helps to post pictures and to be honest about any flaws in your item. For kids clothes and toys I like to take them to Once Upon A Child. They have a decent price and will go through the items quickly. Some consignment stores have you drop the items off and then call you when the have a price, which can waste time and gas. My husband is the one who buys our food, so just cutting down on extra unnecessary food buying or eating out would help me save some money in this area. I don't have any gold, we have cut our cable, but I have picked up hours at work when I can to earn extra money.  I also applied for a new job and was offered the position. It comes with a raise, but now I will be salary, so no OT for me. I also received a bonus at work for working OT on a deadline, which I didn't even know was possible, so things have been going my way.  I also saved some money on vacation by packing lunch when we went to the Jelly Belly Factory Tour. As soon as we drove in to Wisconsin they have a Welcome Center and we were able to eat our lunch and take pictures by the Welcome to Wisconsin sign.  At home we have tried to not turn on the air and to sleep in the cool basement as much as possible. I also make sure to have heavy drapes and keep them closed when we are gone for the day to keep the temperature down in the house. When I am not using electronics I also make sure to unplug them, as they still suck energy even when off.  I take free hand me downs from my sister when ever possible, and make sure to pass on clothes to others who need them. I bypass movies in the theater to request DVDs from the library. One library in my area also has video games to borrow. Making sure to pay your bills on time and also paying off the balance on credit cards will also save big bucks on fees. I also find ways to earn gift cards with apps on my phone or online, see my post about programs available.

My plan is to save $650 by November so I can shop early for Christmas if needed. My son has already started his Christmas list since this is the next holiday he will receive presents. Only 6 months till Christmas!

Don't forget to check Family Balance Sheet for more information on this online club.

Christmas Savings Plan

Family Balance Sheet is hosting a monthly post for Christmas Savings Plan on the 25th, Jan-Nov 2013. I just buy gifts for my side of the family, my immediate family, and for a few friends. My husband is on his own for his family since I got tired of having to go through him to find ideas and sizes etc. We also have split our money to have our own account, to stop the money fight.  I try to help his family when I can in my own way aside from gifts.
For my nieces and nephews we spend $30 on each, and then we don't buy for adults because it has gotten too hard. I usually do spend on my mom and dad, but they always say they don't need anything. Their birthdays and anniversary is also in November so this last year we did go in together to buy my dad a new laptop. For my mom I got her a few boxes of Keurig coffee which I get coupons and buy them from Bed Bath and Beyond.  I think my actual 2012 Christmas total was actually over $675, plus I was not counting eating fast food or any relaxation needed because of the season. This is why I added in the extra expenses $100 category in my chart.My husband did help pay for some of the expenses for my kids, he paid $200 towards the kindle. I want to be better about tracking my spending in 2013 so I can have a better handle on Christmas spending. I though about if I should not participate in the Secret Santa at work. It was only 4 days but I ended up spending $45. When I thought about it I decided to do it again if offered because it was nice getting gifts for those days.
So far I have been good in January about keeping to my budget. I will need to save $57.27 in 11 months or $63 in 10 months if I start shopping earlier. I received some money for my birthday so I was able to set aside $100 for the Christmas fund in January. One other thing that I counted on a lot this year was the rewards programs that I collect points on throughout the year. For the most part of 2012 I was saving the rewards for Christmas.
Next month we will need to have opened a separate account for the Christmas account. I think I will look into an online account. I have never had one and they do make me a little nervous but not having the money available so readily might be what I need to keep saving for the next 9-10 months.

Christmas Spending/Savings

Family Balance Sheet  is putting together a Christmas Savings Club. If you had a hard time keeping to a budget or finding money to spend on Christmas gifts and you would like to think ahead, this may just be the right solution. I don't think you could go wrong in trying this club. It may seem crazy to think this early about Christmas, but before you know it, it will be here again.