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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 1:43 pm
Basic cable we pay around $40 a month. DSL, I'd have to check the phone bill, but I'm pretty sure it's around what Rosie's paying (we go through Verizon too.) Hehe, our first "home improvement" when we bought the house was to install ceiling fans. We have two in the den (one on either end,) one in the living room, one over the table, and one in each bedroom. Also a couple regular fans. I am perfectly fine using just those. Darren's not comfy though unless it's 72 in the house. Having the cooler (swamp cooler Bisc, we're just the wrong climate for a/c) going three hours a day is a huge cutback and a huge compromise from Darren. LOL Lum, I got clippers for the puppy figuring that'll save me a bunch! She ain't gonna win no awards for being pretty, but she's clipped and comfy. I've got to say one area I've really been trying to cut back is groceries and I've been combing the sales ads and it's just killing me. I went to get a picture frame at Wal Mart earlier and picked up lunch me while I was there and it was like a tiny knife in my heart to see how much cheaper they are than Vons. I love Vons and their produce people who are there all the time and know what they're talking about, the bag people who know you by name and offer to help you take stuff out, the friendly cashiers. But, more and more, it's getting to the point where except for what I can buy in bulk at Costco for cheaper, if I really, seriously want to cut the grocery bill, I'm going to have to switch stores and I hate that!
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 2:44 pm
I am going to save at Christmas. I started telling ppl(at work) in January that I am not buying gifts this year. I am making donations to charities. I dont want gifts either, I am trying to get the word out and hope ppl will donate instead of gifting. I still give for bday gifts. this last Christmas I spent way too much. I basically had to staffs because I was on a temp promo to other division but still helping transition the other staff. I love all the ppl I work with but I just cant buy for all of them anymore
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 3:01 pm
Kohl's is awesome, especially if you hit their clearance sales. My problem is they are in Palmdale and I don't usually go that far shopping. Last year it was pretty much a family decision that Christmas was getting out of control. Not just buying that much, but it's overwhelming for the kids too to get that much. So we all bought family gifts. It was great and something I plan on doing again this year. Another thing I started doing several years ago is not buying for everyone. We always got each of the kids something but I stopped doing presents for adults. But if I happen to see something that I think is perfect for someone I will get it. Right after bils mother died, I found a pewter incense holder that had roses carved in it. Her favorite flowers were roses and I knew bils little sister would just love it, so she was the only adult that year to get a present from us. But, yep, I will start Christmas shopping here pretty soon. Darren can cash in sick pay (he rarely uses it) in November, which is nice for Christmas shopping, but I'd rather have some of it done at least before then.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-25-2003
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 4:05 pm
Our phone company provides our DSL at $42.95/month. How does that compare? Lumbele, is that for DSL only? Or is some of that also for phone? If DSL only . . . WOW! $21.99 a month provided by Verizon (phone company). Color, are you using a TV antenna? Californians won't have reception with an antenna by sometime in 2009. Don't remember the exact date. Rosie, is that for DSL only or some phone also? I am and have always been an "antenna only" TV viewer. I got a beautiful larger screen Sony HD TV a few months ago. I'm in a condo (been here for 23 years). Nothing was done to the antenna. My reception now is virtually perfect whereas I often had problems with analog reception. There's just one local station that sometimes is pixelated. I'll be fine next February. Earthlink dsl at $39 per month. So to me your $25 sounds like a good deal! Kitt, $39?! Holy moly. I figured my DSL would be less if I still had Earthlink. I tried to get it through them a few years ago, but it didn't work. Their customer service regarding that was HORRIBLE. Nothing but problems. The $25 per month I pay is only for DSL service. My phone is additional. I'm not a big telephone-talker. I have a cell, but use it so little I'm not comfortable talking on it and almost forget how to use it between calls. (Gotta look in the instruction book.) But because of the DSL, I need two land-line phone lines. One of my phone lines has the security system to the front door of the condo building on it. That and the DSL won't work on the same line. (And I also have TiVo which needs phone connection for a short time every day. I got lifetime TiVo service, so no monthly bill for that.) So I do have a phone bill for two lines also.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 4:15 pm
Our $20 whatever a month it is only for DSL through Verizon. Phone is extra...but, yeah, not big phone talkers here either and never do long distance calls (it is long distance for me to call Darren at work, Lancaster to Mojave, but not the other way so unless it's a real emergency where I need to talk to him immediately, I usually send him and email or page him to call home.) Out of our utilities, our phone bill is overall cheaper than gas, water, electric, and I think maybe trash.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-25-2003
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 4:34 pm
If anyone is looking for long distance for a land line, I've been using One Suite for a few years and like it a lot. Basically, I guess, it is a "phone card", but it's on-line. There are bells and whistles with it. I really really like it. Can't believe when I had AT&T long distance taken off my line, I was paying 25 cents per minute!!!!!!!
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 5:15 pm
My cable and internet are $104 per month. I have basic extended cable, no box.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 6:01 pm
21.99 is just for DSL - does not include phone or anything else
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 6:06 pm
oh I forgot to add that the 150 includes 3 boxes and 1 is a dvr box
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Monday, June 16, 2008 - 11:51 am
We have free long distance with our cell phones (Verizon), so the only LD calls we make with our land line are faxes. It does save money. My parents live within our same area code but it is actually long distance. They actually have free long distance from their land line! I think they have at&t. If we talk long distance during the weekday, daytime, it does charge against our minutes, but the only time we ever went over our mins. was when one of the kids was in the hospital. Another way we save is that when we call each other, we don't call the house phone. We always call each other's cell phones because with verizon, calls to other verizon phones don't charge against the mins. (at least on our plan). We also have unlimited texting on all of our phones. The kids especially text a lot. They would end up paying a fortune (well, we'd have to pay it and they'd never get their allowances again due to working off their debts!) if we didn't have that unlimited texting on our plan. I'm trying to eat a lot less and wean myself off diet coke to save money. I've been able to cut back but giving it up all the way is going to be hard. I also started looking at the newspaper ads for what is on sale where. I never used to bother. Luckily I can get a lot of groceries at costco and it is close to our house. I listen to clark howard when I am in the car alone when he is on. His website does have info about saving money on different things. On the rare occasion that we go out for a meal, I will compare meals and if there is one that is a lot bigger for only $1 or so more, I'll get that and bring some home for another meal or two.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Monday, June 30, 2008 - 12:40 am
Heh, we were in a hurry this afternoon so stopped and got lunch on the way to Dakota's game. $25 later and I'm thinking we should have just picked up some munchy type of food cuz we were really rushing and didn't even have time to enjoy it. After her game, I had to go grocery shopping and just picked up some hotdogs, buns, and a small thing of potato salad for dinner tonight, cost me $7 or thereabouts. Right there, clear as can be reason to stay home. We have passed the big money spending months (birthdays, car tags, babies, etc.) and I'm looking forward to saving a bit more. Dakota's softball season is over so I'll be saving money on gas (no more practices and games) and bottled water and snacks (cheaper to take my own than to shop at the snack bar!) Much as I hated to I have switched to shopping at Wal Mart for groceries. Between higher grocery bills, gas prices, and utilities going up, I have to cut back somewhere. I'm still going to Vons when I need one or two items, and believe it or not, sodas since Vons always has some kind of sales on 12 packs and their cheaper than Wal Mart. Totally sucks though, I hate Wal Mart. Darren needs a laptop for school (or rather so he can take it to work and do homework on breaks and not be stuck at the desk at home with the kids running around and just doing their thing.) Nothing fancy or top of the line since it'll just be used for homework. We may end up breaking into our fun fund for it. I don't really want to, but I don't want to take it out of our savings account either. I also know how much easier it'd be for him to go into our room to study.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, July 25, 2008 - 1:05 am
I'm still trying to save. Sucking though, lol. We did end up buying Darren a laptop, couldn't put it off, the college put all their textbooks online. Have to have a laptop in class. However, since all he's using it for is school, we searched around and found one on sale for $450 (didn't really want to spend the money, but needed it.) One of my concerns lately is the grocery bill. I've cut back on gas, would love to cut back on groceries. Any tips for a cheaper grocery bill while still getting healthier foods? Oh, oh. Earlier this month I took Kota with me when I went to do my aunt's banking. The teller saw me and handed me a pamphlet for a childrens savings account. It can be opened for $25 and everytime they go to the window and deposit more than $3 into their account, they get a wells fargo buck. They can save up their bucks to "buy" little treats from the bank. It also did a good job of explaining earning interest on your money. Dakota was so excited to learn her money could make money sitting in the bank. She is actively saving money now so she can open her own savings account. I'm almost tempted to offer to match the money she saves til she earns the $25 but she's so proud of herself for doing it herself. She's been saving allowance and collecting cans for it!
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 10:02 am
I lost this thread! But I've found it again! I also hate Walmart. I just posted in the daily poll about a shower curtain that I bought at Walmart. I was going to add that I hate Walmart so that was the last place I looked. There are good deals to be had at Walmart though. For me, it is further than Target and Costco, so, I don't have to hardly ever go there. If I do, I usually will stop at the dollar store if it is early in the morning just to see what I can find. Our Walmart only added some groceries a couple of years ago. They don't have a lot and no produce. I do usually get a few groceries when I am there. The kind of jelly we use is a lot cheaper there, so, I stocked up on it. Hopefully you got a good deal on that laptop because of back to school sales! One thing I am doing to cut back on grocery bills is not buying things just because that is what people want/what we usually have. (The only thing I did that with before usually was cereal, they'd have to wait until that particular cereal was on sale.) I haven't bought apples in quite awhile because they are so expensive right now because of the season. I asked them last night to tell me if they were desperate to have an apple and I'd buy one or two. (They weren't. I kind of am, but I do ok with not having certain foods.) We do have applesauce. The family just has to eat the seasonal less expensive fruit. Also, we have to eat the stuff that will go bad first. So, if they want pasta but there is something else that will spoil, they aren't getting pasta that night because it has a long shelf life. There have been some grumbles, but not a lot. I'm also making more things at home. Vegan waffles for one. Since I'm trying to not use a lot of soy, I have been using rice dream, but there isn't much nutrition in that. So, I'm going to try to make oat milk (a lot more nutritious than rice dream) to use to make the waffles. They do sell it at whole foods but I'd have to drive to a neighboring town for it and it's probably expensive anyway. Oats are really inexpensive. To make them healthier, I'm throwing in wheat germ and using some white whole wheat flour. (Flaxseed mixed with water and blended til it is frothy acts like the eggs and you can't even tell the waffles are vegan. Costco had a container of flaxseed that doesn't have to be refrigerated. It has a long shelf life. I throw it in smoothies too.) When the plastic bags that were containing the waffles are empty, they go back into the freezer so I can use them again and again. No waste and saves $! Any meat dishes you can mix with vegs can be healthy and less expensive because you can use less meat. Fajitas, Chinese stir fry, casseroles. I buy the big bags of fresh peppers and the frozen bags of vegs at Costco. I just make sure I eat the peppers so they won't go bad. How about breakfast for dinner? Eggs are still cheaper than meat and they go a long way! Also, there are so many ways to fix them. I am going to make a master list of things we frequently use. I'll have the regular store price and figure out which store has it cheapest at the regular price. Then I will watch the sales ads and even go online if need be to see if there is a sale. It'll take awhile, but I'll only have to do it once. Then I will keep the list in my purse, so, that if I happen to be out and see a sale, I can compare it and see if it's something I should stock up on. I'll just have to be really organized about what we need and watch the sales and use coupons if possible. I have been going online to look for specific coupons for things we use. I googled Feline Pine kitty litter. Their website turned up a coupon for a free 7 lb bag! I'm also going to figure out how much I spend when I make certain foods and see if making them here is really saving any money. It will be a little time consuming, but at least I will know. If it is only a little more, but a lot healthier, then I will make them here. Non vegan waffles are a good example. Eggos are almost 50% cheaper to buy at Target than the non sale grocery store price. (even on sale at the grocery store is still a lot more than Target charges, so I stock up every time I am at Target) But everyone wants the homemade vegan waffles even though only one kid is vegan. Also, I can make waffles that are quite a bit healthier than Eggo waffles. But they might cost a lot more or maybe not. I will calculate. Maybe I can make them w/o eggs by using the flaxseed and they will be even cheaper. I don't plan on buying much cleaner from now on. Online, I found so many cleaning uses for vinegar! It is so cheap too! I even put it in the dishwasher instead of jet dry (which I had stopped using mos. ago). This post is getting way too long! I love sharing ideas about saving money though! That is a great idea that your aunt's bank is doing War. I think it is so good to teach kids about money early on.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 1:55 pm
LOL, I love having ideas about saving money shared! I've said it before, I am cheap, lol. Maybe not so much cheap as we have a budget and we have to stick to it, not much wiggle room. Apples (and oranges) are outrageous right now! I've also stopped getting them and have been searching out the seasonal stuff. I'm planning on cutting back on meat. More ground beef and cheaper cuts instead of the more expensive stuff. No more skinless, boneless chicken (I can do that myself though it's a pain.) More hot dogs. More beans. And yep, mixing stuff with veggies. I really can't wait for the kids to go back to school, mainly becuase during the week, I'll be back to spending $2.75 for the both of them to have lunch each day. Which will make me quite happy (only have to worry about buying lunch foods for Darren.) I have to go grocery shopping this weekend or Monday and I'm going to go to several different stores. Walmart (ugh) for some, Costco for things like meat, cereal, bread, and then to a store that sells locally grown produce and meat from local places. Usually this store is a few cents cheaper and it's not worth the gas but I'm wondering with the price of everything else going up if they've managed to keep their prices down. If they have, it might be worth the gas money. I just can't get into coupons, even when I take the time to clip them I never use them. When I worked at the retirement home, Happymom, we used to use a certain cleaner to clean the dining room tables. The state licensing board and then the health dept would come in once a year for their inspections (which we usually did great at, if they had problems with us it was almost always some new law.) Anyways, one year the health dept finished up and that was one of their few things about the dining room...they required us to start cleaning tables with vinegar/water instead of a cleaner. Cracked me up, we'd been using this expensive cleaner and here was vinegar which did a better job, lol. I would use it at home but I seriously can't stand the smell of it, even if it is diluted by water. We've always encouraged the kids to save money. Caleb's pretty good at it usually (lately all he's wanted to do is spend) but Dakota was never that interested. I think the banks really on to something, lol, cuz she's so excited about opening her own account and earning interest and the wells fargo bucks.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Sunday, July 27, 2008 - 11:01 am
I don't like the smell of vinegar either! ... but it is supposed to stop smelling as soon as it is dry. I haven't tried it yet...going to use up the cleaners we already have mostly. It is doing a good job as a sub. for jet dry in the dishwasher though and it doesn't smell at all. Drat about the price of oranges, I had them on the list to buy when I go shopping next. I need them for my husband's lunches. He is probably getting sick of grapes and applesauce, he used to take an apple or an orange until I stopped buying them. Maybe I'll cut some strawberries for him, although we usually have them for dinner. I was called the other day by our local paper and they had a deal for Sat and Sun delivery for $1.57 per week. So I said yes, I had been planning on checking on it anyway. I want the coupons. I won't clip them all, there are so many things I can't use coupons for anyway. But I will try it for the 26 weeks that they offered, after that the price will go up. I have been having some success with just finding the specific coupon I need online. It is hard to get into coupons, I didn't for years and am just starting again now. I just have to make the effort to be really organized about it. Beans are a good idea too to getting protein for less money! I have high blood pressure so, I really try to stay away from the canned stuff because of the high sodium content, but it is so handy! I did buy some bags of dried whole beans and sometime I will try and make them myself. Oh here is another savings...we used to eat a lot of microwave popcorn. I bought the big boxes of it at Costco, which cost so much less per packet. But my vegan daughter can't eat that. So I bought the kernels in a bag at the grocery store, very cheap, and they microwave just fine! We have a microwave type container with a vent in the lid and it works great! She then melts some vegan butter. I haven't worked out the cost yet to see if this is cheaper. I love popcorn and it has a good amount of fiber in it, a good snack if you don't have the kind with all the fat! War, you're probably not cheap...just frugal! I think $2.75 is somewhat expensive for a school lunch! What do they serve the kids? My kids don't buy though ever (for the past year or so anyway) so I can't compare to here. I remember the elementary school menu was not very nutritious. Middle school was a slice of little Cesaer's pizza and a bottle of water. Well, that was the cart out in the quad. The longer line for the cafeteria wasn't worth it for my kids to do that. I don't even know what they served in there. They didn't have the cart last year though. I always like when they get out for the summer because I didn't have to worry about packing lunch for school! But last year two kids brought the same thing every day! So that was easy. My oldest was in charge of getting her own, I think she mostly went without lunch. Next time I shop, I'm going to compare the price of chicken. I really don't want to give up the boneless skinless. I also think it is a pain to have to cut that off myself, plus, then you end up paying for the bones and skin. I usually buy the big bags of the frozen tenders.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, July 27, 2008 - 10:09 pm
Oh geez, I just looked at both regular chicken and boneless skinless earlier and I can't remember how much they cost! I bought ground turkey instead because anytime I use it, I have left overs (so four meals using ground turkey plus left overs for lunch the next day.) Kota's lunch is $1.25...some kind of meat dish, veggies, dessert (which is usually some kind of fruit,) and milk. Typical hot school lunch. Caleb's is $1.50...he gets to choose from a bunch of stuff, they typical hot lunch, big salads, tacos/nachos, etc plus milk and juice. Dakota will take lunch once a week (when they have pizza) and if they're having anything else loaded with dairy, but she prefers to buy. Caleb likes the variety. I did pretty well at Costco, actually spent just over $100 less than two weeks ago when we shopped. I did pass up a few things I would have normally bought because I knew I could get them cheaper at Walmart and didn't need Costco sized, lol.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 3:24 pm
New thoughts..is anyone starting or already doing Christmas shopping yet? I just read an article yesterday that this would be a good time to start since prices, especially for big items like electronics will be going up soon. Me and Darren had been talking about how it was time to at least start thinking about our budget and what we're getting the kids. Kind of hard for me to start shopping for Christmas with Dakota's birthday next month though. I did see a couple cute things yesterday while school shopping that I'll go back for in a week or two (either Christmas or Kota's birthday.) Also see that Anna's linens has the bed in a bag sets, which is something we do want to get Caleb this year. This will definitely be a leaner Christmas, with most the guys in the family off work right now. Not only that but with the cost of everything else going up, who really wants to be spending a lot of money? I'm still not able to save as much as I'd like, but I'm also still trying to save what I can. Been doing ok, don't think I'll hit my goals though by the end of the year. That's alright though, just need to save a little longer!
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 7:54 pm
we have been saving our change in a jar for a couple months and BIll cashed in 98.00!!! I couldnt believe how fast it added up! We are going light on CHristmas. I plan to make charity donations for co workers instead of stressing over gifts this year. we started talking about it yesterday and decided we all want to give rather than rcve this year and I gotta tell ya it feels good not to have to worry about it. I will still buy Bill, Dylan and Paul gifts, just dont plan to buy for 20 staff/coworkers this year
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 9:20 pm
Change adds up really fast and just sitting there looking at it I know I usually underestimate how much is there. I love that Oh WOW! moment when you realize how much it really is, lol. Last year we gave family gifts and I liked that. We'll do the same this year but only for immediate family (nieces/nephews, probably are parents and my aunt as well) but it won't be anything big. I'm planning on getting the kids things they need but will like. Like the bed in a bag...sounds like a silly gift but Dakota's been wanting a new set and Caleb has been complaining that his twin size comforter (he doesn't use a top sheet or blanket) is too small for him. I also saw some really cute Hannah Montana school supply sets, figure by Christmas Dakota will be due for new folders/pens/notepad, plus she'll absolutely love it! If I had my way, Darren and I wouldn't have gifts at all this year, but the kids get upset if we don't have something. They had a big fit on my birthday when I didn't get anything (by my request!) I'd rather just take the money and put in savings or pay ahead on a bill or something...and may end up just exchanging small things and doing that with the money we would have spent on each other.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 10:37 am
I feel the same way about gifts, I'd rather not have anything but the kids want to give (using our money of course!). Often I will pick out my own things that I need and tell my husband about them and he then gives the stuff to the kids to wrap. I have started Christmas shopping for nieces and nephews. None of them live around here so it is always a challenge to get small things (to save on shipping) that they will like that won't cost much. I recently found gifts for 4 of them that were under $5 and small at Borders. (They weren't all books either.) They were all on big time sale. We just don't have much money at all. I just send them $5 each in a card for their birthdays. (And I buy nice cards but in bulk either at Costco or Ross. My most recent card purchase was a box of mostly birthday cards but it had a few pretty blank notecards and few other occasion cards. There were at least 46. Not cheap quality at all. They also came in a very nice box. I paid $6 at the most.) I actually troll Ross throughout the year looking for gifts. I've done this for years. Once you get a single item away from Ross (like a nice vase for example) it seems so much nicer than on the shelf in the store! I also bought some clothes for my husband and dad at Kohl's on big time sale at Kohl's a few mos. ago. I think I got $40 shirts for about $5. They are long sleeved but were out of season so they reduced their prices a lot! War, I'm glad you mentioned Anna's. I had forgotten all about that place! It is not far from here, but I just never go to the plaza it is in. My daughter leaves to start her freshman year in college soon and she needs bedding and towels. War, it sounds like your schools give good or at least ok food and a great price! Wish ours would and offer vegan and vegetarian things that my kids would eat all for $1.25 or $1.50!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 10:13 pm
The only problem with Anna's is when they have a sale, you need to get there quickly, Happymom! I went in a while back to buy my aunt a bed in a bag set and it was only 2-3 days after the sale started (week long) and had just 2 to choose from. Kohls is awesome for sales!!! I'll go in there for something and save so much I have to do a little more shopping, lol. Last time, we went for jeans for Darren, bought 5 or 6 pairs and spent maybe $50 on them. Even on sale it was so much less than I had planned to spend that the kids got a couple outfits each too. The longer my bil and the other guys are out of work, the less we're planning on spending for Christmas. Darren's working and we're looking at a tighter Christmas (they've cut out all of his OT which really hurts, but at least he's not looking at layoffs.) The other guys though, this is going into four and a half months with no work. I started hinting around today at homemade gifts to exchange among the rest of the family.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 11:08 pm
Yesterday I was in my favorite Dollar Store. They had 2009 16-month calendars. 6-7 styles, really nice Islands/Inspirations/Seascapes/Puppies/etc. $1 each, but quite pretty. In the past my Sisters have sent me calendars for Christmas - BUT - they go through and write in all the parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, greats N&Ns, birthdays, etc on that calendar. Makes for a very PERSONAL gift that requires some thought and effort. I love them frankly and look forward to them. Heck, I bought six of the calendars yesterday. Think I might do it myself to send to them this year, my Sisters have been so busy with new jobs or traveling.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 11:24 pm
That's a great idea, Bisc! And it is very thoughtful. LOL, confession of a slacker auntie...I love my nieces/nephews/family tons, would do anything for them...but I can never remember birthdays. I'd love a gift like that. What got me thinking about it was that Caleb has a bookthong (beaded) that I made him a couple years ago that has a dragon charm on it. He was complaining that he can't take it to school...but if it was a necklace, he'd wear it to school. Little bells went off in my head, lol. I've noticed my older nephews wearing a lot of necklaces and well the girls love them too and that's something I can do and pretty cheaply (heck I probably have most the stuff in my beading toolbox!) It really got me to thinking. My sis bakes (and since I don't have a working oven...stove yes, oven no) how awesome would a basket of homebaked goodies be? Little adopted sis sews, another makes fudge and the other can do amazing things with digital pics. We've all got talent and things wouldn't really ahve to cost that much!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 11:27 pm
Oh, plus I'll add, I love stuff like that so much more than going out and spending money and buying something. I just love to get the kids together to make things for gifts (last year they painted Christmas ornaments.)
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 11:35 pm
War ~ ".but I can never remember birthdays. I'd love a gift like that. " Bingo! Precisely where I'm coming from! Just seeing on that calendar when one flips the page helps with planning whatever get-togethers might come up that new month. Personally, when everyone in the family agrees to do the homemade gifts, more quacking, whispering, and planning - THAT puts the fun back into Christmas! Imagination & creativity. Like when we were kids. All this shopping business just makes it a more stressful time.
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