6 Tips for Sticking to Your Budget This Christmas
November 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Every year there are reports on the news about how deeply in debt people become every Christmas. It is possible to have a nice Christmas without maxing out the credit cards. Here are a few simple tips that could save you a bundle.
- Hide the credit cards - By not using credit cards you are already a step ahead of the game. There’s no worry about the interest and all those payments that come due after the first of the year. If you are already using credit cards carefully you might be able to continue using them for Christmas gifts, just be sure to pay it off when the bill comes due.
- Make a list - Sit down and make a list of all the people you would like to give gifts. Once the list is made, stick to it. Decide how much to spend on each person and write it beside each name. Then when you go shopping there will be a price range for each gift. It will help avoid overspending. Even a dollar over expected spending can add up if there is a large shopping list.
- Draw names - Many families help cut back on holiday spending by drawing names. Each person in the family only shops for one other person whose name they have drawn. Instead of buying several gifts, even if they are inexpensive, each person can get one nicer gift. This makes shopping easier too. Instead of trying to fill a huge list, just take your time and focus on getting that "perfect" gift for just one person.
- Shop ahead - Get organized and have good hiding places. By doing this you can purchase Christmas gifts all year round, taking advantage of after Christmas sales, out of season and clearance sales. Go ahead and wrap and label the gifts. This helps keep people from seeing what was purchased and you won’t forget which gift was for whom.
- Lay-away - Some stores offer a lay-away program, so you can pay a little at a time each month. By doing this, you can budget things out over a period of time. By combining this with the list and budget plan, you can cut out the interest incurred using credit cards and still make a monthly payment.
- Gift cards - While gift cards are convenient for gift giving, many people feel they are impersonal. Gift cards can also help you shop on a budget, if shopping ahead of time. Purchase the gift cards in the amount you can afford each week or month. Tuck them away in an envelope in a safe place until you have the amount needed to purchase the gifts. You can keep an eye out for sales on certain items this way, as well. Be sure to check to see if the cards have an expiration date. Some expire after a certain time once activated and others have no expiration date at all. Some are even "rechargeable" and more money can be added as needed.
No matter what plan you choose, the best thing is to get organized and plan ahead. Spur of the moment shopping is the worst for anyone’s budget. It’s too easy to just grab something on impulse and blow the best of intentions.
Free Holiday Gift Idea Guide
November 24, 2007 | 1 Comment
- Tired of the stress caused by the holiday hustle?
- Exhausted from trying to find the perfect gift that won’t be re-gifted?
- Failing to remember everyone on your list?
Relax!
Free to read, print and share…
Click Here For Your Free Gift Guide
Enjoy!
‘chele
More Holiday Gift Ideas & Freebies - Show #14
November 23, 2007 | 1 Comment
Happy Black Friday!
There’s no time to recover from our turkey overload! It’s time to swarm the stores in search of some awesome bargains from our shopping lists. I will let you know how I made out with my Black Friday shopping on next week’s show but if you found some sweet deals, leave a comment and tell us about them!
This week I have two former teachers sharing their tips for buying your child’s teacher a gift and as promised, here are all the links I mentioned on the show for holiday products, toy guides, freebies and contests.
Freebies mentioned in this show that you MUST take advantage of:
- Practical Holiday Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your List - Chele’s Free Guide
- Safe Toy Guide - Don’t risk buying something dangerous!
- Holiday Season Kickoff - Several helpful Holiday tips & topics for download
- Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator - While supplies last! Hurry!
Also mentioned & worth a look for more gift ideas:
- Black Friday & Cyber Monday Discounts from Mom Businesses
- Personalized Note Pads & Personalized Recipe Cards - The clock is ticking!
- Purse Hook Product Review
- More Mom submitted product reviews
- Win an 18" Hope Bear in our Holiday Contest
I’m thankful to these friends for their help, inspiration and gifts in this show:
- Kelly McCausey of Moms Talk Radio - For opening another door in my life.
- LaTara Hamying of Vegan Family Living - reminding me of what I’m thankful for
- Mom’s Morning Show - I look forward to their company every morning when I start my work day
- Christina Lemmey of Wonder Years Radio - She helps me produce this show for you every week
- Carrie Lauth of Natural Moms Talk Radio - For making the Safe Toy Guide available to my listeners
- Evie Madox of Eve’s Best - Contributing teacher gift suggestions
- Amie of Snapshots to Memories - Contributing teacher gift suggestions
The Purse Hook - Review
November 20, 2007 | 1 Comment
Product Name:
The Purse Hook
Submitted by:
Melody Schubert; Martinsville, IN
Rating: 10
Description:
The Purse Hook takes the fuss out of wondering where to set your purse when you go out. It keeps your purse close so you have less worry about theft as well as reduces the risk of carrying germs around with you
Review:
Women have a sense of style, as well as a knack for creating objects to suit their needs. The Purse Hook is one of those classic objects women of today will find as classy and useful as their mothers and grandmothers once did. When it comes to paying $19.95 to $39.95 for a product it has to be good. The Purse Hook is such a product. When I think of the price I remember how often I’ll use it and the benefits of the Purse Hook. It’s not too often that you find something fashionable as well as useful. This is a great product for everyone!
Whether you go out to eat or you need to change the baby in a changing room all women face one obstacle, where do you place your purse? While many places have taken this into consideration and provided hooks, there are times when you are left with no choice but to place your purse or diaper bag on the floor.
Let’s think about this for a minute. We tell our children not to eat off the floor. Why, because of germs. We also tell them to wash their hands often for the same reason. Did you know the moment we lay our purses or bags on the floor germs gather on the bottom of it? It is a fact I myself have neglected to consider, until now. Let’s just say that studies have found some really disgusting germs we’d rather not mention on the bottom of women’s purse. Where do these germs go? They travel along with us wherever we go; in the car, at home, to the office where these germs can make us sick without us even realizing it. The Purse Hook can help reduce the risk of becoming sick by carrying around these germs.
With many new styles in the works, the Purse Hook may become the next big gift on everyone’s list! With a simple, yet classic design, and the small size, the Purse Hook is ideal for a women’s purse, diaper bag and even backpacks weighing up to 35 pounds. This is one of those great products you never realized you needed until you have one!
Cranium Whoonu Game - Review
November 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Product Name:
Whoonu
Submitted by:
Sandra Overstreet; Tappahannock, VA
Rating: 10
Description:
This is a game designed for ages 8+ and for 3-6 players. This game is a very simple guessing game. The players pick a person to be the "Whoozit" and the remaining players are dealt 4 cards each. Each card has either a thing or activity listed such as "the scenic route" or "pick up trucks". The object of this game is for the players to pick out one thing from their hand that they think the Whoozit will like the most and then place it in the Whoozit envelope. The card amount varies dependant on how many players are playing. The Whoozit then looks through the Whoozit envelope and chooses the card that they will place in front of the matching token in order from 1-being the least up to 6-being the most. After the Whoozit finishes, they read the cards and hand out the appropriate token to the person who chose that card. Points are kept by the numbers on the tokens. Play is over once all the tokens are gone. The person with the most points win.
Review:
I think this is an absolutely wonderful game. It makes learning new things about each other fun for everyone. My family plays this game at least once every week since we have purchased it. I believe this is a game that will last quite a long time and is good for various ages.
Criticism:
The only downfall I see is once you go through the stacks of cards a few times you learn who likes what and it makes for a duller game. Cranium should make booster packs for this game so you can purchase them and never have a dull game.
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