Christmas....it's not too early

Yes, I've already started thinking about Christmas. Christmas is expensive, lets be honest. I'm determined this year to not let it get ridiculously out of hand, financially speaking. SO...I've set a budget for each person, I've started scouring the clearance racks, and I'm probably at least 1/3 done by now! It's been fun.

Here are a few ideas - please share yours!

1.) Both Joe and I thoroughly enjoy gift-giving and have dreams of giving extravagantly. But as we've talked about it, we've had to convince ourselves that it's not about 'the gift' or the amount of money that we spend. The meaning lies behind the gesture of giving, which we would rather focus on. Practically, that means we've lowered the amount we normally spend on family members this year.
2.) I set an individual budget for each man, woman, and child. This has helped me both cap my overall budget and set a shopping limit for each gift.
3.) Within this budget, I still cut corners! For example, if I find something on sale, I count a reasonable amount for the item toward the overall person's $ limit, even if I spent less. Does that make sense? Like, I might choose an item that at full price was out-of-the-question. Whatever I spent on it (30, 50, or 75% off), I choose a reasonable price for it in my head and count that toward their budget. Translation: I end up spending less than my set budget in the end.
4.) I'm considering doing joint gifts for the married folks in the family. This would slightly lower the overall budget and give more money to spend on a bigger gift. Another idea is to combine $ with siblings to get a specific gift someone requests.
5.) Even though we've lowered the amount of money we're spending, it's important to me that I still give something useful and enjoyable. I don't just want to give everyone a new T-shirt because it's cheap...you know what I'm saying?
6.) Starting early gives me more time to scour the sales and spread out the bills. (One person's gift was bought in July...at 80% off with a gift card! super duper score!)
7.) Is this getting boring? Okay, I'll keep going...at least for my sake.
8.) Our financial class says 'make gifts'. I am totally for this, but totally out of ideas this year! Feel free to share if you've got any!
9.) I want to send Christmas cards this year. Don't forget to include the price of stamps into your Christmas budget! Those babies can a-d-d up!
10.) Joe and I will probably do our one-year-old traditions this year (ornament, stockings) and probably not much more. We're toying with the idea of planning a cheap vacay for Jan.-Feb. as a gift to each other instead. Otherwise, we're saving money!!

We hope that early shopping and a decreased focus on how much money we spend will simply serve as tools to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the Advent season! So many distractions slave for our attention during this holy, peaceful time of year. Let us truly worship!

Graduation!

Praise God! I graduated from the University of Central Florida on August 8, 2009 with my Masters Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

More good ideas for this Saturday - FREE!

Saturday, September 26 is Free Museum Day, courtesy of the Smithsonian.

Some of the participating venues in the Orlando area are:

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens
Maitland Art Museum
Florida Air Museum

...and many, many more!

Check out more information here and find a full listing of Florida venues:
http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/about.html


PS...We did Bok Tower Gardens on July 3 and couldn't have loved it more! Highly recommended by the Yoons.

this just in....$5 Science Center on Saturday

ORLANDO, FL - (September 10, 2009) - The Orlando Science Center, in partnership with the Walmart Foundation, has announced the next “Walmart $5 Day” will be Saturday, September 26 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thanks to Walmart’s generous support, all guests to the Science Center on September 26 will enjoy exhibits, films and live programs for the significantly discounted price of $5. General admission fees are usually $17 for adults and $12 for kids (ages 3-11).

Anniversary Weekend

If you have read any of my much earlier posts, you might remember that Joe proposed to me at the beach. My mom's family has a house in New Smyrna Beach FL that has been so special to me all of my life. Good choice for a proposal!

We also returned to that beachhouse for our first anniversary celebration. It was a fabulous weekend! Saturday was a little grey, so after a walk on the beach, we went out to lunch and to catch a movie. Then we headed home for our anniversary steak dinner. Yum-O! We packed most of our groceries and really enjoying eating at home. (tip o'the hat to saving money!)

Sunday was gorgeous and we got some wonderful beach time in. But Sunday afternoon was definitely the highlight of our weekend! The next post will be about our little Sunday trip to Jacksonville for a very special event.

We came back to spend one more night and half of Monday back at the house. It was such a relaxing weekend and I can't say enough how much we enjoyed being together and celebrating our marriage!! Love you hubster!! Happy One Year!

Walgreens Register Rewards

I live about 10 minutes from civilization, except for my Publix and Walgreens, so you'll hear a lot about deals at these particular stores. It's not easy for me to run up to Target for some household need, so I'm at Walgreens a couple times a week. (sadly...I call Walgreens my "target" because if I have an itch to shop or just need some time alone, I can wander around Walgreens for an hour...you know, like normal people do at Target :))

Anyway, I have found the Walgreens Register Rewards to be very useful. Scratch what I'm about to write if you won't use the Walgreens money! For heavens sake, don't lose it! :)

Every week, the Walgreens circular (in your paper or easily read online) advertises several items that, once purchased, will print out a coupon in the form of Walgreens money. I don't think much about a lot of their items, but I always look to see if (1) it's something I use reguarly or (2) it's free! Yes, they have at least 3 -4 items weekly that once purchased, the money is fully refunded to you in the form of a gift card.

Here's an example of what I've gotten free:
-a toothbrush
-feminine products
-Softsoap NutriSerums Body Wash
-large bottle of Jergens handsoap
-and more...

Just a tip to look in the paper and see if you find anything fun to treat yourself to! I go back and use the money on a variety of other things. I know Walgreens can be more expensive than say Target or Walmart, but they also have great weekly coupon sales that I can usually double up with manufacturer coupons.

One final note: you cannot use a register reward coupon to purchase an item that will spit out another register reward. BUT, you can purchase one item, get the register reward, and immediately use it on anything else. You don't need to wait for another day.

Questions? Just leave a comment. I hope I explained that ok.

Free Food!

Check it out:

www.schwans.com/free


This is a home-delivery service that has been around a long time. I guess they're hurting for business, because I've taken advantage of this offer twice in the last three months. Anyway, you can get one item for $10 or less for free! The delivery is free, if you're home. You have to pay for a small cooler ($5) if you're not going to be home when they deliver it.

A few ideas:

---big bag of 4-cheese tortellini....I got this last time and it was delicious! It serves at least 6!
---desserts....I ordered some chocolate carmel ice cream bars this time
---gourmet coffee...my mom ordered a bag of coffee
---frozen veggies or twice baked potatoes....most of this category is under $10

Enjoy!

FPU

i'm back. for real. thats all i'm going to say.
--

The Hubster and I recently started a class at our church that we really want to plug: Financial Peace University. I personally think the name is a bit cheesy, but oh well. It's all about how to manage your money through a Biblical lens. We are learning so much! ..and boy, are we quick to apply it! We officially started last Sunday and already we have an envelope system and have moved to all-cash purchases. (the greenbacks literally - sans the debit card!)

Both Joe and I experienced the pressure of credit card debt as singles. Endless swiping of the plastic is a terribly easy temptation and we cringe at the memory of it. So, as soon as we got married, we started looking around for some kind of class to attend together so we could be on the same page in regards to our finances. Here we are and we are really thrilled.

The class is taught (via DVD) by Dave Ramsey, who also has a nationally-syndicated radio show. (For those of you in the Orlando area, it's from 3-6 daily on 540AM) He has a lot of wonderful advice. As you can imagine, his major platform is getting rid of all debt except your mortgage, and he advocates paying cash for everything.

All this to say - (1) I'll keep you updated about what I'm learning and how it goes. Our goal is to save, save, save for a house and for babies. :) and (2) I'll keep you updated on the deals and steals I find around town. I'm addicted to coupons and sales and good deals. Can I share? I read a couple of money-saving blogs daily, but even they sometimes either go overboard (who really needs 20 bottles of salad dressing?!?!) or miss some of the tips I find most useful.

Hope to see you around a little more often! ;)