The dollar store christmas

Christmas is coming up soon, and I'm really looking forward to it. There was a time I used to dread it. In particular the year I had to shop for my kids at the dollar store. When I first had kids I used to buy gifts according to what I could afford, which was never anything really expensive, but they always enjoyed it. We baked a lot, shared the baked goods with others, and visited friends. Then came the year I got divorced. It was hard, I was broke, and I made the mistake of shopping with credit cards to try to compete with my ex. By the following year, I was still broke with major credit card debt and no cash. Now what? I had no money to buy a tree, no money for gifts, in fact I wasn't sure where we were even going to get enough food to eat. So I went to the dollar store with $20 that I didn't have to spend and bought my five kids christmas presents. I felt horrible. I can't tell you how horrible I felt that year. My ex dropped off my kids that christmas and the kids were so excited to come home. I was so stressed they would be upset and disappointed. They opened all their gifts and were thrilled to get them. In fact my son Josh said it was the best christmas he'd ever had. I went to the bathroom at that point and just cried. While I was relieved that they were happy I felt like the worst mother in the world for buying my kids gifts at the dollar store. How did I get to this place? What happened to me? I went from looking forward and celebrating christmas with my family and enjoying the birth of Jesus to crying in the bathroom because I had no money. I used to spend every christmas baking and bringing things to my friends and was now sitting home alone. What happened to me that my handmade gifts weren't good enough? Why did I lose the spirit of christmas? I'm not sure where I went wrong, but I do know that it's easy to get caught up in the commercialism of christmas. Prior to my divorce, as finances improved over the years, I started buying more and more things. Christmas became all about the stuff, and the divorce didn't help. My ex bought stuff to compensate and compete with me, and I did the same. It was wrong, it was sad, and the worst part was it had nothing to do with Jesus. I don't know when it happened but somewhere along the way I found my joy again. I quit worrying so much about the stuff, started baking again, and just started enjoying the holiday rather than dreading it. I'm glad because christmas is a hard time of year for me. I don't tend to work as much as I usually do in the winter, so money tends to be tight. I'm happy to hand out homemade gifts, and spend time at church, and with my family. I have friends right now that are struggling to make ends meet and are very worried about how to pay for christmas. They are dreading christmas rather than looking forward to it. I know what that's like, I've been there. It's my hope, and what I'm praying for this year that my friends find the joy of the christmas season again. That they find gifts they can make, or coupons with donations of their time to do a chore, play a game, or spend some time with the receiver of their gift. That they look forward to these things, rather than dread it. Please post your favorite christmas traditons. If you have any handmade gift ideas or pictures, please post them too.

Christmas planner

The EH Christmas Planner has everything you need to stay organized this holiday season.

It also helps you keep track of what you’ve already done in the past. Therefore, it saves you time, money, and keeps you consistent and thoughtful.

Christmas Planner Includes:

Party Planner – Organize December birthdays, Family Picture, Parties, and gifts to have on hand.

Family Gift Planner – Keep track of gift ideas for each person in your family year round.

Extended Family Planner – This worksheet will help you make gift giving to your extended family easy!

Friend Gift Planner – Keep track of the smaller details like: Goody plates, Teacher gifts, and Emergency gifts.

Memory Planner – Quickly keep record of the wonderful memories you had with your family this holiday season.

Include in your Christmas Planning Binder:

· Recipes
· Menus
· Wish Lists
· Party plans and agenda’s
· Invitation ideas
· Tradition ideas
· Family craft ideas
· Decorating ideas
· Magazine cut-outs
· Tip Junkie post print-outs
· Other pictures that inspire you
· Online Ordering Confirmation Receipts

Having everything in one place will save time and get you inspired to make this season extra special. It will also cut down on having to re-event the wheel every year and prevent you from forgetting special moments and traditions.

Click Here to get your FREE planner.

Did you know???????

Did you know that if the store has an offer of buy one item get one item free, and you have a coupon B1G1F that you can use the coupon and basically pay nothing for either item? (except sales tax of course) I went to Rite Aid the other day where they had Herbal Essence shampoo on sale B1G1F. I had a coupon for B1G1F so that was cool. I also had a coupon to get a free styler with purchase of the shampoo and a $1 off coupon for shampoo. So I got all 4 items free making it a $1 profit at this point. Many stores will allow you to use a coupon with a B1G1F coupon because essentially the B1G1F coupon is redeemed for the free item, and you can legally use a cash off coupon for the item you are buying to legitimize the other coupon. So you have one coupon for each item which it totally within the rules. Some stores don't allow it because they interpret it as trying to use 2 coupons for one item so it just depends on where you go. Most drug stores do this with no problem. Rite Aid specifically states in their policy they will accept B1G1F coupons on their B1G1F sales. Read the policy here.

Did you know Winco has turkeys for 31cents a pound if you buy $50 worth of groceries? Best price I have seen so far. Oh, and if you are buying a turkey over
16lbs you are paying more per pound as the bones start to weigh more than the meat. It may be better to purchase 2 smaller turkeys instead of one big one.

Debit Cards

There is a great article in todays Parade magazine on Debit Cards. Here is the highlights.

Here are 4 debit card dangers to watch out for.

1. Overdraft charges:
If you run your card and there isn't enough money in the bank you can be hit with overdraft fees of up to $39 each.
Solution: Maintain at least $50 in your checking account as a cushion. Ask your bank to set up your account so your card is declined instead of allowing the charge. Ask your bank for email or text alerts to notify you when the balance is low.

2. Out of order transactions:
Instead of processing the transactions in order many banks are processing charges from the biggest to the smallest. This can lead to multiple overdraft fees.
Solution: Only use a bank that processes transactions chronologically.

3. International fees.
You can get charged 2-3% per transaction.
Solution: Some banks are willing to waive this fee.

4. Limited protection:
US law protects credit card purchases, but not debit card purchases.
Solution: Whenever buying online, always use a credit card.

Walmart offers $20 turkey dinner for 8

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (Nov. 4, 2009) – Dedicated to helping American families save money on both holiday traditions and gift items, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced today significant price reductions* on Thanksgiving dinner favorites, TVs and other popular electronics. In addition to seeking savings on gifts under the Christmas tree, recent research shows more than 50 percent of consumers plan to shop price discounts in the coming weeks on non-gift purchases for themselves or family.**

A turkey dinner for eight as low as $20
According to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation, last year’s average cost of a turkey was roughly $1.19 per pound. Beginning today, select Grade A turkeys are available for 40 cents per pound at Walmart.* These gobblers are part of Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving menu guaranteeing family favorites will be on the dinner table this holiday season. Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving feast includes:

•One 12-pound Grade A turkey*
•Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
•Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
•Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
•One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
•One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
•One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

The closest Super Walmart is in Sanger. Just go straight out Jensen ave till you get to Sanger. On the Right hand side, you can't miss it.

The sibling connection

Years ago we stored Elijah's cord blood in hope we might someday be able to use it, not for Eli, but for Ken (my husband) instead. Ken has a congenital heart defect that has caused a lot of damage to his heart. Many people don't realize that cord blood can be used for family members not just for the child themself. We chose viacord as our company to store our cord blood. One of the reasons is the company is actively doing research with the heart which of course is where our interest is. Recently I heard of another program through viacord called the sibling connection that enables you to collect and store your cord blood free of charge for five years in certain cases. I hope no one ever needs to take advantage of this program, but here it is just in case.

This program provides ViaCord's comprehensive cord blood collection, processing and five years of storage at no cost to expecting parents who have a child in need of a transplant and meet the other enrollment requirements of the program.

Any expectant family with a child who has an established diagnosis of a disease that is currently treatable with cord blood may receive ViaCord's premier cord blood banking and five years of storage services at no cost. Your child's doctor will need to complete a medical referral form. If you would like more information please call toll-free 1-866 861-8435.

New program at CVS

A new program at CVS will pay you for not using plastic shopping bags.

Here’s how it works: For 99 cents, buy a “GreenBagTag” at any CVS story. Clip it on to your key ring or a cloth shopping bag. Each time you complete a purchase and don’t take a plastic shopping bag, the cashier will scan your tag. For every four times you go green, you’ll earn $1 in ExtraCare bucks, redeemable on future CVS purchases.

To participate, you must be a member of CVS’s ExtraCare program, but it’s a snap to sign up. Go to CVS.com and click on “Get your ExtraCare Rewards today” in the top bar.

GreenBagTags will start showing up in stores this weekend and should be in all CVS branches within three weeks, said a company spokesperson.

preschool games.

There is a whole bunch of preschool games on sale at Toys R Us this week for $3.99. If you buy seven of them you can get a $14 rebate along with a gift card for $10 you get for spending $25 making all 7 games only $4. An awesome deal! Even if you don't have children this age it makes a wonderful donation to charity.

Chick-fil-a

It's time to buy a $20 Chick-Fil-A gift card to get a free 2010 Chick-Fil-A calendar with $30 in coupons for free food. These are the coupons you get:
January - Free chicken biscuit or a free small bowl of hearty breast soup.
February - Free large Sprite.
March - Free Chick-n-Strips (3 count)
April - Free medium lemonade
May - free small milkshake
June - free Dasani water and free small fruit cup
July - Free chicken salad sandwich
August - free large Coke Zero
September - Free chicken sandwich
October - Free large Coke
November - Free larger Diet Coke
December - Free Chick-n-Minis (3 ct) or Free large fries

Kmarts black friday list

Kmart has their Black Friday ad out already. I love it when you find out early! Here is the link.

Early Black Friday Deals

I have to admit, you say the word Black Friday and I start getting excited. Black Friday was introduced to me by my mother who always enjoyed the deals. I used to think she was crazy until I did it myself. Black Friday is a way for my family to enjoy things we might not otherwise afford. We read each ad carefully, make a list, then make a plan. We are careful to make a budget and stick to the plan. It's easy to get caught up in the shopping when there are such great deals out there, but it's important to stick to your budget. I have been known to put off replacing things and waiting till Black Friday to save money. The retailers are getting started early this year, so this is what I have found so far. Good luck!



Sears

Enjoy the excitement of Black Friday every Friday at 5 p.m. through Saturday mornings at Sears. The sales campaign called “Black Friday Now” will feature weekly big deals through Christmas. The company will also be offering doorbuster bargains each Saturday at 7 a.m through noon. Here are a few products you can score this week:

50 percent off a 302-piece craftsman tools set

$79.99 (reg. $259.99) diamond stud earrings

50 percent off all DieHard workboots (reg. $75)

$399.99 closeout on ProForma XP elliptical machine (reg. $699.99)

$174.19 (reg. $259.99) 7 ½ ft. Wakefield Christmas tree with 700 Never Out Christmas lights

According to analysts, next weeks deals could include a 42” Zenith plasma TV for only $499.



Walmart

The retail giant has already started slashing prices and dishing out holiday deals. Including offering 100 toys, from Barbies to action figures, for $10 through the holiday season. Walmart is also selling highly anticipated books for $8.98 and having "two-for-$30" specials on games for the Nintendo Wii. Come Black Friday you can scoop these items among the deals:

40” Samsung LCD TV for $798 (reg. $898)

HP Pavillion desktop for $398 (reg. $498)

HP Pavilion laptop for $448 (reg. $528)



Target

Like Walmart, Target is offering a "toys for $10" promotion. The retailer is also selling Christmas cards for $15.99 per box and a baby's first Christmas gift set of Baby Einstein DVDs or CDs for $14.99. Target is also featuring daily deals on their site, as well as weekly announcements of Black Friday deals. Sign up for alerts here.



Toys ‘R Us

Toys ‘R Us plans to open 80 temporary stores across the country and is offering layaway on big-ticket items like bikes and doll houses. The toy giant will unveil it’s 2009 Toys 'R Us Big Toy Book on Nov. 1, but here’s a sneak peak at a few of the deals:

$10 Toys ‘R Us gift card with any purchase of $75 or more

$10 Toys ‘R Us gift card with the purchase of any iPod valued at $100 or more

$10 Toys ‘R Us gift card with the purchase of any Disney movies valued at $40 or more

Free Mini Alive Cub with the purchase of any Alive Cub priced at $59.99

Free Little Mommy Doctor Set with the purchase of a Little Mommy Baby Ah-Choo doll

Free SpongeBob SquarePants Ants in the Pants board game with the purchase of select SpongeBob SquarePants board games

Free Crayola 50th Anniversary 64-count Crayon tin with any Crayola purchase of $19.99 or more

Free Cars Backpack with any Cars purchase of $25 or more

Save $100 on the Big Backyard Crestwood Lodge Gym Set

Save $100 on the Peg Perego Polaris Ranger RZR

Specials are valid from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Thursday, Nov. 26.



Kohls

The department store is giving customers a jump-start on holiday savings with two full days of Power Hour pricing. On Nov. 6 and 7 there will be deals upon deals and stores will be open until midnight. Among the bargains:

Redeem Kohl's Cash (earned when shopping at Kohl's during Oct. 21 to 27)

Redeem Pick-Your-Day savings offer (Kohl's charge card holders can enjoy additional savings on the day of their choice)

Save an extra 20 percent on all toys already 10 to 40 percent off, including Fisher-Price, Playskool, Tonka and more

Nextar 4.3" widescreen GPS system for $89.99 (reg. $299.99)



Kmart

Start working on your holiday budget now to beat the last-minute crunch. Early in the game, Kmart is offering online layaway, in addition to its in-store layaway program to help shoppers pay for holiday gifts over time.



Vistaprint

This year, don’t leave your family holiday cards until the last minute. Take advantage of the great deals going on at Vistaprint and order your holiday cards early. Browse these exclusive deals below and see if you can save this year.

50 percent off 2010 calendars

50 percent off holiday Cards, plus most holiday products

Free shipping on orders over $50, plus up to 90 percent off site-wide!

Up to 50 percent off custom photo gifts- photo books, mugs, tote bags and more



CVS

CVS is offering deals you can pocket online before Black Friday.

This week includes discounts on flat irons (save $30), hair dryers (on sale for $19.99), stereo speakers (just $14.99) and a heated massaging back system (on sale for $19.99).



This Black Friday website should be a good resource also to keep track of all the Black Friday Deals. Click here.

30 day giving challenge

This is from Kingdomfirstmom.com I encourage everyone to participate.

November 1st is here. Day 1 of The 30-Day Giving Challenge.

I invite you to take a leap of faith and give in some fashion every day this month. Think beyond monetary gifts. Couponers, open up your stockpiles. Bakers, share some pumpkin bread with a neighbor. Get creative!

Most importantly, ask God to lead you each day.

Just remember to write it down. Not in a boastful, look-how-generous-I-am kind of way. But to keep yourself accountable and be transformed.

Write down the blessings that come your way each day, too. Get your whole family on board!

Bloggers are in a unique position to inspire and encourage literally thousands of others to accept this giving challenge.

All are welcome to RSVP on Facebook, and invite others.

I will also be highlighting charities throughout the month that deserve our support. Although I believe giving should start in your own communities, there may be a day when you need a nudge or a suggestion.

If you wish to get further involved, please feel free to email 30daygivingchallenge (at) gmail (dot) com for more details. I am happy to consider your cause as a featured charity.

Keep this verse on your heart all month:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9

It is my prayer that we would all gain a new freedom from the grip money has on our lives. At the end of this 30 days, I would love to hear how your heart was transformed!

Are you ready? Set… GO!! Get giving!