Finding Ways to Take the Pain Out of Holiday Shopping

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the holiday frenzy has officially begun. Now that we've given Thanks with our families, we've rushed the stores for deals and some folks have generally acted like criminals in the process. I'm sure you've caught the incident about the Walmart worker who was trampled to death on Friday in the news. I won't rehash that, it makes me sick and angry. People in crowds behave like animals. God I hate crowds.

This year, Hero and I restrained ourselves. Our only shopping on Black Friday was in the form of our weekly trip to Costco to pick up essentials, items needed to make homemade dog food and we did end up picking up a couple of books to read by the fire. We put the boys on the train headed for Chicago's Magnificent Mile so they could check out some of the sights of the city and do some shopping. They reported that the stores were not that busy, but they both came back with great deals. My son scored a great Guess coat for sixty bucks at Macy's. A Penguin T-shirt for sixteen dollars, and a sweater for a steal. His buddy got a couple of Lucky T-shirts for seven bucks apiece at Nordstrom. The deals are out there if you are looking for them!

Being on a tighter budget this year, I'm still working out my plan for Holiday shopping. I normally don't buy into the Black Friday panic shopping, except to get into the holiday spirit. It is fun. The prices always go down in the weeks closer to the holidays, with a few exceptions... certain retailers who never do markdowns and do specials only for the Holiday Kick Off. Those are not my targets, so I ignore them. I worked in retailing for many years and witnessed the panic of the companies I worked for trying to meet last year sales numbers. Generally, they try very hard to do this by marking down and moving more product. Its fairly common sense stuff. The mark up is high, there is a big cushion to make a profit. This is the reason I never pay full retail for anything. Everything I'm looking for eventually goes on sale. If it doesn't, I'm not looking for it. I'm moving on.

I'm not an economist, so I won't even try to discuss jump starting the economy by spending money. I don't really agree with spending money you don't have, and I don't agree with overspending through the holidays and spending January depressed and blue with buyer's remorse.

I will discuss being thrifty, looking for deals, being creative, looking for alternative ideas. I enjoy online shopping (hate crowds) and Coupon Cabin offers a good roundup of coupons you can use online and coupons available to print and take with you. Check out Cheap Uncle, as well. If you are looking to enjoy a meal out or would like to gift a meal, or ten, check out Restaurant.com. Amazing deals there and I believe Coupon Cabin or Cheap Uncle is offering a discount code for them right now, making their already amazing deals more so. (Thanks Steph for turning me on to them!). I'm also looking at Etsy this year for some gifts. I love the creative energy I see in the folks who sell their wares there.

Hero and I have already gifted each other this year. We've purchased books and a snow thrower. The snow thrower may come in handy very very soon! After hearing that this area was pummeled with 84" of snow last winter, we decided both our bad backs and my rotator cuff that is on its last leg just can't handle a winter of shoveling out of that kind of snow. I'm sort of exited to fire it up! Right now it is a novelty. I'll hate it in another couple months. I know. I know.

Here's to hoping everyone has a fantastic Cyber Monday!

Food, Friends & Catching Up

Today was a good day. I worked hard in my front garden, used the hedge trimmers to manicure thee barberry hedge that lines the curved sidewalk leading to the front door. Dead headed flowers, pulled weeds, filled in a little hole in one flower bed with topsoil. Swept the front porch and brushed aside the cobwebs in the corders. After four hours, it was time to go inside. Damn that humidity.

Front and sides look pretty now. Back to work tomorrow.. Must get earlier start.

This evening I had dinner with one of my dearest friends, Ann. She is amazing. She works hard,plays hard and still manages to find time to be my friend. Her hobby is running, she does it well. She recently qualified to run in the NY marathon. I'm a proud friend. We share two other hobbies. Reading and shopping. Reading is great for down time, and shopping is a sport, isn't it? In our world it is. Thanks for picking up the bill, girlie. MY turn next time. We didn't have nearly enough time to talk about every thing!

I was saving a few of the get rid of pile for Ann. She loves to get stuff. Today it was Christmas in July... She inherited 3 large grocery bags full of books, a bread machine, some pampered chef stuff I've never used, a cute shirt from the gap that I can't wear and the tags are still on it! Oh, and a pretty little iron and glass plant stand I bought at Ann's southern interiors party 4 years ago and it has been sitting in my closet every since. Yay, I made someone happy today!

Tomorrow it is all about the back yard and gardens and keeping an eye on the window washers.

We are so close. We meet with the agent Friday night to list this bad boy.