I hope that you had a fun Halloween with all your little ghouls and goblins. My boys enjoyed the heck out of trick or treating even though there were a few meltdowns at the beginning. Once we got over the tantrums, the evening was really fun. We always start out as a huge group with the other kids on our street and then
Me and my little skeletons. Emmett wanted to be a skeleton, so Oliver and I followed suit.
Let the mayhem fun begin!
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Now that Halloween is officially over it's time to prepare for the holidays, especially Christmas. I love Thanksgiving but I also love all the prep for Christmas so why not begin the shopping lists now.
Budget
First off, I have a Christmas fund. Every pay period I have money automatically drafted and put into my Christmas fund which I can't access until November 1st. This works get because I save up all year so I don't end up having to run up my credit cards and worry about how I'll pay it off come January. I don't miss the small amount each pay period but it really adds up to make for a nice little budget. Pierce has one too.
If you don't have a Christmas fund, I suggest starting one now so that next year you won't have the stress or worry of how you'll afford Christmas. Instead you can focus on the fun of giving. Which leads up to...
Deals
This is the best time of year to find some fabulous bargains. It so hard to stick to shopping for others when I see so many things I want for myself. I've got to remember that instead of buying things for myself I need to tell other people those items as I find them. I don't know why people say I'm difficult to shop for... I find things I want all the time 😋
Check weekly circulars and sign up for online sale notifications (you can always unsubscribe after the holidays).
To me Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year. I love going through the circulars, getting up early, and hoofing it to the stores but now I also spend a fair amount of time shopping online. A lot of the BF deals can be found online with free shipping. I try and buy the items I want online as early as possible (some are available Thanksgiving night) in order to get those items marked off my list, then I head to the store to get the in-store only deals on Black Friday.
Also, shop now. Sometimes you can find just as good of a deal now as you can on BF. Check out sites like BFADS and Best Black Friday to prep ahead of time.
Do you Cartwheel? If I haven't said it before... I love Target! Download the Target app and sign up for Cartwheel if you haven't done so already. Starting today they will have a daily toy deal that will be 50% off. You have to use it in the store but this is a great way to stock up on toys for the kiddos at out of this world prices.
For example, today's Cartwheel deal is 50% off Safe Start electric scooters, making it $50.
The only issue with this is I find so many deals I can go a little overboard. I am trying hard to control myself this year since the boys don't need many toys. When I shop I scan everything through the Cartwheel app and usually have at least a few items that come up with an additional percentage off. It's so easy to use and who doesn't love saving money. Also, get a RedCard and you'll get another 5% off everything you buy at Target plus free shipping from target.com. I have the debit card so it comes directly out of my checking so they're aren't any monthly statements or finance charges. Woohoo!
Give
This past weekend I went through the boy's toys and clothes to get rid of the things they've outgrown or don't play with anymore. When it comes to the toys I let the boy's help pick out what they want to donate. It's good for them to be appreciative of what they have but also be charitable and realize that it's nice to pass along items to children who don't have as much as we do. Emmett used to want to keep everything but now he is excited to give and is enthusiastic about donating his toys.
And a few things that made me chuckle...
