budgetsRsexy

I feel like it will take several major retailers to stop being open on Thursday/Thanksgiving to get enough momentum to get everyone else to consider switching to Friday openings again. It's almost like a peer pressure kind of situation, you don't want to be the one jerk that is open on the holiday but so long as others are doing it you can get away with it. Although one major retailer would be applauded, I don't think it will be enough to influence the rest, but you never know (especially once social media picks stuff like this up). My fingers will be crossed though as I much preferred going out early Friday.

I think I just finished my husbands stocking stuffers (which is ridiculously early for me)! Fingers crossed that I can actually stop now while I'm still in budget and not be tempted by the deals that will no doubt be posted on here as BF gets closer [emoji6]

I agree, one should definitely not buy presents with the expectation of receiving one, but I know my family and they will only feel guilty if I keep buying when they don't. I'd rather skip presents than make them feel bad. I'll probably concede to my moms wish that we focus on other family traditions and keep things memorable but simpler. I think I'm going to talk to my husband about what he would like to see done with the newly created extra room in the budget. I really liked the idea of putting my shopping skills towards benefitting a charity like suggested by HomeinKS. We already do some charitable giving but maybe we can add some new charities to the mix that require me going shopping and not just cash contributions

Last night I met up with my parents for dinner and my mom dropped a bombshell in the middle of the conversation. Apparently we will not be exchanging presents with my half of the family this year! My dad and I sat there in stunned silence while my mom explained that she and my sister came to the conclusion that the holidays are just getting too stressful. They would rather focus on spending time together and on our other family traditions and cut back on the "unnecessary extras" as mom put it. I mean I guess in some ways it makes sense (no one has kids), but my dad nailed it on the head when he turned to me and said "but what about Black Friday?!" My dad has been my shopping buddy for 10 years now and we love the time together; you could even say that our BF shopping trips ARE a tradition, but now we don't really have a reason to go My DH's family only ever wants gift cards so I'm kind of sad and at a loss of what to do this year.

So many of you started BF shopping for the sake of your children. I have to laugh at myself that the first and original reason I started shopping was not for the benefit of my family, but to get out of the house and away from my family Don't get me wrong I love them, but when lacking sleep they can be a handful and push my buttons. I'm just glad that over the years I have been able to turn it into a positive thing and help them out with their shopping lists and by making their budget go farther. I get the thrill of the hunt and they look good on Christmas morning when everyone opens their presents.

Up until this year I have spent all my BFs in the small town where my grandparents lived. With them both passing this year I will be hosting Thanksgiving . I don't live somewhere like NYC or anything but I live in a somewhat large city and I'm a little anxious to see how it will compare. I think people's attitude/spirit is the thing that most concerns me but my fingers are crossed that it's not too different.

I believe the flammable phone was the Galaxy Note 7, not the S7, but definitely look into it for yourself too.

That's a great question Elmck! My 13 year old niece really likes hot topic and it never occurred to me that I've never seen an ad for them. Sure hope someone knows the answer and shares

The ads can't leak soon enough for me! I'm really glad I found a community of like minded people who cannot wait for BF to get here. My DH just does not understand my love of BF and when I mentioned it last month he looked at me like I was insane to be thinking about the holidays already. I had to explain that BF is to shoppers what the Superbowl is to football. You watch and wait all season for the big day. I guess it never occurred to him that I start thinking about BF this early, or that it took so much effort and planning on my part to get such great gifts for the family while staying on budget. When I showed him the spreadsheets/shopping lists I've made up for past years he felt bad that I worked so hard for the family and he was unaware of it. Although it's nice to have my hard work appreciated it's more fun for me than it is work. I told him that if he really feels bad about it he can be in charge of dinner on Friday so I can nap after all the shopping madness

My credit card gives me 2% back on all purchases and I can use what I earn directly towards payments on my CC balance. I have been saving my rewards up all year so that I can use my CC to shop for Christmas and immediately pay it off. Whatever my rewards balance is will be my shopping budget.

Thank you to everyone who has shared their stories so far! It has been really nice to read and learn about you all. Like many of you I find that it has changed so much over the years, and not always for the better in my honest opinion. No matter what may come in future years I will keep participating though as it is a cherished tradition that I share with my dad I hope the stories keep rolling in!

I just bought my first stocking stuffer which I stumbled upon in the Target clearance section. My husband and I are opting to only do stockings for each other this year and shift our gift budget into our vacation fund going forward (we love to travel). As for the rest of my family, they usually provide a list of wants in early November. In theory this is great in that I don't have to struggle to come up with ideas, but at the same time means I can't try to catch bargains throughout the entire year.

I am curious as to when other members first started BF shopping and what their reasons for it were then, as well as what your reasons are for it now. I'm a new forum member, though I have browsed them as a guest in the past, and I felt this would be a really interesting way to learn more about other members. My story is: I first went BF shopping probably back in 2000. I told my family that I was a college student and was just trying to make my dollar go further, but honestly it had more to do with the fact that my thanksgivings were spent at my grandparent's tiny, 1 bathroom house. I had to sleep (and I use the term loosely) on the living room floor as it was the only space available, and as the youngest member of the family I couldn't complain that my back would get ruined. The problem was that there are lots of people in the house well advanced in years and they all get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, which you had to access by going through the living room. Without fail every single one of them would forget I was trying to sleep on the floor and would turn on the light. I ended up deciding that if I was going to be awake I might as well be productive AND get a good deal so I started going out shopping. My first year I was unprepared, no game plan, no list and no snacks, but I had a blast! I was hooked and have never looked back. As time has gone on I have started being an "elf" for my out of town sister and my mom who hates to shop. They give me their lists and budgets and I would go to town being their personal shopping assistant. Over time my dad (who is a light sleeper woke up every time the toilet would flush with the plumbing being on the same wall as his bed) joined me. He was always skeptical and called people savages from what he saw on the news, but that first year (2005) he came home and he was so proud of all the shopping that he got done for my mom (and at great prices) that he has been my shopping buddy ever since What's your story?