budgetsRsexy

I use the guest bedroom closet but I don’t have kids and my husband knows he’s not allowed in there without asking me first. The best hiding place I have heard about (probably from on here) was using the artificial Christmas tree box/storage tub that’s left empty after the tree is put up, but that only works well for people who put their tree out early and don’t shop all year long.

Brad, I have my fingers crossed that your prediction about Kohl’s and Target possibly releasing their ads this week is right. I’m headed on vacation in early November and I don’t think I’ll have cell reception. I’d love to see a couple major ads before I head out of town!

Congrats to all the winners. Thanks for making me laugh to all the wonderful people who posted on this thread!

Does anyone know if board/card games count as a “toy”? I don’t have much need for toys right now but it would be great if I could use the coupon on games.

Photo 1: I can’t believe she’s going to make us get out of the cart to make room for presents. Photo 2: UFC cage fights ain’t got nothin on us! Photo 3: no you may not come in “just to use the bathroom.” I’ve heard that one before and I’m not falling for it.

I’ve been super impressed with the turn around time for Target’s in store pick up orders over the past year. I think the longest it took to receive my ready for pick up notice was 2 hours after placing the order online. I really like the convenience and it keeps me from wandering the store aisles and making impulse purchases. Looking forward to the free shipping starting on 11/1.

I really like that US General came out with the mechanic cart in white. I’m considering getting it for a kitchen cart and I hope they start offering their other tool storage in white since I think they would work great for my craft corner.

When growing up my dad was only responsible for wrapping his presents to my mom. He would always do it on Christmas Eve and it would take him forever. My mom would always tease him about being such a terrible present wrapper, but now that I’m older I suspect he intentionally went slow so he could have some peace and quiet away from his in laws [emoji23]

I would totally love a pdf copy of the ads from past years and think that’s a great idea (maybe something you could consider for the prize club for 2020 even?).

The worst thing I saw was some people argue over a parking space from their cars but it was a short lived thing because no one wanted to waste time arguing in a parking lot when they could be scoring door busters.

Great contest topic. I really enjoyed reading all the stories too. I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad that I’ve never seen a true fight on Black Friday after reading everyone’s replies. I’m not a fan of violence but somehow I feel like I’m missing out on a standard BF rite of passage [emoji23]

The partnership between Target and ToysRus makes sense to me. Target wants to be THE place to shop for toys during the holidays and this will bring more people to their site (which means an increased chance of other sales) and entice more people to sign up for the red card. For ToysRus it’s smart because they don’t have to worry about having the website, store and shipping infrastructure/logistics figured out while they try to break back into the market and update their image. I’m not sure if ToysRus will survive but this seems like a smart move for both sides.

I’m surprised that nothing has leaked yet too. I know that BF is a week later this year but I didn’t think it would have too much of an impact on ads coming out since the holiday shopping season starts earlier and earlier every year.

My husband came in from getting the mail and announced “Looks like you got some weird junk mail promotion thing here from someplace called GottaDEAL.” Initially i just stared at him dumbfounded/speechless that he couldn’t remember the name of this site/group! I talk about it allllll the time [emoji849] I bet he’ll remember it from now on though, as I raised a bit of hell once my voice came back to me. Anyway, I agree with everyone else, the bags are great. Mine went straight to the trunk of my car so they are handy when I need them.

Got up at 4 am to drive to Corning, NY so my husband could participate in his first marathon. He finished (4 hours 35 minutes and change) even though the last 6 miles were grueling due to leg cramping. I may not have run the marathon but I got in a LOT of miles myself and was on my feet all day so I could catch/see him at different locations on the course to be his cheerleader (with posters and all). I feel like I just got in aN early practice round for Black Friday shopping. [emoji12]

That is pretty darn sneaky and I love it. Good luck opening the plastic bag in such a way that he can’t tell the difference [emoji106]

I still remember the year my dad finally caved and agreed to come out BF shopping with me. He thought I was being ridiculous as I wrote down the plan of attack Thanksgiving night (“it’s just shopping, not a military strike”, shows you how little he knew) and that I was exaggerating as I gave him the rundown on what to expect while in the car on the way to the stores at 4 am. He didn’t start to take me seriously until he saw the lines formed outside the stores and as he overheard the other conversations while we waited for the doors to open. He definitely had a deer in the headlights expression in the first store but as the morning went on he really got into it and we had an amazing time together. I will never forget him getting home and walking in the door with all our loot. He yelled to my mom “come see all the shopping I got done for you! I got some great deals!” I had a hard time not rolling my eyes as he went on and on regaling my mom with a play by play of that morning. He would have had you think that going shopping was all his idea and that he planned out the entire thing! I still give him crap for that [emoji12] He has been my BF shopping partner ever since and I wouldn’t give it up for the world though.

As I went through the new products nothing jumped out at me as something that I really need. I’m going to keep an eye on the reviews to see if anything ends up really blowing people’s minds but so far nothing really excites me.

A couple of years ago Country Max had our dog kibble on sale 30% off and I would love for that to happen again. We stocked up 6 months worth last time. It’s not terribly exciting, but I know it will get used!

Congrats to the first round of winners! Now it’s a waiting game for the first ad to come out.

Thank you Len for the well thought out and solid advice. Fortunately the cost of living in my area is pretty reasonable and I grew up with rather thrifty parents and they passed that on to me. We are working on our mortgage and car loan. Almost all of our purchases are made on a credit card which offers 2% or more on all purchases and try to not carry a balance from month to month. We track our purchases fairly religiously and have definitely cut back on expenses over the years (cut cable and switched to an inexpensive streaming service, canceled most subscription services and reduced cell phone plans etc) and stick to a budget. I think the part that I feel uncertain about is projecting income from savings and the impact that retiring early can have on social security etc. I also just don’t fully understand how to calculate the amount needed to retire. As much as I love my husband and know that he is intelligent, I have told him I would feel better if we consulted a financial advisor/retirement advisor/expert who can walk me through everything so that I can work up figures as things change going forward. I like to understand how my decisions now could impact the numbers going forward. Plus a second opinion on where we stand financially from an unbiased/uninvolved third party can’t hurt. We plan to set up a meeting with someone by February at the latest. I will definitely check out the workamping website, I didn’t know anything like that existed! I keep learning something new about this RV/camping lifestyle every day.

Harbor Freight 10/8 (fingers crossed!)

Yeah, I’m not sure where my husband came up with his retirement figures/projections but I’m doubtful that they are based on reality. I fully anticipate that at his goal age we would both need to keep working so I’ve been looking into jobs that can be done remotely. That way we could still enjoy the RV/travel dream without emptying out our bank accounts. At this point I’m just trying to be open to the idea and to make lifestyle changes that might help make it happen. I’ve started to tackle a little decluttering here and there. My spending has certainly decreased now that I realize just how much downsizing I’m going to have to do. I keep thinking, why bother wasting the money on a purchase if I’m just going to have to get rid of it a decade from now[emoji23] it definitely makes for more deliberate and thought out purchases. It’s a big mental shift that’s for sure.

So excited! I’d be happy to play elf should the need arise. Now to go work on my info [emoji16]

So earlier this month my husband broke it to me that he’s been dreaming of retiring early (so 11 years from now instead of 21 years as we had originally hoped/planned), sell the house and buy an RV and travel North America for 10-15 years. It came as a bit of a shock but after a lot of thought, many discussions, a ton of research and then doing some RV shopping so I could get a better feel for what he envisioned, I’m actually seriously considering this crazy idea. Nothing is written in stone (a lot could happen in 11 years that would impact this Dream of his) but it’s been a very interesting and enlightening journey down this rabbit hole so far.