budgetsRsexy

I just donated some unused/unopened rolls of holiday wrapping paper! Long story but I’m looking at downsizing in the far off future and I realized that I have more wrapping paper than I could possibly use in the next decade. I’m going to have to reign in the post Christmas sales shopping.

If I had a ton of people to wrap presents for I would add it to my weekly chores list starting in September or October. I do my laundry during football season on Sunday’s (switch loads during commercial breaks and fold while in front of the TV watching the game) so why not wrap presents then too. Because I only have 5 people and my dog to wrap for I do it while watching a Christmas special sometime in December. Maybe you could try doing it during a tv show, game or movie so you can have a little fun while you work?

I definitely think you should arrange to have a few cheat meals to fully enjoy and partake in the holidays, but it’s smart to find some alternative lower carb options like the cauliflower soup instead of potato soup. If you are not used to carbs and you suddenly go hog wild on them you can make yourself pretty sick (take it from someone who learned the hard way). The menu s sound pretty spectacular and I hope you allow yourself this dietary splurge.

My aunt once put tic-tac breath mints in a small jewelry box with cash. She was right that the weird rattle noise it made when you shook it would throw us off our guessing game.

My first thought just reading the heading was “wow, 100 days until Black Friday, where has the time gone” and then I opened the thread, saw your meme and I swore out loud and startled my husband who is on the couch next to me. Somehow seeing this makes me feel like I’m behind already. My husband is rolling his eyes at my feelings of startled panic [emoji23]

Great set of prizes as always. I hope they help spark a lot of awesome conversations on here, it’s my favorite part of GottaDEAL.

I was hunting around on Amazon for a gift idea on my lunch break today and a decent number of the items that I scrolled through offered free 1 day prime shipping. I was surprised at the number of items that it applied to. I haven’t been on Amazon a lot recently but I feel like this was the first time I noticed the 1 day free shipping really being applied consistently. Wondering if anyone on here has been using it and if Amazon has actually been able to meet the delivery timeframe?

I don’t know if it’s the chilly weather or what but I’ve had Christmas and Black Friday on my mind all day. I’m going to have to pop into one of the big craft stores to see if I can get a small Christmas “fix” this weekend. (they are the only places I can think of that might have some holiday decor out already)

Really impressed with the popsocket and cell phone wallets idea Brad. Super excited about the survival kits, and the potential for a gift card or t-shirt voucher is icing on the cake.

I’M GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!!! My sister just told me. Its still very early (8 weeks in) and she doesn’t want anyone outside of immediate family to know but I can’t keep it to myself, I’m so excited! Fortunately this is more anonymous than places like Facebook and none of my family is on the forums. Thank god for IVF/modern medicine/science. I just can’t believe it. This is the first baby in my family and likely to be the only one. I just want to yell from the rooftops [emoji16]

The week before school starts is the busiest week of the year for residential real estate in my area (everyone wants to close on their new home so that their kids can start the school year in the right school district and avoid changing schools). I’ve already put in 8 hours of overtime for the week and it’s only Tuesday [emoji20] On the bright side that’s extra money in my bank account but man I could use a beer right about now.

Just booked my vacation flights (11/2 through 11/19) so I’m definitely going to miss out on a lot of the BF action on here. I’m going to be depending on everyone’s great threads and comments to bring me back up to speed while on the plane and when I return state side.

I avoid looking at the big one throw designs online so I don’t get tempted to buy more. They will definitely be on my Black Friday shopping list this year though as the dog has put some small holes in 2 of ours. I’m excited to see what designs they will have by then!

I just snagged some card games and board games for 50% off. Truck Off, Oregon Trail 2, Visitor In Blackwood Grove and Spirits of the Wild. There were a couple other games that were at 30% off but I’m hoping they go lower and they still have stock then. Fingers crossed!

I missed out on the vanilla extract again this year sadly. The only thing I bought was a treat puzzle toy for my dog. It wasn’t even a prime day special just happened to check on it (I’ve been keeping an eye on it for a while now) and it had randomly dropped to 65% off so I snagged it before that bargain disappeared.

Just had a very bittersweet realization. I’m going to be on vacation out of country (and with very limited internet access) during the first 2 full weeks of November. I’m really looking forward to my trip but it just occurred to me that I’m going to miss all the amazing conversations on here as the ads are released/posted. That makes me sad to know I’m not going to be able to actively partake in the excitement on here [emoji20]

As of today Black Friday is ONLY 6 MONTHS AWAY! Where has the time gone?! I feel like BF will be here before you know it and I want to be able to enjoy the big shopping day without worrying about how I’m going to pay for it. This weekend I’m going to pull out all of my shopping lists and receipts to have a quick review of last years holiday spending. Although I stayed in budget for 2018, I want to get a better idea of exactly how I spent my money last year so I can tweak and fine tune the budget and my savings for this year. I’m always looking for ways to cut back on spending (though I guess that’s an obvious statement since that’s why I’m on this site, well, that and the great community here of course [emoji3]). Tell me, what are you doing to get your savings/budget/plan in order?

Great ideas everyone! I really liked other people’s ideas of RIFD card sleeves, phone battery charger, granola bars, mints and chapstick. I think maybe those small plastic Kleenex packs/pouch would also be a good option.

Today it was 20 and snowing up here in upstate NY. Happy Spring everyone [emoji31]

I live in a city and these days I feel like 50% of my shipments don’t arrive in 2 days anymore. Most of the time it being late is just annoying but sometimes it’s been a real issue. I don’t foresee them being able to back up their 1 day shipping promise.

I can’t believe March is already over. After catching up on everyone’s post let me just send my deepest sympathies to those who have lost loved ones and those who are dealing with health/medical issues. Try to stay strong as you work through these difficult times.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! [emoji177][emoji177]

My office is closing an hour early today so that we can hopefully avoid the worst of rush hour traffic. With temps this cold the road salt won’t work and things will be slick to say the least.

While the weather has been bitterly cold at least some of the deals I’ve scored through GD have been hot hot hot. I have found some great games through Amazon here and my only regret is that I didn’t buy two of each as many of them are for gifts but now I want one for me too [emoji15]

I’ve been using my time stuck indoors to work on doing some purging/decluttering and organizing. I’m trying to get rid of 2 items for every 1 thing that came into my home from BF shopping or received as Christmas gifts. Once the weather gets nicer I like to spend my time outdoors so I do most of my spring cleaning in the dead of winter. I have a lot of time on my hands now and I miss having BF to plan for.