magickallight

I'm keeping my fingers crossed as next Saturday starts November - BRING ON THE DEALS, AMAZON! (All caps in hopes they will hear me yelling.)

So far - this is all they are saying on their site: Looking for Black Friday Deals? Thanks for stopping by! Black Friday 2014 will be just as much fun as Black Friday 2013 so come back in November for the best Black Friday Deals. Just like last year you will find great deals in electronics, video games, clothing and more next Black Friday!

This great deal is back! Great Christmas Gift idea - paired with a nice bottle of wine.

In one word NO! Hubby ALWAYS thinks I am buying too much, spending too much... etc, etc... therefore, I no longer ask his opinion - since I pay for it all myself - I just buy what I want to!

Shout the Glad Tidings

I just saw this and found it interesting... 4 Reasons Why You Should Shop at Stores That Got Hacked Retailers are gearing up for the holiday shopping season, but one thing has some consumers spooked: According to a new survey by CreditCards.com, 45% of respondents say they are less likely to shop at stores that have suffered a data breach, such as Target, Home Depot, or Michaels. Almost 30% say they will “probably” avoid stores that have been hacked, and 16% claim they “definitely” will. Popular Among Time Subscribers Rand Paul Most Interesting Man Politics Time Magazine Cover The Reinventions of Rand Paul Subscribe The New Face of Indonesian Democracy Meet the New Leader of the Fourth-Largest Country in the World While it’s hard to believe that half of all shoppers will actually skip the sales at major retailers come holiday season, Target did suffer a 5.5% decline in transactions last year after its data breach. But shoppers, you’re being silly. You don’t need to avoid stores that have been hacked. Here’s why. 1) If someone steals your credit or debit card number, you have very limited liability. You’ve got at least one reason to thank Congress: The Fair Credit Billing Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act cap how much money you’ll lose if someone steals your credit or debit card. If someone steals your card number but not your actual card — which could happen during a data breach — you are not liable for any fraudulent transactions. Read: You won’t lose any money. Just be sure to report any fraudulent debit card charges within 60 days of receiving your statement. The rules are a little different if someone steals your physical card. With credit cards, you still won’t need to pay anything if you report the loss before a thief uses the card. Otherwise, your liability is capped at $50. With debit cards, you’ll only pay up to $50 if you report the theft within two days, or up to $500 if you report the theft within 60 days of receiving your statement. There’s another reason to prefer credit over debit. When someone makes fraudulent charges on your credit card, you can challenge the bill when you receive it. But when someone else uses your debit card, that money comes straight out of your account, so it could take a little bit longer to recover your funds. And if you’re really afraid, just stash the plastic. CreditCards.com reports that 48% of shoppers say data breaches have made them more likely to spend cash. 2) Avoiding these stores won’t protect you from the scariest kinds of identity theft. When someone steals your credit card number and spends your money, that’s considered “existing account fraud.” Banks and credit card companies have gotten pretty good at identifying abnormal spending patterns, so you’re likely to catch existing account fraud early, and your liability is limited. But if someone steals your Social Security number, opens a new credit card in your name, provides a new billing address, and runs up big charges, it might take you a while to notice. That’s called “new account fraud,” and it’s a real headache. To catch new account fraud, check your credit report three times a year. It’s not hard to do, and it’s free. Your report will show all your accounts and debts, as well as your payment history. Check to make sure all of the information is accurate and all of the accounts actually belong to you. (Go. Do it now. Did you catch a problem? Here’s what to do.) If you’re afraid that your social security number has already been stolen, you can put a free fraud alert on your credit file to let lenders know or freeze your credit so that no one else can open new accounts in your name. But you don’t give out your Social Security number every time you swipe your credit card, don’t worry about going shopping. 3) Safer cards are on the way. Are you sick of all these data breaches? So are businesses — after all, they’re the ones on the hook for fraud, not you. That’s why Visa and Mastercard are sending out new “chip-and-pin” cards. These cards have embedded microchips, which are more secure than magnetic stripes. If you’ve ever traveled abroad, you might remember what chip-and-pin technology looks like; Europeans have been using this system since the 1990s. While not foolproof, these cards are a great improvement. President Obama signed an executive order last week requiring that all government credit cards use chip-and-pin technology. Practically speaking, chip-and-pin cards won’t do much more to help consumers at point-of-sale — remember, you have limited liability. But starting Oct. 1, 2015, the liability will shift to whichever business has the oldest technology. If credit card companies don’t update their cards, they will be liable for any fraud; if retailers don’t offer chip-and-pin terminals, they’ll be on the hook. So everyone has an incentive to make payment systems more secure, which is ultimately in consumers’ best interest. 4) Retailers that got hacked are working harder to win back your trust. Guess which retailer is installing chip-and-pin technology in all of its stores and on all of its branded cards — Target! Guess which retailer offered free credit monitoring to all its customers — Target! Guess which retailer just started offering free shipping — Target! Given that there have been 606 data breaches already this year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, you can probably expect more to come. But the retailers that have already been hacked are beefing up security and offering free identity theft protection services to consumers, so you’re probably safer there than everywhere else.

Glory be to God on High

It would have to be something I needed REALLY BAD... if it's out there - somebody has a deal on it - even if it's a promotional gift card... can't remember the last time I paid full price for ANYTHING - other than food.

Here is a neat idea and you can print out the pages to make the book right from their site Naughty vs. Nice Activity Book http://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2012/03/prep-and-landing-activity-book-printables-photo-260x260-fs_mg_1741.jpg

Yule returns, come, Christian people

Slowly fall the snowflakes

Early Christmas

Peaceful the Wondrous Night

Happy bells are ringing

Tis Christmas Day

Sleep, baby, sleep

WOW! Interesting article and looks like Target is competing HARD for Holiday shoppers! The news definitely perked me up to look more closely at a site I normally don't shop much on! Hope to see more stores following these steps!

10/22/14 - back again today.

Years ago, my kids, my mom and I decided to "Do Walmart" for Black Friday... it was laid out so strangely... They had huge pallets of "doorbusters" scattered throughout the store wrapped in brown paper with employees guarding them until the "official start". I took my then very young son with me to stand in line for a big screen TV and my mom and teenage daughter were planted in front of the pallet filled with DVD players. I had been in the slow moving line for quite some time when my daughter came rushing over screaming that I had to come quick, my mom had been hit with a flying DVD player and was on the floor! I had to leave her with my son in my place in line (didn't want to miss out on my TV!) while I went rushing to the other end of the store to help my mom. By the time I got there she was back on her feet with a nice bruise on her head, mad as can be that she didn't get a DVD player! Seems as though the employees tossed them off the pallet at "go time" and one of them had a pretty good throwing arm! One person that had witnessed what happened came over and handed her one of their DVD players, as they had gotten more than 1... I thought that was really sweet. It was a Black Friday that I will never forget...

Exultation

It is scary - but cash can be dangerous as well - if crooks see you paying with cash and know that you are carrying a good bit with you - they could easily mug you in the parking lot. Since I do most of my shopping online, I either use the PayPal option (if available) or I have ONE credit card dedicated to online purchases so that if the number does somehow get hacked - I can shut it down and know which charges were mine and which to put holds on. As a word of caution - NEVER use your ATM card or credit card linked to your bank account in stores or online - as if that number gets hacked you could have your bank account cleared out and good luck with fighting with banks!

Yay! Our 2nd ad! Keep them coming.

Back again 10/21/14. There is a Woot-Off Going on Today on the following sites http://d3rqdbvvokrlbl.cloudfront.net/images/woot-off-lights.1.gif ( New deals all day as soon as one sells out - another comes on,... LOTS of Fun!) Woot.com Home.woot.com Tools.woot.com Accessories.woot.com Kids.woot.com wine.woot.com sellout.woot.com

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman

It used to be my mom, my girls and myself, but now I do my shopping online and let THEM fight the crowds.