len_mullen

I think a mistake that people make is saving for specific things. When I was young, I used to 'pay myself first'. If there was money left at the end of the month, I rewarded myself for being frugal. When i got a little older, I started 'direct depositing' my paycheck and using a credit card to buy things. I found that the balance on the account was its own reward and started accumulating savings faster. In fact, I believe this encouraged me to spend money more carefully. As a bonus, my 'best practice' of splitting raises and bonuses with my savings account went away. I became very familiar with my expenses and cost of living which helped a lot in determining what we could afford to pay for a home and whether my wife could be a stay at home mom. Similarly, budgeting for the holiday season starts with a list of people. Then I assign a budget for each gift, select gifts, then shop. If I get a gift at a discount, that money remains in savings. I do, however, buy stuff at the end of the season -- purchases of opportunity -- if the item is sufficiently desired and discounted...especially for my oldest whose birthday in in February. Happy shopping!

Sounded better when BFgrl79 said it

I always divide my shopping into three parts... Must haves Would like OpportunitiesI have a list of 'must haves' which includes best historical prices, stores, price protection, and return window. For most things the return window is extended from a certain date until after Christmas. With televisions purchased at Walmart, that window opens in August. With Best Buy, you can make the purchase and schedule delivery in the future (after or near to BF) to protect yourself from price changes. A lot of credit cards offer price protection as well. Would like stuff, I just watch for my price. When it hits that, I buy. In the weeks leading up to BF and the weeks leading up to Christmas, lots of bargains become available and I grab things that appeal. My first HD TV was a 55" Samsung plasma. I bought it in September and scheduled delivery for mid November so I could watch the BF prices. We bought 32" LEDs for the kids rooms a couple years later and got two price adjustments from Best Buy before Christmas. My 65" 1080p LG plasma and this 55" TCL HDR were purchases of opportunity from Walmart. In fact, I was camping with the Boy Scouts when I got an alert on the 65" set two days before the Superbowl. I purchased it with no research knowing I could cancel the order by simply not picking it up. (We love it!) I call this situational shopping and find it very effective.

96 days until Black Friday! I would like to unofficially declare Black Friday season open! Don't worry, I'm not going to post a countdown each day. I just wanted to point out that you can now safely start buying televisions at Walmart and price match, return/rebuy, or simply return with knowledge of BF ads as Walmart has a 90 return policy on televisions. Walmart ads usually come out around 11/10 -- 82 days from now. Same for Best Buy. TVs bought now can be returned if something better comes along. (I have never returned a television bought this way, but I have enjoyed a couple price adjustments.) The 55" TCL 55S401 HDR TV might be a great 'for now' set. It's not on sale, but I think it is a bargain. Rumor has it the price is about to be reduced. If it happens within a next week of purchase, Walmart will refund the difference. If it happens within 90 days, Discover Card (and many others) has your back. The TV is $396 and gets good reviews... http://televisions.reviewed.com/features/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-high-dynamic-range-in-2017 I have been looking for an inexpensive television to hang on a wall in my pool room that is not convenient to coax or ethernet. With its AC wireless, this set should be able to stream from a Tablo DVR or a HDHomerun EXTEND. Plug in a 16g USB drive for 90 minutes of OTA recording. Watched a football game on it last night and thought it looked great. Also, tickled to discover that plugging in a 16g usb stick gets you a 90 minute pause/rewind feature. Happy shopping.

Until Prime Day, I had only purchased four things on Amazon in 2017. Alexa coaxed me back into the fold with $20 off Prime, then $10 off my first voice order, then $10 off my first refill. All in all, I placed six orders on Prime Day. Nothing exciting -- TP, socks, iPhone cables, etc.

This year, I am looking for a washer and dryer. Hoping Sears unloads before closing. Would not mind an LED for the pool room. Maybe 65-75", 4k, cheap.

A couple years back, I bought a couple 40" televisions from BB.com. Both had stuck pixels and I called for a replacement. Best Buy sent two new sets and instructed me to return the sets to my local store. Local store would recycle but could not return the sets because they did not sell the model. They would not give me a receipt. The woman told me to just keep the televisions. So, I contacted BB.com again and they sent an RMA for one set. Then they sent me an RMA. Finally, by mid January, I was able to return the two defective sets. Then they credited me for one of the sets. I decided I had earned the $220 and kept it.

I got a package from an amazon seller which was nearly destroyed in transit. Not sure how the inner box survived unscathed, but glad it did. Amazon just sent me tracking information for the item saying I can expect it next week. Best Buy is only holding things for two days, so I have spent too much time visiting their stores. They have no way to give you product off the shelf while your ship to store is in progress. Given their inventory woes a couple years back, I get this, but it is a PITA.

PM me a link to your tvfool.com report and I'll have a look for you.

500g is not enough for collectors, but it is plenty for time shifters. If you want to collect, you can increase the disk (requires opening the box and voids the warranty) or use some kind of utility... https://sourceforge.net/p/kmttg/wiki/Home/ The Channel Master DVR+ uses external USB storage, so it's a great single set option for collectors. Good luck!

First, a LOT of the best deals were available online. If you were not going to get the door busters, then you might as well shop online. Second, Visa Checkout. $25 off $100 is pretty good, right? Third, we all have enough televisions. Fourth, no one can fit their 60" televisions in their Volts. In a few years, when you are all driving volts, I will clean up! http://images.usedcarsgroup.com/2016-ford-f_150-exeter-nh-i2638034121037046596-3.jpg

I haven't taken delivery yet, but this is the truck... http://images.usedcarsgroup.com/2016-ford-f_150-exeter-nh-i2638034121037046596-3.jpg

Thanks to Brad and the crew for giving us a place to discuss the season. I hope that posters will return this week and next weekend to share Cyber Monday experiences. Please follow up with discussion of the countdown to Christmas and the post season sales. We should be getting great deals right into the new year. Merry Christmas!

Ooma Telo and Amazon Dot from BB.com with Visa Checkout!

You're holding out on us! How do they work?

4th Gen Apple TV at Best Buy with Visa Checkout for $102.49. This has been a very pleasant BF. I got a lot of shopping done -- some online and some in store. Great deals.

Amazon Echo at Best Buy with Visa Checkout for $114.99 ;-)

Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership New Sealed $37.99 on ebay. (still have not put on pants, so, yeah, there is a crowd)

Best Buy: Battlefield 1 Xbox One $29.99 shipped free Only game my youngest wants this year!

Just ran over Kohls. Great that the promos did not require their card. Also nice to see ebates giving 10%. HoMedics Comfort Touch Shiatsu Massage Women's SONOMA Goods for Life™ Knit Boot SlippersDearfoams Men's Microsuede Berber Fleece Clog Slippers In all cases, I was shopping for product not price, but was happy to reel in the discounts.

Went to Staples.com . Added the Keurig (Item #853653) to my cart. Added Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Blend Keurig KCup pods 72 ct (Item #2488663) to my cart. Redeemed 30% off any one regular-priced cleaning and break room item coupon online. Used Visa Checkout. The brewer is on sale for $79.99. The coupon reduces the VERY GOOD k-cups to $24.49 bringing total to $104.48 which enables $25 off 100 Visa Checkout bringing cost down to $79.48. Minus the $15 easy rebate nets to $64.48. If you figure the k-cups as being $0.30 each, that comes to $21.60 which makes the coffee maker a bargain at $41.88. Used Staples Gift Cards from Discover to pay to knock off another $15 and for a $25.88 commercial quality single serve coffee brewer shipped to my home for free. Happy shopping! http://www.staples.com/coupons http://weeklyad.staples.com/StaplesSD/WeeklyAd?storeid=2279030#!...(bottom of page 2) http://www.staples.com/Green-Mountain-Coffee-Nantucket-Blend-Keu...

do you have a budget?

Just want to thank the wonderful ford employees of dearborn michigan for my awesome new toy. best BF deal ever.

I'll be sitting RIGHT HERE waiting for your review

And you have not tried it yet? Sneak off to a bedroom, take this thing for a ride, and come tell us all about it.