Everyone around my boys seemed to have a Kindle Fire — or their own electronic gadget. And every time they were around any of these people my boys would tell me how they wanted their own.
Finally, over the summer, my husband and I sat them down and had a talk with them. We told them they could have their own Kindles but that they would have to pay for the Kindles themselves.
We wanted them to know and understand that we aren't just going to buy them something because they really want it. We also felt that they would take better care of them if they had to save up the money and pay.
After two months of hard work, here's how they saved the money for their Kindles:
1. My oldest son saved birthday money — Granted, this made a huge dent in how much money HE had to save but he still had to give up receiving toys from family.
2. We sold the family iPod — Selling the iPod also made a big dent. My husband and I got the iPhone 4's last year for $1 each when the iPhone 5 came out. The iPod pretty much became non-existent then so there was no point in hanging on to it.
3. We purged their closets and bookshelves — The boys went through their closets and found items that they did not like anymore and haven't used in a long time. We listed the items on Craigslist and sold them $5-$15 each. We were able to do the same with books that they outgrew; selling them on Amazon $5-$15 each.
4. We waited for the better version to be on sale — When they began working towards their Kindles I decided to start researching them. The 8GB was $159 and the 16GB was $199. I knew to be able to put more apps and books on the Kindle, we would need the one with bigger memory. While they were saving, the 16GB went on sale for $159; however, they weren't ready to buy yet. They finished saving the money and we had to wait for them to go on sale again. My older son asked why, and I explained to him that he would have to save $40 more if we didn't wait. So, he got a little lesson in sales, too!
The excitement and pride on their faces the day the Kindles arrived was priceless! They were so excited to tell their friends (they even shared how they had to sell things to pay for them)!
Stephanie is a mostly-stay-at-home-mom to two boys and wife to her best friend! She blogs about her debt-fighting journey at Mrs. Debtfighter.
::Be sure to opt out of all the upsell offers so that you don't incur extra charges.
::Go to check out and you should pay only $5 for shipping!
And there you have it! This is perfect for Christmas cards — or even to give as a gift! Don’t need address labels? These can also make great gift labels and more.
Please do note that VistaPrint is notorious for sending you lots of email after you order from them so I'd recommend either unsubscribing from their emails as soon as you start getting them or giving them an email address which is not your primary address.
There are a lot of sites that explain Target’s markdown schedule, but I recently came across some info on Buzz Feed that said:
If the price of a marked down item at Target ends in 8, it will be marked down again. If it ends in a 4, it's the lowest it will be. (It’s #30 on this list.)
I’ve never see this information posted anywhere else so I’m wondering if it’s true or not? Have you ever seen this before? -Jay
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Current colors include black, navy blue, teal green, tan, red, cobalt blue, dark teal, dark red, eggplant, and hot pink. Grab one for only $7.99 shipped when you use coupon code SCARFLOVE at checkout.
You can purchase one for just $7.95 with free shipping when you use coupon code SCARFLOVE at checkout. This sale offer is good through November 16, 2013.
Right now, you can get a subscription to Country Living Magazine for only $5.99 per year (12 issues) when you use coupon code MONEYSAVING at checkout. You can order up to three years at this price!
Country Living Magazine: Country Living Magazine is edited for readers who appreciate the traditions of the country, wherever they may live. Each issue of Country Living Magazine brings a country approach to a wide range of topics, from decorating, building, and restoring old homes to cooking, entertaining, gardening, travel and more.
This offer expires Thursday night t 11/14/13 11:59 PM EST.
Are you looking for other magazine titles? You can use coupon code MONEYSAVING to save 20% off of most titles at DiscountMags!
Kohl’s will be offering $15 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 you spend, these prices below do not factor in the Kohl’s Cash so the deals are even better when you add in the Kohl’s Cash you’ll earn!
7 Qt. Crock Pot Cooker-$19.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Keurig B40 Elite Brewer-$99.99
4 qt. Crock Pot Slow Cooker-$7.99 After $12 Mail In Rebate
KitchenAid Classic Plus-$199.99 After $30 Mail In Rebate
Cuisinart 7 Cup Food Processor-$59.99 After $20 Mail In Rebate
Apt. 9 Tights-$5.99
Texting Gloves-$2.99
Pashmina Scarves-$8.99
Tek Gear Fleece Tops or Pants for Women-$7.99
Croft and Barrow Women’s Long Sleeved Shirts-$5.99
Jumping Beans Tops and Bottoms for Toddlers-$4.99
Men’s Croft and Barrow Dress Shirts-$9.99
100 pc. Simple Pleasure Eyeshadow Pallette-$12.49
Chi Air Straightener-$79.99
Sonicare Essence Power Toothbrush-$29.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Polaroid 8″ Android Tablet-$79.99 After $40 Mail In Rebate
HP Deskjet 3510 e All In One-$39.99
Vivitar 12.1 MP Camcorder-$49.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Polaroid 14 MP Camcorder-$49.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Black and Decker Toast R Oven or Skillet-$14.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Fleece Throw-$3.99
Dyson DC44 or DC40 Vaccums-$299.99 Earn $75 Kohl’s Cash
Shark Plus Steam Pocket Mop-$49.99
Black and Decker Iron, Rice Cooker, Can Opener, Waffle Maker, Coffee Maker, Quesadilla Maker, Blender, Toaster-$9.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Oster 8 Speed Blender-$29.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Bella Single Cup Coffeemaker and Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Popper-$12.99
KitchenAid Artisan Mixer-$299.99 After $50 Mail In Rebate
KitchenAid Pro 600-$399.99 After $50 Mail In Rebate
Pyrex 12 pc. Bowl Set-$14.99 After $10 Mail In Rebate
Prodigy 4 pc. Luggage Spinner Set-$49.99
Nerf Vortex Praxis Blaster-$9.99
LeapFrog LeapPad 2-$64.99
Step 2 Fresh Harvest Kitchen-$59.99
Sofia the First 10″ Doll-$16.99
Discovery Kids Firefly Nightlight, Marine Lamp, or Projection Clock-$12.99
Here are some of this week’s best grocery & household deals from Amazon.com, courtesy of Terry and Mandi from Jungle Deals & Steals. Many of these prices are higher than what you'd pay by combining coupons with sales, but they may be good deals for you if you live where there aren't many stores or deals are scarce:
Angel Soft: 75-count boxes of Angel Soft Facial Tissues are on sale for as low as $0.76 each ($3.03 for the 4 pack).
Nutiva: There’s a lower price available on Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Pay as low as $17.78 for the 54-ounce container ($35.56 for the pack of 2).
Hershey’s: Hershey’s Nuggets Assortment are available at the lowest price to-date. Get the 38.5-ounce bag for as low as $7.63.
Terry & Mandi are a busy mother-daughter team that look for ways to save money without sacrificing a lot of time, and they share their love for all things Amazon.com at Jungle Deals & Steals.
If you want to go ahead and order, this is the best deal I’ve found so far. I’ll keep looking and you can be sure I’ll let you know as soon as I find any other holiday photo card deals worth mentioning!
Here are the best deals at Walmart right now with thanks to Heather from Passion for Savings for her help in compiling them. The prices below are based on Northwest Arkansas region. Please keep in mind that Walmart deals vary by region so the prices listed here will not be valid at all stores.
Kikkoman Seasoning Packets – $0.78 Use $0.75/1 printable $0.03 after coupon
Kikkoman Soy Sauce – $1.52 Use $0.75/1 printable Or use $0.55/1 coupon from the 11/10 SmartSource insert As low as $0.77 after coupon
Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauce – $1.98 Use $1/1 coupon from the 10/6 SmartSource insert And use $0.75/1 Ibotta Deposit As low as $0.23 after coupon and Ibotta
Blistex Lip Care – $0.98 Buy 2 and use $1/2 coupon from the 11/10 SmartSource insert $0.48 each after coupon
Angel Soft Facial Tissue – $1.37 Use $0.50/1 printable $0.87 after coupon
Campbell’s Skillet Sauce – $1.98 Use $0.75/1 coupon from the 10/6 SmartSource insert And use $0.75/1 Ibotta Deposit As low as $0.48 after coupon and Ibotta
Did you find a great deal at Walmart? Just post about it on your blog and leave your link below. To make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Walmart deals post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Walmart deals post will be deleted.
By being intentional and planning ahead, you can save a lot of money (and headache!) on Christmas. Follow these steps and you may save as much as $100 on Christmas this year, if not more:
1. Create a Budget
Yes, it's kind of a no-brainer, but you can't stick with your Christmas budget if you don't have a budget in the first place. Sit down this weekend, if at all possible and look at your current expenditures and your income and decide what is a realistic budget amount to set aside for Christmas.
2. Start Saving
The sooner you can start setting aside money for Christmas, the better. Even if all you can manage to squeeze out of your budget is $3 to $5 each paycheck, start setting that aside in a separate fund. Do not allow yourself to touch it for any reason, except to purchase Christmas gifts.
We typically start planning for Christmas spending halfway through the year. Since we use a cash envelope system, we just start socking away most of our gift cash for Christmas. In addition, we also save up our Swagbucks Amazon gift cards to use for Christmas presents. And I keep my eyes open for other ways to earn free gift cards or products that would be good for gifting.
By the time December rolls around, I usually have a nice stash of gift cash plus gift cards to use for gifts and this becomes our Christmas budget. By doing it this way, we don't have to dip into any of our regular savings or other money to pay for Christmas–we just have to plan ahead and then look for deals to stretch that money as far as possible.
Feeling strapped for cash this Christmas? Be sure to check out my 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas series for lots of ideas to help shore up your Christmas gift budget over the next few weeks.
3. Make a Plan
After you get your Christmas budget created and you've begun setting money aside, it's time to start planning your gift list! Again, if you can do this early, you'll have a huge advantage.
Why? Because when you see some amazing rock-bottom bargain deal that would be perfect for someone on your Christmas list, you can snatch it up then and there and cross that person off your list! Not only will you save a lot of money by starting your shopping early, but you'll also feel so much more organized and relaxed going into December!
If you're at all tempted to go over your written Christmas budget, I highly recommend that you have a cash-only Christmas. Take the money you've allotted for your Christmas budget out of the bank in cash and then only use that money to pay for your Christmas gifts. This will force you to carefully evaluate each purchase to make sure it is the best use of your money and it will guarantee you don't go over-budget.
Christmas should not be about impressing people with expensive gifts. If you're going to give someone a gift, do it to bless them. Meaningful gifts don't have to be extravagant and costly.
Consider giving experience gifts or handmade gifts as opposed to high-dollar items. Sometimes, the most remembered gifts are those that took time and thought, not money.
How do you save money on Christmas while still making it memorable?
A testimony from Stephanie at 
Did you find a great deal at Walmart? Just post about it on your blog and leave your link below. To make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Walmart deals post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Walmart deals post will be deleted.
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