Once you have your list written, step back and evaluate it. Do you need to be buying for everyone on that list? Can you afford to buy something for everyone on the list? If not, do you have time to make something for them?
Pare down your list, if need be, based upon the answers to these questions. This is not because you are not generous or cold-hearted, but because sometimes you just have to face the reality that you can’t do it all.
Streamlining and simplifying your gift list so that you have breathing room and aren’t exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed all December could be one of the best gifts you could give those closest to you — the gift of your presence!
2. Make a list of everyone you’ll be buying gifts for this Christmas. Evaluate each recipient to make sure they are someone that should be on your list.
3. Come back at around 9 p.m. EST tonight and I’ll have a follow-up post sharing about our Christmas gift list and encouraging you to share about yours, too!
Please note that the price of these ebooks is currently $0.00, but that could change at any time. Be sure to verify before checking out that it is still free.
These ebooks are specifically for Kindles, but you can go here to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.
I recently came across Listia, an online auction site that uses points instead of money.
Listia works very much like Ebay, but you bid on auctions with points instead of money. You can earn points by posting things that you want to give away, and spend those points on things other people are giving away. Some auctions include free shipping or free local pick-up, while others charge for shipping.
As a buyer, Listia is very cool. I earned 600 points in the first half-hour just by signing up, watching a tutorial video, and listing an item for sale. There are many other offers you can do to get more points — like signing up for (and then immediately canceling) the free trial for Lumosity, or signing up for Spotify, which I've been meaning to do anyway.
If you are a parent or teacher, there are lots of items with free shipping that you can win for around 100 points, such as stickers and other small rewards.
Buy 1 Jumping Beans Bath Towel — on sale for $9.99 Use coupon code CYBERWEEK at checkout to get 20% off Shipping is free on any order (no minimum) Pay $7.98 total after the sale and coupon code
Note: You can also use coupon code CYBERSAVE or CYBERSAVE to get 20% off any purchase from Kohls.com. And shipping is free on every order, no minimum.
::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.
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.
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:
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.
Cents of Style is offering a fantastic deal to Money Saving Mom® readers on their Sweater Infinity Scarf. You can get one now for only $11.95 shipped when you use the coupon code SWEATER.
You can also pick up the pictured earrings for only $2.99 with your purchase of the Sweater Infinity Scarf. That’s $40 worth of products for only $14.94!
This sale is valid now through December 8, 2013.
Don’t forget, use the coupon code SWEATER at checkout.
Order a one-year subscription to Runner’s World Magazine for only $5.99 when you use coupon code MONEYSAVING at checkout. You can order up to 4 years at this price.
About Runner’s World Magazine: Runner’s World is filled with powerful information that will help you run faster and farther and have more fun doing it! Every issue brings you the strategies, tips and advice to fuel your performance, prevent injuries, burn fat, shed stress, and achieve your personal goals.
This offer expires tonight 12/04/13 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!
Today’s project was to read Chapter 1 of Celebrating & Savoring a Simple Christmas (Did you sign up for your free copy yet? If not, click here and fill out the form to be emailed a copy.) and to determine your Christmas budget.
Our Christmas Budget
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.
This year, I’ve saved up around $250 in our gift envelope plus Amazon credit that I’ll be using for gifts. We’re scaling back on Christmas presents this year and just drawing names for our extended family members, so this should make it pretty easy to stick with our budget.
Jesse has a separate cash stash that he uses to buy gifts for me and our kids for Christmas (most of it is from his blow money!), so I only buy a few things for the kids. I found a couple of deals on Black Friday that I snatched up, so other than stockings, I’m done with their shopping!
Did you figure out your Christmas budget? Share it with us in the comments. And if you’re blogging about this challenge, I’d love it if you left a link to your blog post, too. Let’s encourage each other to simplify and savor this season more.
Lauren (laurenwendler@) Trish (trishhbp@) Andrea (coupondivaandi@) Hannah (Hannahbanana135@) Janina (janinazawadzki@) Sadie (sadiebrie@) LL (lauranlee2000@) Laura (caramelmaker@) Annie (anniebute@) Shana (walker.shana@)
Each winner should have received an email with further instructions on claiming your prize.
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Are you giving something away on your blog this week? If so, post your link below and let all the readers here know so they can get in on the action! Your giveaway must be family-friendly and no-strings-attached. In addition, to make it easy to navigate, your link must go directly to your giveaway post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your giveaway post will be deleted. Links left solely for the purpose of promoting an affiliate link will also be deleted.
You can combine this deal with the free coffee rewards program that rewards you with a free bag of coffee every time you purchase six bags of coffee.
So, if you purchase six bags of coffee tomorrow (you'll only pay for three of them, prices start at $5.99), you can pay as low as $17.97 for 7 total bags of coffee!
Read more details on how this works over on My Frugal Adventures. Note: There is a limit of four free bags per customer.
to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.
Are you giving something away on your blog this week? If so, post your link below and let all the readers here know so they can get in on the action! Your giveaway must be family-friendly and no-strings-attached. In addition, to make it easy to navigate, your link must go directly to your giveaway post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your giveaway post will be deleted. Links left solely for the purpose of promoting an affiliate link will also be deleted.
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