With Christmas fast approaching at the end of this week, I hope that your shopping and bustling around has subsided, and that you can enjoy the holiday. So often we are so intent on having the perfect gift, the perfect holiday, that we ruin the day for ourselves. We want to be careful to truly value the day, what it means, and our time with our families.
The day AFTER Christmas, you can plan for shopping and deal hunting. One of my favorite things is to head to big box stores the day after Christmas and pick up Christmas decorations. This year we had some lights that are pretty obsolete and burned out, so I will be looking at the after Christmas sales to replace those. I will also be looking for special deals on yard decorations. I am one of those people who can never have enough stuff to light up the yard.
Since Christmas comes on a Friday this year, there is a weekend of what hopefully will be down time. Use this time to organize your coupons and get ready for savings in the New Year. There will only be one P&G Brandsaver insert in the newspapers this Sunday, and many coupons will expire at the end of the month. Use this time to weed out the ones that will expire, and see if you really will use them for shopping this week.
I never actually throw away the coupons that are about to expire until the date has passed. I put them in a separate pouch in my coupon notebook that I carry to the store, and have them with me for my shopping. That way, when the date passes, I can just throw them all away.
Enjoy your holiday time, and the special times with family and friends.
http://frugal.families.com/blog/is-christmas-perfection-costing-you-money
http://frugal.families.com/blog/frugal-ideas-for-unwanted-gifts-1