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Home > First Bit of Christmas Shopping... All Deals!

First Bit of Christmas Shopping... All Deals!

November 21st, 2009 at 01:47 am

Yesterday, DH didn't spend money on lunch again (his boss bought lunch for the second day in row... weird but good!). I have been eating at home all week since I've been on vacation from work, so we decided we'd order out for pizza and take it out of the "entertainment" part of the budget.

Ordered the BEST pizza in town and used a $1 off coupon. DH went to pick it up instead of getting it delivered and paying a tip (they are just a short drive from us). It was delicious, but I won't be craving it again for a while!

Today, I met the gas company so they could finally turn our gas on, and it didn't cost anything! I had budged $50 for a deposit or set up fee, so it was a nice surprise when we didn't have to pay it. BUT (isn't there always a "but"?)... we also got in the mail a bill for $33 where they tried to come another time and we weren't home. DH swears they never told him there would be a fee if we couldn't make the appointment, especially since they gave us a range of when they'd be stopping by anyway ("sometime between 8 and 12"). Either way, that just about offsets what I had budgeted for the deposit. I thought about calling to see if we could get out of the fee, but I figure they won't budge. And we only have one choice for gas, so...

Even with the fee, that still leaves $15 extra. I may just transfer that $15 to our Emergency Fund.

Anyway, after the gas guy left I headed to my appointment with our insurance agent. It was nice to see her, since she used to be my boss and we've always gotten along. Even better, the meeting was quick and she didn't try to push more life insurance or anything. Good thing I went in too, both mine & DH's life insurance policies had the wrong beneficiaries (our parents). And, I was able to take off a coverage that only one of us had to have on our cars, instead of both. Upped my liability limits to match his, and also took out a small policy on our wedding bands & my engagement ring. With my track record with jewelery, we need it. It was only $35 for the whole year, so I went ahead and paid it all today.

After that, I ran to work for a few minutes to pick something up that I had ordered. Ended up chatting with the boss man for a few minutes, getting a feel for how things had gone while I was out. It certainly looked much better than the first time I left for a week, but there were still some things I knew he didn't notice. He's more of a big-picture kinda guy I guess, I'm more of the detail type. I left feeling a little better about the whole thing, especially since I still had 3 days before I have to be back! I'll just be ready to hit it hard then.

Left there and got some lunch out ($5), first bit of money I've spent on eating out all week! Much better than my normal average, lol.

Decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping (since we haven't even started) while I was out. Went to the mall and was determined to find deals!

The loot:

CUTE black stripe toboggan from Baby Gap (for my littlest brother):
regular $14.50, on sale for $2.24

Long-sleeved girly shirt from Baby Gap (for DH's niece):
regular $12.50, on sale for $4.48

5 mini hand sanitizers from Bath & Body Works (for the girls at work):
regular $1.50 each, on sale for $1.00 each

Nice polo shirt from American Eagle (for another of my brothers):
regular $29.50, on sale for $10.46

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We still have shopping left to do for all of the above people, but what I got will knock out alot of the "thinking" part. I know my older "little" brothers would prefer just a gift card or money, but I always want to get them something to "open" too. So that's where the AE shirt comes in... now we'll just get him a gift card for gas or Walmart or something. Kind of the same situation for my littlest brother & DH's niece, I always try to get them some clothing but toys too. Now that we have the niece's shirt, we can get the rest in toys.

For the girls at my work, I'll probably just put some candy w/ some chapstick & the mini hand sanitizers. Keep it cheap!

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DH ran to the grocery down the street to pick up some sugar & Diet Cokes. He did good by not getting anything "extra" while he was there. We also remembered to take back our Redbox movie last night, so no late fee!

DH ate lunch out today, but he is budgeted about 3 times per week, so that is good.

Welp, busy day tomorrow, better go spend some time with the husband while I can! Smile

3 Responses to “First Bit of Christmas Shopping... All Deals!”

  1. firstthingsfirst Says:
    1258771436

    Forgot to mention that I bought all today's Christmas gifts with a Visa giftcard that we got as a wedding gift... so no cash expenditure! Smile

  2. fern Says:
    1258810647

    I don't often eat at Bertucci's, but that's where I had the best pizza ever, a "large with roasted garlic and carmelized onion." It was expensive, close to $20 as i recall, and this was years ago. but it was sooooo good.

  3. Jerry Says:
    1259367399

    It is really a good idea to visit the insurance agent from time to time (especially the non-pushy ones!), since it can lead to discovering errors like the ones you found. Glad that you were able to catch that!
    Jerry

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