I've been some what preoccupied recently with school and other situations occurring in my household. I had a few big assignments due for class that consumed most of my free time, and that meant having to put other parts of my life aside, including my blog. I have also been without work now for a couple of months, which has been cause for worry in my household since half of the income is no longer coming in. With the upcoming holidays, lack of income has dampened our holiday plans. Needless to say, I have had to figure out ways to cut costs, yet not cut out the fun and happiness of the holidays.
One way that I saved a lot of money this year is on holiday decorations. Last year I took advantage of the after holiday sales and purchased decorating items at up to 90% off. The only Halloween items we purchased this year were costumes for both of our children. I also stored Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations purchased after the holidays. I purchased a 50 piece golden ornament set last year for $3 at Target, and also purchased golden ribbon from the 99 cents store at 25 cents per roll. I put that together with blue and clear lights and white snow flakes I have saved from previous years, and the tree looks beautiful. I also purchased a nativity set from Target at 50% off last year (in all it came out to be $30 compared to $60 regular price), and it is displayed beautifully along with our tree.
I also take advantage of baking items that go on sale after a holiday has passed. I purchased cake mixes meant for Halloween at 50 cents per box and 75 cents per frosting. I can then use them for Thanksgiving, Christmas or birthdays, (there are three of them in my household during December), and just change the color of the frosting or decorations. In total, I have saved about $50-100, which is what I figured I would have spent in decorations and baking items.
Another small change I have made is to stop using paper towels to clean and instead switched to cloth towels. A package of 10 paper towel rolls would last me about one month and cost about $13. I purchase a package of small napkins from the 99 cents store and use those for meals and small messes, but resort to cloth towels for big messes and general daily cleaning. So far I have saved about $24 dollars in the past 2 months, and if kept up for the next year I will end up saving $144.
Now in regards to Christmas presents, we usually enjoy getting presents for friends and family, but will only be getting presents for our children this year. I just had to take advantage of the Black Friday Deals at Toys R Us. I got a Dream Town Sweet Lily Castle for my daughter that retails for $99.98 at 70%. We also got her a new baby toy since the old baby has gotten very dirty. Toys R US also gave away a free Crayola 64ct box of crayons, so that was a plus stocking stuffer for the kids. I will be getting them coloring books to go along with that. My son loves Thomas the Tank Engine, and although not advertised, K-Mart had the motorized trains priced at $10.99, which usually cost $14.99. Although not a huge savings, it's a small savings nonetheless and we purchased only one train since he already has other trains and tracks. The missing piece to complete my son's Thomas collection is a train table. We bought him a used train table at $70 (original price $150), and will be repainting it. With the table being the most expensive piece, we ended up spending about $150. Although still high, it is nothing compared to what we have spent in the past (one year we spent about $700).
These are small steps I have decided to take to survive our current situation. I've figured that I don't have control over certain factors, such as the recession and job availability in the Education field (which is the field I would like to work in); but I do have control over the way I respond to my current situations. Stay tuned as I continue to figure out ways to save.
One way that I saved a lot of money this year is on holiday decorations. Last year I took advantage of the after holiday sales and purchased decorating items at up to 90% off. The only Halloween items we purchased this year were costumes for both of our children. I also stored Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations purchased after the holidays. I purchased a 50 piece golden ornament set last year for $3 at Target, and also purchased golden ribbon from the 99 cents store at 25 cents per roll. I put that together with blue and clear lights and white snow flakes I have saved from previous years, and the tree looks beautiful. I also purchased a nativity set from Target at 50% off last year (in all it came out to be $30 compared to $60 regular price), and it is displayed beautifully along with our tree.
I also take advantage of baking items that go on sale after a holiday has passed. I purchased cake mixes meant for Halloween at 50 cents per box and 75 cents per frosting. I can then use them for Thanksgiving, Christmas or birthdays, (there are three of them in my household during December), and just change the color of the frosting or decorations. In total, I have saved about $50-100, which is what I figured I would have spent in decorations and baking items.
Another small change I have made is to stop using paper towels to clean and instead switched to cloth towels. A package of 10 paper towel rolls would last me about one month and cost about $13. I purchase a package of small napkins from the 99 cents store and use those for meals and small messes, but resort to cloth towels for big messes and general daily cleaning. So far I have saved about $24 dollars in the past 2 months, and if kept up for the next year I will end up saving $144.
Now in regards to Christmas presents, we usually enjoy getting presents for friends and family, but will only be getting presents for our children this year. I just had to take advantage of the Black Friday Deals at Toys R Us. I got a Dream Town Sweet Lily Castle for my daughter that retails for $99.98 at 70%. We also got her a new baby toy since the old baby has gotten very dirty. Toys R US also gave away a free Crayola 64ct box of crayons, so that was a plus stocking stuffer for the kids. I will be getting them coloring books to go along with that. My son loves Thomas the Tank Engine, and although not advertised, K-Mart had the motorized trains priced at $10.99, which usually cost $14.99. Although not a huge savings, it's a small savings nonetheless and we purchased only one train since he already has other trains and tracks. The missing piece to complete my son's Thomas collection is a train table. We bought him a used train table at $70 (original price $150), and will be repainting it. With the table being the most expensive piece, we ended up spending about $150. Although still high, it is nothing compared to what we have spent in the past (one year we spent about $700).
These are small steps I have decided to take to survive our current situation. I've figured that I don't have control over certain factors, such as the recession and job availability in the Education field (which is the field I would like to work in); but I do have control over the way I respond to my current situations. Stay tuned as I continue to figure out ways to save.
