Christmas is Shaping Up Nicely!

Christmas is right around the corner and in case you are wondering, we still do not have any money coming in.  Yes, there has been the odd $60 here and $28 there for a few mystery shopping jobs, but no REAL money.  Thankfully, we still have our savings to live on, but one can never be too frugal when the next pay day is unknown! Forget that, one can never be too frugal, PERIOD!



I have been hard at work trying to come up with ways to make sure the kids have enough presents under the tree.  Most of our family lives in the UK and they are awesome about sending money every year for birthdays and Christmas.  My kids put their money in their piggy banks and whenever the words "I want" come out of their mouths, I say, "If you want to buy it with your own money, you can have it."  This has been a great lesson for both of them.  It makes them think really hard about whether they really want it or not, and it has been teaching them the value of money.  My point is, this doesn't put presents under the tree and I don't want to change that.  They like having their own money and I'm not going to take that away from them.

Back to the presents under the tree.......although I don't feel it necessary to go crazy, I still want the kids to have enough presents to open, to cause a little chaos on Christmas morning.  I have been diligent about trying to find great presents and get great deals.  Here is my progress so far........

Several weeks ago, I got an e-mail from the Disney Store stating that they were having a sale on Cars 2 items.  Well, Connor is Cars 2 crazy!!!!!  I went straight to ebates.com and used their link for the Disney Store.  I'm not going to tell you all about ebates now, but if you don't already know then YOU MUST click the link and find out about it!  I got 2 different coupon codes from ebates which I used while I was there.  One of them saved me 25% and the other gave me free personalization on one item and free shipping on my entire order.  I ordered a total of 5 items with a retail value of $93.50.  I paid $44.04 including tax and shipping.  I also received a rebate of $2.01 in my ebates account.

Here's is what I got for $44.04:

• 2 Pairs of Pajamas
• Save the Queen Die Cast Cars Set (4 Cars)
• Sarge Die Cast Car
• Personalized Cars 2 Plush Throw Blanket

Two weeks ago, I received the Target Christmas Wish Book (I think that's what they call it) and Madison flipped through it.  She wrote her list for Santa and slipped it inside the book for safekeeping.  Madison is Barbie crazy; she has a large doll house and she plays with her Barbies frequently.  She is dying for the Barbie Estate Jet.  Barbie stuff is soooooo expensive!  The price for this jet is $59.99.  Luckily, there was a $5 off coupon in the Wish Book which I could use online.  I went straight to ebates, once again, and got free shipping for my order.  I used my $5 off coupon and got the Barbie Estate Jet for $59.83 including tax and shipping.  Not as good of a deal as my previous transaction but it's pretty hard to get Barbie stuff on the cheap!  I still received a rebate of $1.65 in my ebates account.

I have been picking up a few little items here and there to put under the tree and put in there stockings, then last week I received a $10 off Kohl's card.  I get them in the mail ALL THE TIME!  If you remember, I used one to buy Madison a swimsuit for $2 (read the comments in the link for the full scoop).  Anyway, you can use these cards to buy anything as long as it is $10 or more.  Madison likes jewelry and anytime she sees jewelry that sparkles, she asks me with excitement, "Is it a REAL diamond?"  I am teaching her to be frugal and not materialistic, but come on, what girl doesn't want diamonds?

I went to Kohl's during their 2 - Day Super Duper Sale and they really did have some screamin' deals!  I will make you wait no longer...........this is what I got for Madison for $5.43 including tax.........

That's right folks, 18KT gold over sterling silver, genuine amethyst with diamond accent; full retail value $60.  She is going to be THRILLED! Christmas is shaping up nicely!