this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

Did you know you can send a picture in the mail with a postcard stamp? Because you totally can.
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Christmas cards can become a rather large expense especially if you wait until the last minute. This year and last year, in an effort to cut costs a bit, I sent out postcards instead of the traditional card in an envelope. Last year, I printed something out on my computer at home, this year I just had 4x6 prints made up and will be sticking a stamp straight on the backs of those.

There are a couple of different ways to do this. You could just send the picture as is, or manipulate it a bit to make it more card-like. I used a photo-editing software called GIMP (a free-ware version of Photoshop) and popped my picture into a ready-made template that I found here. You could also make a sign with your greeting and have the people in your picture hold it. Voila! Photo of the family and a greeting card in one. Picnik is a free web-based photo editing software that is very user friendly and could help you manipulate your photo as well.

If you decide you still want to include a Christmas letter, put the print in the envelope, you still may a bit printing 4x6 prints versus larger traditional Christmas cards!

Sometimes I have a hard time giving something that the recipient truly wants as opposed to something I just think is cool.
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Shopping for my preschool-aged nieces has proved to be a bit difficult. Not because I have no idea how to shop for girls (I do only have boys, after all), but because I feel the need to create something cutesy and girly while I have the chance! In previous years, that's what I've done, but I feel like the girls are older now and would rather just have a fun new toy or book! Though it's something I totally know, I'm realizing all over again that it's important to give something the recipient will love even if it's not something that's fun to give.

Years ago, my dad gave my mom a gym bag for Christmas. I never once saw my mom use that bag, but my dad used it all the time! I don't know the back-story behind it, whether it was really bought for her and he just ended up liking it more, or if he intended it to be his all along, but I thought it was super funny. It's a story I always think about when I'm having trouble with a gift. Is this item just going to be another gym bag? Will I love giving it more the the recipient will love getting it?

I used to think I had a pretty good grip on when it was time to buy new clothes, now I'm not so sure.
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With the change in seasons comes a change in wardrobe. It's time to pull out the pants and sweaters and pack away everything else. It may also be time to buy new things too, and this year I'm struggling with knowing if I really do need new clothes or not.

Thanks to broken zippers and holes larger than I cared to patch up, my pants supply quickly dwindled to two. It was easy to figure out that that was not enough pairs of pants for me and that I needed more. I have a good number of long-sleeved tops, but frankly I'm tired of them. I feel like I've been wearing them for too many years in a row. I have many things that I would get rid of but then I would be left with just a small handful of shirts. If I really cleared out all the clothing items that I don't so much like anymore, I would need new things.  I guess I have a hard time getting rid of something perfectly useful simply because I don't like it anymore.

I always have such a hard time balancing between just buying something and holding out for a better deal. What about you?
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'Tis the season for deals that must not be missed. For doorbuster savings and prices that are the lowest of the season. I went to Walmart at midnight on Thanksgiving night because (a) I'd rather stay up late than get up early, (b) I'm clearly a sucker for $4 pajamas and (c) it's way fun to watch people go crazy for things they clearly can't live without. Though I didn't realize that last reason until I was really there.  Sometimes I wondered if people really knew what they were buying, or if they were just filling there cart with said item because there were a bunch of them on a rack and other people were grabbing them too.

Just the other day, I found something at Amazon, that I thought would make a fun stocking stuffer for my three-year-old, though I hesitated because, well, it probably wouldn't have actually fit into his stocking! Later, in the afternoon, I went back to purchase it. The price had gone up, so I decided it wasn't that great after all. These blink-and-you-miss them deals tend to drive me crazy because I can't help but wonder if something better is on the way, and obviously I can't make up my mind fast enough.

Our vacuum cleaner broke about a month ago. We've still been able to use it, it just isn't nearly as efficient as it was before it broke. Yesterday, I threw in the towel and decided it needed to be fixed or replaced ASAP.  We knew how much the needed part would be, but I sought out some alternatives. It was my husband who ended up heading to eBay and finding our exact vacuum cleaner. The auction ended that night and if we won it at a good enough price (even including shipping), it would be less than half of the price of the needed part. I just had to figure out how much we were willing to bid for it.



As I'm sure you all know, eBay can be crazy dangerous when it comes to getting you to spending more than you really want to.  I knew what I wanted to spend, but realized that if it ended up going for just a little bit more than that, I wouldn't be happy. I needed to figure out just how much we really could afford to spend (and, of course, make sure that amount wasn't more the price it would take to just take ours to a repair shop or purchase a new one).  Luckily, it's the end of the month and I knew just how much extra money there was in the budget. We also had a pretty good idea of how much it would cost to repair it. With a few minutes remaining on the auction, I entered in our maximum bid and we won! Now we'll have an extra on hand for the part that we need now and for anything else that should break in the future.

Remember the TV show Saved By The Bell? Remember Zack's cell phone? Though my current cell phone isn't that archaic, it's still very old and I'm looking forward to having a phone that doesn't require me to put the antenna up for the best reception.

My Zack Morris Phone (ZMP) was given to me by my sister-in-law when my original cell phone took a ride in the washing machine.  A year later and a half later I got my free upgrade phone, but a year after that I lost it and activated the ZMP so I wouldn't have to purchase a new phone.

I've always been pretty adamant that I my cell phone really only needs to be able to make and receive phone calls. But I'll admit that I changed my tune when I walked into the store and learned what phones worked with my plan and would cost me little or nothing out of pocket. A camera? Hey, that'd be nice! Ability to browse the web? Sounds fun! GPS navigation? Sure, why not? Suddenly, I feel like I need a whole lot more that just the ability to make phone calls.

And to think that four years ago I functioned just fine without any cell phone at all.

photo by DigitalAlan

This weekend, my family enjoyed a nice little end of summer getaway. On our first day there, we stopped at a produce stand to pick up some things. When the man gave me my total, I was a little surprised, but for some reason it seemed okay in my head and I didn't say anything. After we got in the car I figured out that we were probably overcharged by a few dollars. We could have perhaps gone back, but we didn't. Normally something like this would make me really upset and perhaps ruin my day, but I decided to just blow it off and enjoy my vacation. I didn't want it to be remembered as 'the trip where I got really mad at the produce stand guy'.

Instead it will be remembered as 'the trip where I got really mad that I forgot my son's shoes and we had to go buy some' because the same nonchalant attitude from the produce stand did not carry over to the next day.

Clearly I am capable of blowing things off in some situations, but not in others. And there appears to be little rhyme or reason to it all.

His lunch is packed, the supplies are purchased, and he has his first day of school outfit ready to go. Tomorrow is my son's first day as a first-grader. The nation seems to be a buzz in all things back to school. You'll be happy to know that even my local spa and billiard store is currently having a back-to-school sale. I've seen reports stating that the average family spends around $600 per kid to get their children ready for school. Seriously? I spent perhaps 10% of that amount, but I just have a young one to prep. I suppose a new computer here and there could up that average, but that still seems like an awful lot to pay for some kleenex and pencils (if you can find the pencils, that is, just like last year, pencils were the hardest thing for me to find).

Sure the school supply list is extensive and for some reason graphing calculators are just as expensive as they were fifteen years ago, but I think the real cost comes when people feel the need to revamp their kids' wardrobes just in time for back to school. I think it's fun to have a few new items for the occasion, but if last year's shoes still fit, why buy new? If it's not going to cool down for several more weeks, why stock up on jeans now? In all honesty, I don't really even think I've seen many fabulous clothing sales in recent weeks.

What are your thoughts on back-to-school shopping? How close did you come to that $600 number?

It's always frustrating when things break, even more so when you spend a lot of money on said item and it breaks not too terribly long after you spend that money.

Our Canon Digital SLR camera is not yet two years old, but it appears to have bit the dust. We were getting the mysterious "99 Error", but every fix we found and tried didn't seem to work. Now it won't even turn on.

It seems like our only choice is to send it in to be serviced. I'm so frustrated by the fact that the camera didn't even last two years that I'm not even sure I want the camera anymore. We certainly can't afford another DSLR, so fixing this one seems the most economical (maybe). We will probably up getting an inexpensive small camera and maybe fixing this one later down the road when I am not as angry.

I realize I'm treating this as if a camera is a need. It certainly doesn't fall into the food, shelter, clothing, or transportation category, but I think I'd consider a basic camera a need. Pictures help us remember the wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) times we enjoy as a family. And even though we've been camera-less for not quite a week, so many memories have been missed and will not have photographic evidence to support them. There are so many things that seem to need a picture in order to capture the essence of what's really happening.

'Tis the season for twenty-five cent crayons and five cent glue stick. Even if you aren't preparing to send someone back to school, this is the time to stock up on everyday basics since everything from pencils to socks will be priced right. But how do you know when is the time to buy?


From now through the end of next month there's no doubt that there will be rock-bottom prices on school supplies, but I always find it so hard to know when is the time to stock up! I wish I would have paid better attention last year so I would know this year what sorts of prices to expect. When it comes down to it though, does it really matter if I buy a bunch of crayons when they are 50 cents instead of 25 cents?

Don't forget that school supplies such as crayons and notebooks and pens make fun stocking stuffers or party favors - another good reason to stock up!

Do you have any tips for back-to-school shopping?
photo by .robbie

Last week, my oldest turned six years old. I had purchased him a few things several months ago, but was tossing around the idea of getting him one more thing. For awhile, he was very into basketball and I was pretty sure he'd love a small basketball hoop to put up on the wall for his birthday.  I didn't get one right away, because I thought it could perhaps just be a phase. Guess what? It seems like it was! I still felt like he needed one more thing, but couldn't settle on what to get him, so I didn't get him anything else.

His big day came and went, and he seemed perfectly content with his gifts (and trust me, if there was anything he felt he "needed" that we didn't get him, he would have let us know). It was a good reminder that often my kids need a lot less than I think they do.

I like to buy the big boxes of diapers because diapers are cheaper that way, I don't have to head to the store to buy them as frequently, and I can use the boxes to store things as soon as they are empty. Because of that last reason, I still have many boxes that I originally purchased when my three-year-old was a baby. Recently, one of of those boxes was down out of the closet and I couldn't help but make some comparisons. The box I bought a few years ago contained 144 size three diapers, while the one bought within the last month has 92 size three diapers.

It's my understanding that the reasoning behind this is that people won't notice if the packaging size gets smaller as much as they might notice a price increase. Remember my second reason for buying diapers in bulk? Yeah, I'd rather have the price increase.

Okay, lots of times I wonder actually. About the things people buy at the grocery store. Today it was the person in front of me who bought a gallon of milk. Normally there's nothing at all wrong with buying a gallon of milk, but in this case buying two half gallons would have saved the guy forty-nine cents. Does he just not care? Did he not notice the glaringly large sign that said that the half gallons (of the same brand that he purchased) were just one dollar?  Does he not realize that two half gallons equal a whole? What gives?

I pay pretty darn close attention to what I put in my grocery cart and I know it saves me money. Do other people pay attention too, or do they just throw whatever the need in? I understand that sometime people prefer one brand over another and will buy it regardless of cost, but sometimes it seems that people have brand name everything in their cart - people just can't be that brand loyal, can they?

Have you made any odd grocery store observations lately?

Normally, putting things off isn't a great money saving tactic. It tend to mean that you end up buying whatever you find simply because you have no more time, and that something isn't always the best deal.

This Easter, I used the art of procrastination to my advantage. Due to my church's broadcast of its General Conference, there were no traditional church services on Easter Sunday. This meant no place to wear our new Easter clothes! Not that I had them at that point anyway.

We don't always get new clothes for Easter, but I found a cute dress pattern for me and my oldest did actually need some new church clothes. I decided that since we weren't "celebrating" on the actual day, we could wear the new clothes any Sunday we wanted to. I purposely waited until a few weeks after Easter to even shop for new clothes for my kids. That way they'd be on clearance. Because there was always the possibility that I wouldn't get to the store in time and what I needed would be gone, It was a potentially risky move made even riskier since I waited a week longer that I was planning due to my dress being no where near being finished. But it worked out beautifully and I was able to pick up everything for a great price.

Has putting off a purchase ever paid off for you?

It all started out so innocently. A dinner date followed by a trip to a nearby car dealership just to "look". But it ended with us becoming owners of a 2007 Toyota Sienna. It's exactly what we wanted and we're happy that we have a car that better fits our family. I'm sure there are many people out there who would be very content with a five-passenger car for their family of five, but we just found it a bit too cramped for our liking. Here are a few random thoughts regarding our experience.

• We feel confident that we weren't going to get a lower price from a dealer. Perhaps we could have paid less by purchasing from a private party, but that would mean we would need to find one and if the past 3-4 months are any indicator, the car we wanted just doesn't come up very often, or really at all. 
• Seeing that much money leave our bank account all at once is hard.
• We were very, very surprised that the dealer dropped down to our price. We were shown a car, we liked it,  but it was more than we were willing to pay. We said that it was too high for us, so they came down a few thousand. We said it was still too high, so they came down again. We agreed to take it for a test drive.
• We did have to finance some of it. Without selling the Jeep we just don't quite have the cash. As soon as the Jeep sells we plan on paying it off in full.
• I think the kids like the car more than we do.

Two grocery shopping trips ago I purchased one bell pepper, but I was charged for 71 of them. Fun, huh? I didn't notice this error until I was waiting for the bell to ring in the parking lot of my son's school. Though when I returned the next day to request a refund (it was either that or request my seventy bell peppers) I was given it no questions asked, I was still kicking myself for not noticing it earlier.

When the cashier read me my total, I knew it sounded a bit high, but I chalked it up to the fact that I had simply started rushing at the end of my shopping trip and stopped paying attention to the cost of what I was putting in my cart. It figures that the one time I didn't do a once over of my receipt there was a large error!

Usually I try and estimate the total before I get to the register. I round everything to the nearest dollar and if the totals are really different I know something is up. It's easier than it sounds. If you have trouble keeping track in your head, you could always jot some notes down on your shopping list. Clearly, I didn't do that this time - otherwise I would have known for sure and could have had it corrected before leaving the store.

photo by bulliver via flickr.com

Last January, we took our car in for a small repair. A small repair that turned into potentially much larger repairs. We spent a few days seriously pursuing purchasing a new (to us) car. When we weren't finding what we wanted for the price we wanted to pay, we abandoned that idea.  We decided that we should pay to repair it and save the car search for another year. This year to be exact. Happily, the car ended up needed nothing more than a new set of tires to get us to this point. But we're ready for an upgrade.

Last summer, we took a seven hour drive to visit family and five people plus all of our travel necessities in the jeep was just too crowded. It feels silly to say that we "need" a new car when really we all fit just fine, but it sure would be nice to have more room!

So, we're starting the hunt for the perfect car for us. We don't want a car payment (we haven't had one for years, so why start now?) and if all goes well, we will be able to pay cash for a new car.

Deciding what to do last year was one we went back and forth on quite a bit, but it seems like we really made the right choice to put off purchasing a new car.

"We can't afford it" seems to be a phrase that's commonly tossed around (but maybe not enough?). But I often wonder how people determine what they can and cannot afford.

Clearly if you would have to go into debt for something then you definitely can't afford it. But if the purchase will leave enough money in your bank account to keep you comfortable (and by that I mean a few months worth of living expenses or maybe just a few thousand dollars, whatever works for you), then go for it. It's probably a good idea to make sure that the purchase won't negatively impact any of your savings goals.

That's what I think, but what about you? How do you determine if you can afford something?

On Saturday, I took my state's teacher certification exams. The writing portion of my morning test required me to write an essay about a decision that I regret. If you're a long time reader of this blog (or know me at all), you'll have no trouble guessing what I wrote about. Though the prompt did not specifically mention financial mistakes, mine does fall into that area. And when it comes to financial failures, it (thankfully) is really the only big one that I can think of.

Then there's another category of financial errors - those purchases that I wished I would have made. Four or five years ago I ran across a shirt that I kinda sorta wanted. It was a shirt that featured a mountain situated in between Phoenix and Tucson, a mountain that I drove past many times as I made my way from my home in Tucson to my parents' home in Phoenix. Actually, it's this shirt right here (and if it were my size, I'd be bidding, I may bid anyway). I thought it would be a fun memento of all those trips. I ended up not buying it and oddly enough, it's something I really regret.

I'm sure there are plenty of things that I wished I would have bought, but none of them has stuck with me like this one has.

What have you NOT purchased, but later really wished you did?

I've written before about how I'm not so good about taking advantage of clearance sales and buying clothing for my kids ahead of time. In order to combat this (because buying things at a great price that you'll need in the future is a great way to ultimately save money) I made a master list of what clothing items I need in each size. I keep this list with me so I can refer to it when I find a good deal. I still need to go through the box of shoes to see what gaps need to be filled there.

Having three boys means there isn't really a huge need to buy clothes for the younger two, but we were lucky enough to receive a large amount of hand-me-downs for our oldest and after he was done with them, some were just too worn out to make it to the next kid.  Also, I'm finding that the seasons aren't quite lining up right as I pull out clothes for the baby.

So far, I've bought a two-pack of pajamas for the baby for next winter. One of them will work nicely as his new pair of Christmas jammies. I'm currently on the the lookout for a winter jacket for Bug for next year and one for Monkey to finish out this year with - his is getting a little snug!