« A Frugal Christmas | Main | A Penny Found….. »
Christmas Budget a Success
By Jay | December 27, 2007
So Christmas is over and I managed to keep to my budget. I had decided to buy gifts only for my father, mother & partner, and that I would spend no more than $30 on each gift. It took some work, self-discipline and luck, but I did it. Planning and avoiding impulsiveness was the key.
My partner M. asked for a new pillow for Christmas, so my first stop was Linen & Things. My mom had cut out a 25% off coupon from the previous day’s paper, and I got M. a nice $40 pillow: final price with tax, $32.57.
My father asked for a cone-shaped dirt devil miniature handheld vacuum cleaner. Linen & Things was sold out of these, so we went to Bed Bath & Beyond. Problem was, Bed Bath & Beyond was sold out too. Apparently these vacuum cleaners were a popular gift this year, because the manager checked their other branches and none of them had the vacuum cleaner either. The display model was in perfect condition though, so I asked if I could buy it (with a substantial discount, of course). The manager agreed to 40% off, so I jumped on the deal. After a little altercation with an incompetent young cashier who seemed unbelievably put out by having to deal with a discounted display model transaction — shopping can be an adventure sometime — I left the store with a $40 gift bought for $23.50, including tax. Not bad if I do say so myself.
The last gift was for my mother — a cookbook called “Kitchen Sense” by Mitchell Davis. We stopped at Borders first, and found out the book was about $40, so we decided to drive a couple miles to Barnes and Noble, where I have a member card that gets me a discount. I was expecting the discount to be 10%, but because the book is a best seller I got a 30% discount, for a total price of $27.50.
Not bad — All in all a reasonable Christmas! Now if only I had been as careful about my diet as I was about my spending……..
Popularity: 18% [?]
Stumble it!
Topics: Frugality |
December 27th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Excellent job. It pays to have a list!