Free “Believe” Christmas Printables
I am always looking for something new and inexpensive to decorate with. While searching the Internet recently, I ran upon these adorable tags that spell out the word “BELIEVE”. You can print your own set from The Celebration Shoppe.
These are the cutest I have seen and you can use them in many ways. One of the ways that they suggest using them is for cupcakes! I personally think they would look very festive and decorative on a mantle or a coffee table.
Here is a picture of the finished product:
Photo courtesy of The Celebration Shoppe
Hope you like this freebie! If you print them out and use them for something, send me a photo and I will showcase it here on the blog!
Continue reading Free “Believe” Christmas Printables …
From Econobusters.
Start Planning Christmas Gift Shopping – Frugal Challenge
It may seem a bit early to be thinking about shopping for Christmas gifts, but, if you’re like me, trying to save as much money as I possibly can, you should probably start today. Planning a more affordable Christmas this year doesn’t have to mean cutting out all the gifts, decorations, food, and fun. You just need to start early, use your creativity, and base your shopping on good judgment.
Christmas time is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. If you are burdened with debt because you overspent on gifts, your heart will not be light and full of good cheer. Those expensive gifts can become a burden that strips away the joy of the season.
Let’s look at some basic strategies for slashing the overspending that can occur at Christmas time.
Plan Your Gift Budget – This is so basic you would think that most people already do this, but many don’t, and that is where the trouble starts. Don’t start with a gift list, start with writing down exactly how much you can afford to spend on Christmas gifts this year. Don’t forget that you’ll need to budget for the rest of your Christmas expenses, too. Things like decorations and food need to be budgeted for, so keep the total expense in mind.
Make Your Gift Recipient List – Write down everyone you normally buy a Christmas gift for.
Remove Some People From That List – This may seem a bit difficult, but you are almost guaranteed that after you go through your list, you’ll find someone that you really don’t need to buy a gift for this year. If it makes you more comfortable, just move their names to the bottom of the list so you can remember to do something for them, even if that doesn’t involve buying a gift.
Plan Dollar Amount For Each Recipient – Write a dollar amount behind each name that you now have on your list, then add it up. Are you outside your budget for gifts? You’ll need to go back then and rethink each amount and adjust the figures until it fits within your gift budget.
Make Your Gift List – Now you can go through your list of names and start jotting down ideas for each person. Because you’ve created a budgeted dollar amount for each individual, your ideas now have a limit. The problem most people get into when they shop for gifts is that they create a gift list with gift ideas first instead of dollar amounts first. To save your budget, always start your gift list with the dollar amount to be spent for each gift recipient.
Start Your Shopping Early – Yes, there are some great bargains to be found as you get closer to Christmas, but the panic that sets in usually ends up costing us more than we planned. Last minute shopping narrows your choices.
Re-Think Gift Shopping – Consider more inventive options for at least some of the names on your list. Shop smart and thrifty by looking through bargain basements and resale shops. Yes, even a trip through the second-hand stores may prove to be rewarding. You’ll never know what kind of fun and funky finds you’ll come across. For instance, you might find great vintage jewelry that would be just right for a teenager. You may even stumble upon some antique books. And, what little princess wouldn’t like a big box of sparkly gowns to play dress-up in? You’ll find racks of bejeweled, lacy, and shimmery dresses on the bridal and special events racks in most larger thrift shops. Check it out before you head to the mall.
Homemade Gifts – If you are creative, if you can follow a pattern, if you can cook, or if you just have a desire to make something nice, put your skills to work and make a gift. Something as simple as a pretty jar filled with bath salts can be just the right gift to give a friend in need of a relaxing moment. Gifts made from the heart are always appreciated.
Leave Yourself Off Your Gift List – If you’re tempted to buy yourself stuff while you’re shopping for gifts, you’ll need to give yourself a stern talking to! There are so many lovely things out there in the store aisles and they all seem to be calling your name. That is what is called “marketing to the impulse shopper.” If you have no control, give your list to someone else who has more self-control and is willing to do your shopping for you. Know yourself and avoid this pitfall. Your budget can’t take it!
This is my frugal challenge to you. Hold onto the joy of Christmas gift giving by setting your gift budget within your means. Don’t go into debt in order to give gifts that you cannot afford. Your family and friends would not like it if they knew their gift caused you a hardship.
Continue reading Start Planning Christmas Gift Shopping – Frugal Challenge …
From Hillbilly Housewife Blog.
The Simple Dollar Time Machine: October 31, 2009
Many newer readers of The Simple Dollar haven’t been exposed to the hundreds of great articles in the archives of the site, so this is a weekly series that highlights the five best posts from one year ago this week, as well as the five best posts from two years ago this week. I call it … the Time Machine.
One Year Ago (October 25 – 31, 2008)
Should an Entrepreneurial High Schooler Go to College? This discussion resulted in a lot of interesting back and forth on the question of whether or not a high schooler who starts a strong business in his spare time should immediately go to college or should focus on building that business that’s already successful.
Brand Preferences and the Two Year Old Child I wrote this as I began to notice the effect that brand recognition was having on my two year old son. Was he being unduly influenced by branding and packaging? What could I do about it?
Eight Things You Should Do Immediately to Save Money When You Buy a Car If you buy a car, there are several things worth doing immediately to maximize fuel efficiency and minimize maintenance costs. These all work no matter what kind of car you buy.
Exploring the Connection Between Time and Money I’m a big believer that time is money, at least in the sense that money is just a representation of invested time. Thus, time is an enormous consideration when choosing which option is actually the cheapest.
Two Years of The Simple Dollar: My 25 Favorite Articles of the Past Year Here’s my celebration of the second full year of The Simple Dollar. I just collected my top twenty five articles from the second year of The Simple Dollar in one place.
Two Years Ago (October 25 – 31, 2007)
Seven Tips For Avoiding Boredom During A Financial Turnaround Isn’t living cheap boring? Not at all. It’s all about just choosing the less expensive things that you enjoy doing. Take a look at the many, many inexpensive things available for you to do. The wider your horizons, the more fun you’ll have.
A Deeper Look At Dave Ramsey’s Seven Baby Steps To Financial Freedom – And How They Apply To Us Dave Ramsey’s debt recovery advice is popular because it’s so straightforward and simple. However, they’re not always a perfect match for everyone. Here, I dig deeper into his “baby steps” and see how they match my own life.
The Eternal Question: Am I Doing The Right Thing? With the complexity of life around us, it’s easy to not be entirely sure if your choice is the right thing. Is it better to spend more now or save this money? Is it better to invest in a 401(k) or a Roth IRA? How can you ever know if you’re doing the right thing?
The Ten Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Money and Life In The Last Year Here, I summarize the ten most important things I learned about money during the first year of The Simple Dollar. This article really does contain the cream of the crop of what I learned during that crucial period of my life.
One Year of The Simple Dollar: My 25 Favorite Articles As with the article above, this is merely a collection of what I consider to be the twenty five best articles I wrote during the first year of The Simple Dollar.
If you’d like to browse through more of the archives, visit the chronology, where all posts are listed in chronological order.
Nine Ways to Get More out of The Simple Dollar
This is kind of a FAQ for new readers and is posted each week along with the Time Machine. Here are nine great ways for new readers to dig deeper into The Simple Dollar.
1. Subscribe by email or RSS. Visiting The Simple Dollar’s website is great, but for many people, it’s more convenient to receive the articles in another form. It’s easy to join 60,000 other subscribers and get The Simple Dollar’s content by email or in your RSS feeder (if you’re unfamiliar with RSS, check out Google Reader.
2. Comment. Each article on The Simple Dollar has lively discussion. Just click on the green square in the upper right of each article on the website and join in!
3. Read my story of financial meltdown and recovery. The Simple Dollar isn’t based on what I’ve read in books or learned in school. I’ve made a lifetime of financial mistakes – The Simple Dollar is a record of what works for me during the process of getting my life on a better track.
4. Download my free 49 page e-book. Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance On Just One Page is completely free. It summarizes all of the key lessons I’ve learned along the way about personal finance in one tidy package – in fact, all of the main principles can be found right on the cover.
5. Follow me on Twitter – or other social networks. I post tons of interesting articles, quotes, follow-up material, commentary, and other material on Twitter. Follow me! If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s essentially an open discussion forum for people to share ideas and thoughts with other like-minded folks – you just choose the people you want to listen to and their ideas and thoughts are all delivered to you on a single page.
I also participate on several other social networks. Feel free to check me out on del.icio.us (it’s where I collect links, from which I select the ones that appear in my weekly roundups), wakoopa (what software I use), GoodReads (what books I’m reading), Facebook, and FriendFeed (which aggregates everything). I also have an irregularly-updated personal site, TrentHamm.com.
6. Dig through “31 Days to Fix Your Finances.” 31 Days to Fix Your Finances is an article series that outlines how you can get a grip on your finances over the course of a month.
7. Send me your questions and suggestions. Send me an email and let me know what you’re thinking, what you’d like to see, and any questions you might have. I try to respond to as many emails as possible and I read them all. I may even use your question in a future article!
8. Become a “Friend of The Simple Dollar.” If you find the stuff on The Simple Dollar valuable and are willing to spend five minutes or so a month to help me out with small things, please consider signing up to be a “Friend of The Simple Dollar”.
9. Email a great article you find to a friend. Find an article that you think your friend would love? At the bottom of each article, you’ll find a link that says “Email this” – just click on that, type in your friend’s address, and send it right along to them!
Continue reading The Simple Dollar Time Machine: October 31, 2009 …
From The Simple Dollar.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Halloween events in Monroe County MI
If you live in or near Monroe, Mich., I have posted as many community Halloween and fall holiday events as I can find in the MonroeTalks calendar. The corn mazes are a separate list.
Those links will automatically update with new entries, so do check back to see what’s being posted as you make your celebration plans.
(The calendar administrator duties are part of my “day job” at The Monroe Evening News!)
Continue reading Halloween events in Monroe County MI …
From Monroe on a Budget.