Holiday Shopping Mistakes to Avoid This Season

 

It is coming next Friday!  Beware the allure of Black Friday with all the advertising trying to coax you into buying things you or your loved ones don't need.  Research and plan before you run off with the influence of all the hype of the day.

You know a little about my past life before the frugalista mentality hit me . . . work like a dog so I could spend, spend, spend on stuff I didn't need that now clutter my house.  My biggest vice was the Home Shopping Club.  Oh my God . . . that was instant in your face hype.  They wanted to make you think you could not live without the item they were trying to sell at the moment.  I really didn't have time to think about making the purchase, like do I need this.  It got me into big trouble!

Don't fall for the hype!  My best advice to you is to check out the article Mary from Everyday Cheapskate has posted on advise for not making holiday spending mistakes.

Click here to go to the article that will help you save money this holiday season!

How to Make Oxiclean - DIY Oxiclean

                                                        

Photo source: Homesteading in Ohio

Many years ago I started making my own cleaning concoctions that have saved me a whole lot of money.  For instance, I have a new respect for vinegar.  Just vinegar and water are like a magic potion.  It is great for cleaning so many things.

Anyway, I was searching for more concoctions that I can make to save more money and I ran across Cari from Homesteading in Ohio.  She is seriously into DIY cleaning products.  I'm already impressed and I haven't gotten beyond the DIY Oxiclean page.  I have lots to learn from her!  

Click here to be impressed by her page on Oxiclean and so much more.  You will be glad you did!

You are welcome.

Avoid Christmas Debt When Cash Is Tight

It seems like the older I get, the faster the Christmas holidays come around.  For me, I have taken care of avoiding the debt since I have not celebrated Christmas for a very long time since a lot of the people close to me have passed away.  I just don't feel it anymore.  However, it was a problem in the past.

The last seasons I celebrated, I cut way down on Christmas decorating.  It was once an obsession for me to decorate to the max.  It was beautiful, but expensive.  Anyway, that is where I started and just became very aware of where every penny was going.  Not being cheap, just frugal.

Another thing I cut out was the large open house Christmas celebration where we set up a large buffet of food that was outrageous now that I think about it.  It seems like we would invite everyone we knew.  It got out of hand fast and got bigger and bigger every year.  The smart thing would have been to make it a pot luck celebration where everyone brought a plate of food.  Well, it went away the last few seasons I celebrated.

Mary at Everyday Cheapskate has an excellent article with lots of tips on how to save money during the holidays.

Click here to go to the article.

I know it is early to start posting holiday stuff, but it takes time to start planning in order to save money.