Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just over two weeks away? And I know you've all been seeing the Christmas decorations at the stores. I swear they're put out the same time as the Halloween candy! Anyway, I try to purchase gifts throughout the year so that it doesn't drain our December budget. We do have a few more things to purchase, but I thought I'd pass on some of my favorite sites that have helped us stretch our dollars.- Silver Jewelry Club - a great place to pick up nice quality jewelry for bupkes; you pay just $5.99 shipping for each piece. The choices update each fifteen minutes, so I just click on it a few times a day or week (depending what I'm looking for). They offer a WIDE variety of styles, and I've purchased everything from a necklace for grandma to funky earrings for our teenage niece.
- Fetch Book - just enter the ISBN of the book you're looking for, and they'll tell you where it's cheapest. Particularly helpful if you're looking for something that's out-of-print. Two years ago, I was hoping to find the complete "Thomas the Tank Engine" stories. It was going for over $40 on eBay, but I found it for around $12 (shipped!) through this site.
- half.com - it's now affiliated with eBay, but you can usually find better deals here. You can find music (wouldn't your brother love a CD of that album he used to listen to in high school?), books, and video games. Plus shipping is a set amount per item (and decreases if you purchase multiple items from a single seller), so you don't get gouged. I just purchased the eyetoy (which will be our kids' "big" gift for the year) along with five games for less than the suggested retail of the original package. Hint: shipping is media mail, so shop early to make sure you receive your package in time.
- Budget 101 Gift Mixes - this site is a perfect source for ideas when you want to give a little something to neighbors, teachers, etc. but can only spend a few dollars.
Lastly, don't forget about the clearance aisles at the local stores! Why not pick up some halloween costumes to create a dress-up box? And I always seem to find fantastic deals at Target (read a bit more about that here). Seriously, people, you can find nice - and thoughtful - gifts without spending hundreds of dollars.
2 comments:
Great ideas, thanks!
Do you just buy gifts for your family throughout the year? Are these gifts budgeted? How do you know what you're getting? Do you give gifts to people other than your family?...All these questions because I am just awful about Christmas gifts. Every year I tell myself I'm not going to give any and then at the last minute I end up giving gifts and go way over our budget...This year, I actually budgeted for gifts and guess what, the money's gone, but I have no X-mas gift to show for it because I used it on birthday gifts and baby shower gifts throughout the year...I would enjoy a post where you talk about how you do your Christmas shopping...
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