Skip to main content

Christmas List and Budget

Seems like everyone is doing it so I thought I would hop on board. Plus, things have a tendency to look quite different when they are on paper. Without further ado, here is Dimples' Christmas List and Budget:

Person

Gift

Budget

Actual

Mom

Spending $$$ for her trip

$100

Dad

??

$50

My Sweet Pea

Her 1st pet - Goldfish

$50

Sister L

George Foreman Grill

$45

Sister E

Luggage Set & DVDs

$40

$35

Brother

iPod

$50

Godson J

Toys & Clothes

$25

$10

Godson A

DS2 or Wii

$40

Best Friend K

X

$30

$20

Best Friend's son

Shoes

$20

Best Friend D

$$$

$50

$50

TOTAL

$500

$115



I am budgeting a total of $500 towards Christmas gifts.

Here is the breakdown:

  • Mom: She is going to her sister's wedding the weekend before Christmas. I am going to give her a $100 to spend as she pleases.

  • Dad: I have no clue on what to get this man. My dad has everything. I may just give him $50 cash and call it a day. I am gonna talk to my sisters and see what ideas they have. Maybe we can put our money together and get him something big

  • Sweet Pea: My baby wants a pet so bad. She really wants a puppy but Dimples ain't trying to pay the $400 pet deposit and take care of another "kid". Then my parents' goldfish, Frankie, died the day after Thanksgiving. My poor baby was crushed. She loved that lil goldfish. :-( So for X-mas she is getting goldfish of her own. I am gonna get her a starter aquariam/fish bowl and about two or three goldfish and supplies. She is gonna be so excited. I can't wait to see her face.

  • Sister L: She wants a large George Foreman grill. Macys has one on sale for $50 and this one for $60. The latter looks a little smaller. I am going to Macys on Sunday to check them out. I have a coupon for $15 off $50 which I definitely plan to use.

  • Sister E: She and her hubby need a luggage set. I bought a really nice 3 piece set for $25 at Ross today. When I was down for Thanksgiving I also bought them some DVDs that were on sale on Black Friday. I got 5 from Biglots @ $2 a pop and paid $0 after a $10 off coupon and I got 4 Best Buy @ $2.49 each. Totals $35 for my sis and her hubby.

  • Brother: Says he wants either a car or an iPod for Christmas. Of course car is out of the question. He is 17 senior in high school, has a 3.9 GPA, and one of the top ranking football players in the state. And he visited the school he plans to attend for college and play ball for this weekend. My boy is a good kid and I definitely want to reward him for his accomplishments. I talked to my sisters and we are going to put our money together ($50 each) and get him his iPod. I think my mom is planning on putting in with us so that would bring the total to $200. We can either get him an iPod with more memory or get the same one for $150 and use the other $50 to get him some accessories.

  • Godson J: My 12 month old cutie pie. :-D I got him these Build-A-Bear Shrek Babies and I am going to Ross to pick him up some clothes. I can do some damage with $15 on baby clothes at Ross.

  • Godson A: My 10 year old cutie. *sigh* Says he wants a Wii but I don't think that will happen. I am going to call him and let him know that we are a no-go on the game console. If his parents get him one then I will get him a game or two. Other than that he will need to pick something else and the budget is $40.

  • Best Friend #1: She reads my blog so I won't go into detail about her gift. Its gonna be a compilation of things and the theme is relaxation. ;-)

  • Best Friend's son: Also Godson J's big brother. Gonna get him some shoes. The best friend and I know about his shoe issues so I hope to find some nice ones that will meet his expectations LOL.

  • Best Friend #2: He is going through some things right now with both his parents. He was pursuing his acting career in California and dropped everything to come back home when his mom had a stroke. Needless to say he isn't working and money is getting real tight. He has always been there for me and I am hoping the $50 I am sending to him will help in some way.
Well that is the list. I have spent $115 to date. I'll update this post weekly until I check everyone off the list.

Comments

SingleGuyMoney said…
Pets are nice but very expensive!
Dimples said…
@ SingleGuy

Yeah they are. Thats why I am going with the fish. They don't cost that much and I don't need to pay any pet deposit for them.
K. said…
very nice! you've made so much progress regarding your spending and debt since you started this blog :)
fandd said…
Sounds like a great plan. My family is all about going in together for a gift. I'm also glad to see that there is another person who loves Ross out there!
SavingDiva said…
Great job outlining how much you spent!

Popular posts from this blog

Home Purchase Plan - How I faired

Back in January I developed my Home Purchase Plan (HPP for short). I listed exactly what I was looking for in my new home including my needs and wants. I printed up my HPP and carried it will me everywhere. I especially took it with me when I went house hunting with my agent. I had a momentary relapse (I'll explain more on that on another post) but got back on track and stuck to my guns. I ended up with a beautiful house that fits all my needs and wants. HOME PURCHASE PLAN The home I want: Price: $0 -> $190,000 $180,000 Ideal Monthly Mortgage (including taxes, PMI, HOA, & hazard) : $1200 (max $1300) $1310 Location: Surrounding Orlando Area Check Bedrooms: 3+ 4 Bathrooms: 2+ 2 Square footage: 1700 s.f. + 1810 sf Year Built: 2000+ 1998 HOA: $100/month max $150/yr NEEDS: * A-rated school district Check * Quick access to major highways Check * Good daycare Check * Nice

My $100 grocery budget and tips for saving on your grocery bill

I did a post back in October on how I kept my grocery budget under $120. In that post, I had pictures of the grocery shopping I had done earlier in the day for a total of $29.76. I also listed a number of ways I keep my grocery budget so low. Today I did some grocery shopping for meat and some other misc items. Here is what I bought: - 2 packages of chicken breasts - 2 packages of drumsticks - 2 whole hens - 2 packages of chicken wings - 1 bag of roma tomatoes - 1 bag of onions - 1 bag of organic baby carrots - 2 gallons of water (not shown) - 1 bottle of bbq sauce Total = $24.90 One big way to save on groceries each month is to package the food you buy into servings sizes. Your serving size depends on how many people are in your family. I separate out my sizes based on how much food my daughter and I consume in one meal. Take for instance drumsticks: My daughter will eat one drumstick while I will eat two. So I package those in threes. I know some folks are visual so here is wh