I have entered so many giveaways in the last 2 weeks, I don't think I can keep them straight.
Toys, jewelry, aprons, gift cards to my favorite stores... my fingers are cramping and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. I have posted about a couple, and you can find buttons on my sidebar for sights that offer more giveaways.
For the time being, I am limiting myself to only entering giveaways for items that will make excellent Christmas gifts for the people on my list.
This is only one idea for trying to save money for the upcoming holiday season. I've mentioned a few other options in past posts, but I'm probably not even scratching the surface of possibilities.
How do you plan on saving money this year?
Showing posts with label The Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Plan. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Story of Stuff
This is one of the proverbial straws on the camel's back that led to this entire project. If you have a few minutes, I recommend watching at least part of it. I couldn't get it to upload to the blog, so just click here: "Story of Stuff" to view the YouTube video.
If you don't have time to check it out, the gist of it is this:
Most of the stuff we buy is only made to last a short while. When people say, "They sure don't make 'em like they used to," they're pretty much spot on. Companies make things cheaply, and purposely make them so they won't last - that way, you'll keep buying more stuff.
How much of the stuff we have do we actually need or even want, and how much of it did we get because we are bombarded with commercials and advertisements that goad us into thinking we suck if we don't have that one item?
We're being hit with instant gratification wants, but at lower and lower prices. Problem with lower prices? You end up paying loads more in the long run because the low priced item is only meant to last a short while before it breaks and you have to buy another one.
Imagine all the waste. Imagine the landfills piling up with two and three times more junk because it doesn't last and we throw it out to buy something new.
I took a good look around our home with this in mind, and I noticed a few things. Our main DVD player is 3 years old, and on it's last legs. Our bedroom DVD player is 1 year old and recently began sounding like a jet taking off every time we load a DVD (and we've maybe used it 5 times). Our washer and dryer are 2 years old and I keep waiting for them to explode with the squeaking and booming sounds they make every time they run. My laptop is just over a year old and it runs like absolute crap (and that started before it got knocked over). Our very expensive dining room table started peeling and chipping before it was even 5 years old - and now that it's almost ten, it looks like it's a hundred. We've been through 2 answering machines and 3 home phones in the last decade, and 3 microwaves before we stopped using them.
I could go on, but I'll just stop now. We are simplifying, not just to raise money for Christmas, but because I'm tired of being wasteful. There are extravagances I love (like having an extra laptop), and things we need (even if they are wearing out) that we'll keep. I won't go buy a new dining room table, I'll just live with the ugly one or fix it or cover it up. As for the stuff we don't really need (like a DVD player in our bedroom, which we don't use anyway), when it breaks, it breaks and we won't replace it. Some of the stuff we don't use is being sold. Some of it will go to our Free Christmas. Most of it will not be replaced.
If you don't have time to check it out, the gist of it is this:
Most of the stuff we buy is only made to last a short while. When people say, "They sure don't make 'em like they used to," they're pretty much spot on. Companies make things cheaply, and purposely make them so they won't last - that way, you'll keep buying more stuff.
How much of the stuff we have do we actually need or even want, and how much of it did we get because we are bombarded with commercials and advertisements that goad us into thinking we suck if we don't have that one item?
We're being hit with instant gratification wants, but at lower and lower prices. Problem with lower prices? You end up paying loads more in the long run because the low priced item is only meant to last a short while before it breaks and you have to buy another one.
Imagine all the waste. Imagine the landfills piling up with two and three times more junk because it doesn't last and we throw it out to buy something new.
I took a good look around our home with this in mind, and I noticed a few things. Our main DVD player is 3 years old, and on it's last legs. Our bedroom DVD player is 1 year old and recently began sounding like a jet taking off every time we load a DVD (and we've maybe used it 5 times). Our washer and dryer are 2 years old and I keep waiting for them to explode with the squeaking and booming sounds they make every time they run. My laptop is just over a year old and it runs like absolute crap (and that started before it got knocked over). Our very expensive dining room table started peeling and chipping before it was even 5 years old - and now that it's almost ten, it looks like it's a hundred. We've been through 2 answering machines and 3 home phones in the last decade, and 3 microwaves before we stopped using them.
I could go on, but I'll just stop now. We are simplifying, not just to raise money for Christmas, but because I'm tired of being wasteful. There are extravagances I love (like having an extra laptop), and things we need (even if they are wearing out) that we'll keep. I won't go buy a new dining room table, I'll just live with the ugly one or fix it or cover it up. As for the stuff we don't really need (like a DVD player in our bedroom, which we don't use anyway), when it breaks, it breaks and we won't replace it. Some of the stuff we don't use is being sold. Some of it will go to our Free Christmas. Most of it will not be replaced.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Can we make it through Christmas without spending a dime?
Goal: Cut out the entire cost of Christmas gift purchases, but still be able to give (new - not used) gifts to our regular people.
Reason: Um, we have no money. Come on, who's with us on that one?
How: Utilizing available resources, such as freebies, coupons, giveaways and most importantly: getting rid of stuff we don't use.
I know it would be (nearly) impossible to have an entirely free Christmas - unless, of course, there were no purchases whatsoever. But I don't want go that route. I like presents, what can I say? Mostly, I love giving presents.
I will log here the number of giveaways I enter (with link-ups, if I have time - and you can bet I'll be posting about them for extra entries); and coupons (and sharing codes, if I can - or linking with fabulous sites that share coupons).
I will also be collecting (and logging) all our stuff from the garage, shed, storage space, and even the way backs of our closets, and selling it off! Hey, if I haven't noticed it was missing for the past year or more, there's no need for it to take up space in my house.
I'm hoping the money we make on our old stuff will end up paying for our entire Christmas - making it a virtually FREE Christmas!
If you have any tips you'd like to share, please do!
Reason: Um, we have no money. Come on, who's with us on that one?
How: Utilizing available resources, such as freebies, coupons, giveaways and most importantly: getting rid of stuff we don't use.
I know it would be (nearly) impossible to have an entirely free Christmas - unless, of course, there were no purchases whatsoever. But I don't want go that route. I like presents, what can I say? Mostly, I love giving presents.
I will log here the number of giveaways I enter (with link-ups, if I have time - and you can bet I'll be posting about them for extra entries); and coupons (and sharing codes, if I can - or linking with fabulous sites that share coupons).
I will also be collecting (and logging) all our stuff from the garage, shed, storage space, and even the way backs of our closets, and selling it off! Hey, if I haven't noticed it was missing for the past year or more, there's no need for it to take up space in my house.
I'm hoping the money we make on our old stuff will end up paying for our entire Christmas - making it a virtually FREE Christmas!
If you have any tips you'd like to share, please do!
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