We love to share with you what we are doing in real life on the other side of this computer screen. We have been posting deals like crazy and will continue doing so to help you make the most of your budget and help you save as much as you can over the Christmas season! And although we are posting all of these deals, we ourselves are on the lookout for other things!
We have been careful the last several years about our Black Friday shopping. As many of you know, we declared We’re Debt FREE nearly two years ago after a fast trip into loads of debt and the grueling road of getting out of it. With a more focused mindset, and a drive to stay debt-free, Black Friday deals became about the practical for us: hard drives, video cameras, kitchen appliances and digital cameras, bed and bath necessities, etc. We shared the two items we were looking for last year too!
So with that in mind – we are looking for one thing this year: a high quality stove-top tea kettle! We have never owned one as we have been using alternative ways to make tea, but we drink a lot of tea and hot cocoa and we were visiting friends that had a tea kettle. Our kids loved the whistling and was a fun nostalgic kitchen item so we thought it would be great to get one this year. It might be silly, it might not make sense – but that is what is on our list!
Part of the reason our list is so small, we buy Christmas presents throughout the year as we find the deals. Another item that we had on our list was a new and nice digital camera. Since the age of the digital camera, we were working our way out of debt and could not justify a nice one. We had a cheap point and click which did it’s job. But a new high quality digital camera with advanced features was also on our list. We’ve been looking since the beginning of the year and we were setting money aside each paycheck to save for this big expense. We found a deal last month and we had saved enough to cover it, so we didn’t have to wait until Black Friday.
So….. that is the Real World Thrifty Couple Style just on the other side of the screen that you are staring at 😉
So with that in mind, let us share some real world thoughts with you. We also have to personally be very careful with the holiday deals and Black Friday sales as old habits can be hard to break – and our old habits of spending fearlessly and foolishly. On the other side of this screen, as a couple and as a family, we set strict rules as to how we are shopping, what we are looking for, how much we plan to spend and keep that close running tally so we don’t overspend. It also takes a realization that if we cannot afford something, no matter how much of a good deal it is, it s not a good deal for us.
We want to encourage you in the same this Christmas season. Our goal as The Thrifty Couple is to help you make the most of your budget, give to others and help you and your family meet your financial goals. But we don’t want anyone to overspend, go into debt or spend unnecessarily as this causes so much heartache and pain later on down the road.
Enjoy this season, stay on budget and go out there and nab the awesome deals with your plan and budget in hand realizing that we all have a different budget, a different plan and different goals. We will be continuing to have fun researching and posting the best deals we can find for you too!
Be watching and join our fun savings party the next few days as we will have many Black Friday deals to share with you!!
Also, here are some links with tips and ideas to help you maximize your savings this year:
- Black Friday Shopping Tips and Tricks – Maximize Your Savings
- Black Friday: Why You May Not Even Bother Going Out
Plus visit our Everything You Need To Help You Save Money This Holiday Season to help you save even more!
Debbie
Well said. I used to be all about Black Friday shopping, and would do the majority of my Chistmas shopping that day. This year I’ve just been buying the good deals when I find them, in preparation for Christmas, and it’s worked out really well. Looking through the Black Friday ads this year, I really haven’t found anything that really stood out to me. My only splurge that I wanted to get was a nice fuzzy blanket from Target, and I ended up finding a better quality King size one at Costco for cheaper than Target’s Black Friday price! Everything has worked out perfectly, and I will be happy to sleep in my bed tonight and not worry about shopping!