I had a really happy, but tiring weekend -- and I spent quite a bit, too.
On both days I did some Christmas shopping in heavy crowds (I'd say the economy is recovering!) I spent about $148 on gifts, mostly small things. I am not done by any means. Maybe it's time to look at Amazon lists again.
I pulled out my gift stash and made some decisions -- wrapped everything that I could, but I still have some things that may go to one person or another, depending on what I buy in the coming weeks.
On Saturday night I went with my sons and grandchildren (yes, the baby, too) to Navy Pier to see Santa arrive by boat; then we spent some time in the Winter Wonderland (food, rides, etc.) I didn't spend anything there, but afterwards some of us went to Steak & Shake - $22.
On Sunday I made dinner for my son for his birthday -- he requested chipped beef on toast (nice & cheap!) -- mainly because his wife doesn't care for it, so he never gets it. I bought him a chocolate cake from Portillo's ($20) so that made up for the cheap! I gave him his gifts -- an extension for his Carcasonne game, a book on bodyweight training, some athletic socks, and a bag of HotHands. (Like me, he takes public transit and spends his fair share of time out in the cold).
Other spending this weekend included a poinsettia ($7), groceries ($57), stuff for the house ($53) - organizers, plants, mat, in-sink strainer, etc. Also spent $13 on household supplies -- tape, TP, etc. Not really big spending, but a lot of piddly spending.
I also got breakfast at McDonald's on Saturday morning. They had a special on two Egg McMuffin's for the price of one ($3), so I got two and warmed up the second one on the next day. Worked pretty well!
I went to bed very achy and sore last night, but today I'm feeling pretty good. Which is good; I think I'm going to have a tough week at work, and I'd better get going on it!
Weekend update
December 3rd, 2012 at 03:07 pm
December 3rd, 2012 at 03:20 pm 1354548034
December 3rd, 2012 at 10:56 pm 1354575409
Like, I think the best prices are on books. Food, definitely not; their prices seem much higher. Other items, too, I discovered, sometimes only later, I could find the same or very similar item cheaper elsewhere.
i just keep shopping there becus i usually earn about $45 a month in amazon gift cards, so have to use 'em somewhere.
I just discovered a great site called camelcamelcamel.com, where you can type in specific items you're thinking of buying at amazon and the site will email you when the price drops to whatever level you want it to fall to before you buy. They give you a nifty chart that shows amazon price fluctuations over the past few years, and they really do fluctuate! Right now it seems a lot of prices have gone up, i'm guessing cus it's the peak christmas buying season, but i suspect those prices will fall just before chirstmas, as you can see they did last year.
December 4th, 2012 at 12:25 am 1354580748
December 4th, 2012 at 01:59 pm 1354629563
Rob, I am LOVING this weather. What a difference it makes in my walk!