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Ah, Christmas Past!

December 26th, 2015 at 01:10 pm

I love Christmas, but I'm always relieved when it's over. I love to kick back and recuperate from all the fuss.

It was a pretty good Christmas, all told. I think my gifts were appreciated, and I know I appreciated what I got! We had an exceptional dinner, cooked by my DIL. I played games with the grandsons (though they were mostly intrigued with their new videogames).

My son booked cruise tickets for their family, and the two mothers are invited to come along! This won't happen until next January (2017). Of course I will pay my own way, and so will Other Mother. It's a Carnival cruise going from New Orleans to Mexico. I've never been on a cruise in my life, so I'm excited! It means saving up for TWO vacations in 2017 -- my Key West trip with the girlfriends, and the cruise. I see lots of penny-pinching in my future.

My computer has been fixed. My son took a look at it, and he was able to do what the Geek Squad couldn't do. Everything looks a little different, but all my files were saved, and we were able to reinstall the important apps. So that was a great money savings there, because I was all ready to buy a new one!

I'm starting over on my snowflakes, since I took $1200 out to split among the grandchildren for college funds. I have $17.16 to apply to next year. This includes some cash back from Discover, a $5 rebate from Walgreens, and some found money. I found .28 in the last couple of days!

I only have 15 more hours of work to get in. That should be easily done. My variables spending is 95%, and I think I can come in under 100%. Only five more days, and I have plenty of food. May need gas.

I'm really looking forward to a frugal 2016!

6 Responses to “Ah, Christmas Past!”

  1. snafu Says:
    1451148532

    Best wishes for the holiday season. Kudos to DS who solved your computer issues. What a fabulous gift. Wonky computers are such huge stressors.
    Love the plan for a cruise with the whole family. Is it your plan for the two moms to share a cabin? While I naively thought our cruise package was all inclusive but for shore excursions which can be very expensive, a lot of dollars went to extras. One of the largest was the tip-out to staff which was billed as a percentage of costs already incurred. In our case it even included return flights from W. Canada to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.

  2. Petunia 100 Says:
    1451151323

    Oh, I love cruises! You might want to search for your particular cruise on vacationstogo dot com. They sell discounted cruise tickets from all cruise lines. You might be able to save some money that way.

    Do you plan to share a cabin with DIL's mom? Fares are quoted per person but based on double occupancy. If you want to have your very own cabin, double the quoted fare.

    Great news about the computer. Smile

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1451157497

    I've only been on one cruise, but I absolutely loved it!

    There are lots of ways to save money on a cruise - I think there is some kind of forum with dedicate cruise goers. I've seen people mention it before, but don't remember what it was called.

  4. CB in the City Says:
    1451167343

    Yes, I will share a cabin with DIL's mom. It is supposed to all-inclusive. My son told me just don't imbibe between meals and I should be okay. I'm sure there will be some excursion cost, since I am not one to sit on the boat. And there will be the cost of getting to New Orleans. My son is handling all the ticket-buying. I'll have to get a passport for the first time in my life!

  5. Buendia Says:
    1451180641

    The cruise sounds fun!

  6. pjmama Says:
    1451231545

    How fun! Enjoy yourself Smile

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