money Archives - Page 4 of 4

Is your e-mail inbox still being constantly bombarded by ads claiming “there’s still time but you have to hurry and order NOW!”?

I enjoy giving and getting “crap” every year, but not to the point where I’m having digestive issues from the severe stress of not having bought a super popular Elsa from “Frozen” doll like everyone else is getting this year. Okay, so Avery has no clue about cartoons or movies yet, but hopefully you get my drift.

If you’ve so much as thought about shopping at an online site, it probably seems like your brainwaves fed into your computer’s internet cookies and businesses are using your e-mail address to solicit potential business before it’s too late and you’re totally screwed and all of Christmas is ruined! Or something to that effect. 🙂

The above ad is one of the numerous e-mails littering my inbox with desperate attempts to catch those who procrastinated and are desperate to purchase gifts for others. I think this, along with all of the countless pleas by companies to win your last minute shopping business is PATHETIC!

True, I buy things for friends and family every Christmas, but I simply cannot stand the constant marketing claiming they have what you need to make this Christmas special as they twist your arm into feeling guilty for maybe not having bought enough or nothing at all for that 2nd cousin.

What if, now hear me out here, we quit worrying so much about getting things (read, crap) for others and maybe just give them some of your time? Yeah, like sit and talk, have a meal or just a drink with them and enjoy the moment. In the grand scheme of things, that time you spend together will last a lifetime. The item you rushed to buy? Probably not as long.

Make no mistake, I’m not claiming to be perfect or saying I’ve always done this myself, but I plan on doing it now. Like I said, I’ll buy things that have meaning, make it if/when I can, but also focus more on time as a wonderful gift. Unless you have very materialistic friends and relatives, they might appreciate it more than anything you can buy.

If you must buy something, buy a gift card to a nice coffee shop or restaurant and specify that it’s to use for you and that person or a group of people together.

You get it; focus less on the stressful rush to buy crap, and more on time with those you care about. As a super-major-gigantic plus, spending time instead of money is affordable for anyone. That is, unless, you have little ones that just started walking. Then you might have less time… 🙂

Umm, did you want in the fridge or something?

Yeah, every day is something new that requires Going Mom and I to figure out a solution. But it’s so worth it and I love seeing Avery walking around everywhere and discovering new abilities. Well, maybe not the outlet plug covers and never mind the fact that she’s constantly running into my legs and appearing out of no where behind me. They’re a lot quieter when on their feet as opposed to their hands and knees making a constant pitter-patter to announce they are coming!

So, this Christmas (and all other holidays/birthdays/special occasions), spend a little quality time with those you care about and don’t worry so much if you didn’t buy some material item.

Please, don’t let these stupid commercials claiming they have the deals to make this a “special Christmas” get to you. A REAL special Christmas is being together and enjoying time.

Have I mentioned to focus on quality time with loved ones? 🙂

Do you fall victim to the last-minute ads/shopping?

Have you tried just offering your time instead of purchased gifts?

Hi there and Happy Hump Day!

Does Wednesday make you happy or just mad it’s still not Friday? I will feel mad sometimes, but then optimism kicks in and I’m like “Hey, at least it’s not Monday!” So try to think of that. 🙂

The other day Going Mom and I were discussing finances and planning for Avery’s future by opening a 529 plan. We were going over our options and trying to decide what a good amount would be to make monthly contributions to ensure Avery has enough for college if and when she attends.

I say “if” just incase she becomes a superstar. She’s already our superstar, but we can’t pay her for it; sorry, Avery.

Going Mom has looked into the 529 plan more than I have and she calculated how much we’d need to start contributing now just so Avery had enough for just her first year! That’s going off the current cost of college, and something tells me it won’t go down in 18 years….

Then, discussing how much we could comfortably contribute, Kelley brought up a good point; we are paying monthly for something we only use as background noise at night! What is it? Satellite.

To begin with, we only have it for 2 channels; Food Network and HGTV. But on top of that, we don’t even watch the TV when it’s on! I guess this is better than what we were doing.

For the first few weeks after we brought Avery home, we’d sit in silence in our dark living room as Avery slept in her swinging chair. We would actually fall asleep in the living room too and really didn’t see our bed that often. We finally has success with getting Avery to sleep in her crib and the TV came back on.

But, the TV serves us better as a glowing light and background noise source. Watch the TV? Nah!

Kelley and I will have a short discussion every now and then, but we mostly just fall into a trance perusing the internet. Sadly, we might talk more to each other via Facebook than when we are sitting in the same room at night!

It’s not because we’re arguing (usually) or anything, we just both urn for some quiet time by the end of the day. I actually hate it if she goes off to bed because I always enjoy her company, even if we don’t say a word. Anyone else like that?

Hey, at least we’re “smart” and have the cheapest package you can get with DISH®, so give us a little credit. Plus, we do sometimes use the TV when G-ma is visiting since she likes to watch certain shows.

While we’re on the subject, another “pricey” thing we do is use Kelley’s iPad2 as a white noise machine. Yep, it just sits on a stand in the nursery and we turn on the white noise app at night and nap time. Why pay twenty dollars for a sound machine when you can use a $500 iPad? Don’t answer that.

Nobody’s perfect, right? For the most part we are pretty conservative and actually do really well with saving where we can. A huge savings is cooking your own food and not going out to eat. Since we don’t go out (ever), we are reaping the benefits of good health and saving cash.

Before I check out for the day, I wanted to make an update to our current nightly routine. I still prepare Going Mom’s meal so she can spend some time with Avery, and bath time goes on as usual, but Kelley is able to get Avery to sleep faster afterward. This means she is back out and sitting with me (as we don’t talk) in the living room while our ~~light and sound box~~ TV is on.

The part I’m starting to enjoy now that Avery is more active, is playing with her while Kelley has dinner. I’ll sit on the floor next to Kelley and do whatever keeps Avery happy. I do push my limits and Kelley has to call me out, but for the most part, it’s fun.

We found that Avery is ticklish just about everywhere..

…and really enjoys being hung upside-down.

And obviously, she enjoys eating her hand 24/7. But I actually get excited to play a little with her before bedtime, and it helps to get her to sleep faster too!

Do you have things you pay for on a monthly basis but don’t use?

Do you have a certain routine each night or do you just “wing it” every day?