Back at Halloween, the girls' MDO class had a little Halloween party with special snacks and all that good stuff. I sent the snack we signed up for, and Mackenzie and Addison wore their cute little Halloween shirts. I thought we had fulfilled all the 'obligations' for the day.
When they got home from school that day, they had little baskets with small treat bags and Halloween books. I didn't think much about it, just assuming that the teacher had given it out to the class. Upon closer inspection later that night, I realized that the little treat bags and books were from the other kids in the class, who apparently brought small favors for their classmates.
My kids were the only ones who didn't bring treats for their friends. MOM FAIL.
I didn't get too bent out of shape about it, as we are new to the whole MDO thing and two of the three others in the class have older siblings so they have done all this before. I did, however, resolve that Addison and Mackenzie would most certainly be taking Christmas goodies for their friends.
For the most part, those little gifts are taken care of....thank you, Target dollar aisle!
Now my question is--What do I get the teacher?
I have heard lots of people, teachers included, mention that the best gift for teachers is a gift card in any amount. After all, four $5 gift cards add up to $20, which comes in pretty handy, right? And that has to be preferable over ten bottles of smelly lotion that she will never use or specialty coffee she will never drink. (I actually have no idea if she drinks coffee all, so that one is out anyway.)
What do y'all think? Gift card? If so, how much? I mean, I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I do have two kids in her class...two-fifths of the class. She deserves more than a $10 gift for putting up with both of them, right? $20?
Then there's the question of what type of gift card to get. I have never heard of anyone who dislikes Target, so that's always an option. The problem is, there is not one here in our town. The closest one is about an hour away. A Wal-Mart card seems a little generic, like I'm suggesting she could spend it on groceries or something (neurotic much?). There are a few little gift shops in town, but is that too specialized? What about a restaurant gift card? Oh, or maybe gift certificate to the local movie theater?
As you can tell, I am probably way over-thinking this, but I need some advice!
Thoughts, please.
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
12.09.2010
11.09.2010
Family of Four
It has been 19 months now since our family doubled in size from two to four. You would think the fact that we are now a family of four might have sunk in by now, right? I realized the other day that maybe it hasn't yet.
The girls' MDO program is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and we received a note about t-shirts they are selling to mark the occasion. I, for one, can never have enough long-sleeved t-shirts, so I knew we would be ordering. As I filled out that order form, I noticed how quickly the numbers added up:
2 adult long-sleeve shirts @ $13.00 each=$26.00
2 kids' t-shirts @ $10.00 each=$20.00
Total cost of commemorative MDO shirts for this family of four: a whopping $46.00!
For some reason, spending almost $50 just to outfit our family in t-shirts really brought home the fact that we are really and truly a family of four.
I think we need to be hitting up all the places that give free admission to kids under two...because once we have to start paying four admission fees, we could go broke in a hurry!!
The girls' MDO program is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and we received a note about t-shirts they are selling to mark the occasion. I, for one, can never have enough long-sleeved t-shirts, so I knew we would be ordering. As I filled out that order form, I noticed how quickly the numbers added up:
2 adult long-sleeve shirts @ $13.00 each=$26.00
2 kids' t-shirts @ $10.00 each=$20.00
Total cost of commemorative MDO shirts for this family of four: a whopping $46.00!
For some reason, spending almost $50 just to outfit our family in t-shirts really brought home the fact that we are really and truly a family of four.
I think we need to be hitting up all the places that give free admission to kids under two...because once we have to start paying four admission fees, we could go broke in a hurry!!
Mackenzie is getting a head start on saving money by shopping the sale papers. (She was fascinated by the WalMart ad a couple of weeks ago!)
6.09.2010
Easy Money
I'm struggling to stay on the budgeting bandwagon and to improve our monthly spending habits. It's summertime--when I long for a cute, comfortable dress, a good book, and a cute new bathing suit to hide my stretch marks. Oh, and a white chocolate moccha frappucino from Starbucks to sip while I sit around reading that good book and wearing my new bathing suit. (Hmm..that sounds strangely like what vacation used to be like before our two little munchkins came along!)
The point is, it's tough to keep my spending in control sometimes. I am having to learn the value of waiting and saving my extra money for the bigger things I want. For instance, I am using a birthday check from my dad to get the super-cute Kindle cover I've had my eye on for the last month or so. I couldn't justify the cost just because I wanted it, but with that little additional "fun money", I can order it and not feel guilty.
Another trick I'm using to pay for my extras without taking a chunk out of the budget is by using a couple of reward websites to earn gift cards. My regular Visa credit card earns reward points for every dollar spent. I don't make it a habit to charge on that card, but when we moved and bought new appliances, it was convenient to put them on the card, then pay the bill when we got our income tax refund. That added up to quite a bit of points, which I just cashed in for a $25.00 Amazon gift card.
I recently opened a Gap Visa account, which earns reward points toward Gap gift cards. I found a great pair of jeans that were already on sale, plus I saved about $15 extra on my purchase by opening a card (don't worry...I am almost never talked into opening a store card. It just worked out that I would save enough on that day that I considered it to be worth the investment). I just earned my first $10 gift card, and I'm only 6 points away from earning another one. The cool thing about the Gap Visa is that I can use it anywhere--not just at Gap stores. So, for example, I can put my gas on it, pay it off each month, and earn points toward gift cards for something I would be buying anyway. Good deal, right? I also like that the Gap rewards can be used at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Piperlime, so I'm not limited to Gap.
Another easy way I've been earning rewards online is by using Swagbucks. You earn points by using their search engine for everyday internet searches, by taking surveys, answering poll questions, etc. It's pretty easy and totally free. I just earned my first Amazon gift card today, and it really took very little effort. (yay!) If you might be interested in Swagbucks, click the link above and you can sign up as a referral under my account...that means when you earn points, I will too!
The last "easy money" program I've been participating in is MyPoints. This one is even easier than Swagbucks for me, and the points seem to accumulate a little faster overall. There are a variety of ways to earn with MyPoints as well. The easiest is by "reading" the email they send on a daily basis, then clicking the enclosed link to visit the website. You earn more for signing up for the offer they're promoting, but you get points just for clicking to the site. What could be easier than that? There are also surveys, special offers, etc. Oh, and with both MyPoints and Swagbucks, you can earn points shopping online. You shop at the same places you normally do, but you click through their site first, and you can earn points for every dollar you spend. MyPoints seems to have more participating retailers and offer more points per dollar, but I haven't earned by the shopping method yet. I have only been doing MyPoints for a few weeks, and I'm well on my way to another gift card. (I would suggest setting up a dedicated email for things like this...they can clog your inbox after awhile.)
With all the gift cards headed my way, it's shaping up to be a good month around here. I like to get Amazon cards, because you can order SO much off the one website. Of course, we all know what I'll most likely be using my gift cards for...books for my Kindle! : )
What are your secrets for squeezing extra spending money out of your budget? And what is your favorite thing to buy with that "fun money"? Any other good rewards programs I am missing out on?
The point is, it's tough to keep my spending in control sometimes. I am having to learn the value of waiting and saving my extra money for the bigger things I want. For instance, I am using a birthday check from my dad to get the super-cute Kindle cover I've had my eye on for the last month or so. I couldn't justify the cost just because I wanted it, but with that little additional "fun money", I can order it and not feel guilty.
Another trick I'm using to pay for my extras without taking a chunk out of the budget is by using a couple of reward websites to earn gift cards. My regular Visa credit card earns reward points for every dollar spent. I don't make it a habit to charge on that card, but when we moved and bought new appliances, it was convenient to put them on the card, then pay the bill when we got our income tax refund. That added up to quite a bit of points, which I just cashed in for a $25.00 Amazon gift card.
I recently opened a Gap Visa account, which earns reward points toward Gap gift cards. I found a great pair of jeans that were already on sale, plus I saved about $15 extra on my purchase by opening a card (don't worry...I am almost never talked into opening a store card. It just worked out that I would save enough on that day that I considered it to be worth the investment). I just earned my first $10 gift card, and I'm only 6 points away from earning another one. The cool thing about the Gap Visa is that I can use it anywhere--not just at Gap stores. So, for example, I can put my gas on it, pay it off each month, and earn points toward gift cards for something I would be buying anyway. Good deal, right? I also like that the Gap rewards can be used at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Piperlime, so I'm not limited to Gap.
Another easy way I've been earning rewards online is by using Swagbucks. You earn points by using their search engine for everyday internet searches, by taking surveys, answering poll questions, etc. It's pretty easy and totally free. I just earned my first Amazon gift card today, and it really took very little effort. (yay!) If you might be interested in Swagbucks, click the link above and you can sign up as a referral under my account...that means when you earn points, I will too!
The last "easy money" program I've been participating in is MyPoints. This one is even easier than Swagbucks for me, and the points seem to accumulate a little faster overall. There are a variety of ways to earn with MyPoints as well. The easiest is by "reading" the email they send on a daily basis, then clicking the enclosed link to visit the website. You earn more for signing up for the offer they're promoting, but you get points just for clicking to the site. What could be easier than that? There are also surveys, special offers, etc. Oh, and with both MyPoints and Swagbucks, you can earn points shopping online. You shop at the same places you normally do, but you click through their site first, and you can earn points for every dollar you spend. MyPoints seems to have more participating retailers and offer more points per dollar, but I haven't earned by the shopping method yet. I have only been doing MyPoints for a few weeks, and I'm well on my way to another gift card. (I would suggest setting up a dedicated email for things like this...they can clog your inbox after awhile.)
With all the gift cards headed my way, it's shaping up to be a good month around here. I like to get Amazon cards, because you can order SO much off the one website. Of course, we all know what I'll most likely be using my gift cards for...books for my Kindle! : )
What are your secrets for squeezing extra spending money out of your budget? And what is your favorite thing to buy with that "fun money"? Any other good rewards programs I am missing out on?
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