$400. Say Again? You Spent How Much on Flowers?

My husband is adorable. Every year he remembers to order flowers for my mom and grandmother. What a good son-in-law, right? The trouble is he spends a lot of money each year shipping them out on Valentine’s Day. Buying flowers online is expensive enough, but shipping and handling can often cost another $20 to $25, … Read more

What Do You Do With Unwanted Gift Cards?

I have a stack of gift cards in my home. I bought a few of them at discounted prices and received a bunch of others as gifts over the years. If you name a place I probably own a gift card for it. You know how it is, you return an unwanted gift to a … Read more

how to tell someone you don't like their gift

How to Tell Someone You Don’t Like Their Gift

What do you do when someone gives you a gift you don’t like? Every Christmas, we inevitably receive a bunch of gifts we don’t want to keep. Sometimes we receive a gift slip in the box, but usually, we have no way of returning the items we receive. Many times we don’t even know where … Read more

My Two Gift Rule: How Long Can It Continue?

For the past two years my husband and I have given my son one gift each. He was born in October of 2011, so last year he was only two months old when Christmas rolled around and this year he was just a few days over 14 months. At this age he doesn’t know the … Read more

Gifts for Those Who Aren’t Expecting Them

On Christmas Eve my husband and I placed $50 grocery store gift cards into holiday cards, loaded my son into the back of our car and drove to two nearby fire stations to deliver them. At both stations we were welcomed in by friendly volunteer firemen who were elated to receive an unexpected Christmas gift. … Read more

The Art of Shaving: Shaving Kit Gift for Men

Over the years my Christmas wish lists have changed dramatically. One year I asked for practical gifts, one year I asked for fun gifts, one year I wanted to focus on consumable items, the next I concentrated on interesting experiences. As much as my overall desires have changed one thing has remained steady. Every year, … Read more

Saving Money on Christmas: I Kicked Butt This Year!

I just reviewed my Christmas expenses and couldn’t believe how little I spent this year. As I mentioned earlier this week my brother and I recently decided to stop exchanging gifts with one another. Instead we’ll focus solely on providing gifts for the children. That change resulted in two fewer gifts under the tree and … Read more

The End of Gift Exchanges

After a lot of consideration my brother and I have decided not to swap Christmas gifts this year. I’ll still buy gifts for my niece and nephew and he’ll do the same for my son, but we will no longer exchange gifts between each other. It’s always a struggle to decide what to buy and … Read more