Fabulous Financials

I finally finished my Christmas shopping so as my little cousin would say…prayzdalewya!  My budget was about 1/2 the amount of last year and I finished my shopping a few weeks early.  Woo-wee!  Now I’d like to review my spending to assess the damage.

1. BabyGirl: I actually spent about $60 less because several of her items were purchased with gift certificates or through Fat Wallet cash back links (refunds pending).  I found almost everything she asked for and a few things she didn’t ask for.  Maybe one of her gazillion aunts and uncles (or older cousins) will honor the rest of her requests because there are just some things I am NOT going to buy – even for my own child.  Also, if the interim report is not up to snuff on December 18th (yes the school sends a grade report home right before Christmas LOL), EVERYTHING I bought is going BACK – and I mean it.  Got it?  Good!

2. Mom: One of my aunts is planning a big New Year’s Eve bash, so my intent was to buy my mom a fab NYE outfit.  However, that idea went out the window when I was home for Thanksgiving.  We went shopping and she…*cough*…MADE me buy her not one, but TWO dresses.  Thank goodness we were in Ross, which just so happens to be both of our favorite store.  So I told her those dresses were her Christmas present and she looked at me like I had two heads.  Sheesh, that woman is no joke!

Sticking to my guns, yet being the dutiful daughter that I am, I decided to buy her a pair of pumps and accessories to match the dress I liked the most.  On NYE, ma dukes will be donned in an off the shoulder black dress with purple, silver, and black accessories.  Tres’ fab!

3. Brother: He’s into the COOGI name brand, which I think looks absolutely ridiculous.  But hey, I’m not a 20-something boy running after cute little girls, so what do I know.  Instead of spending $80+ for a darn shirt at the department stores, I learned a few tricks from my uncle – who’s an expert eBayer – and won two auctions.  According to the site, the shirts are authentic, the labels in the pics look legit and the seller had a 100% positive feedback rating since 2006.  Can’t expect any better than that.  Well, except I made the purchase through a Microsoft Live Search 30% cash back link, so I’m waiting for my paypal refund any day now.

4. Tenants:  They were not part of the original plan, but I already told you that story.

5. Adopted Family:  I bought almost everything the kids wanted (and needed).

– I spent most of my shopping effort and money on the 7 year girl.  Finding that Baby Alive doll at a reasonable price was difficult because I was NOT going to spend $59.99 for a friggin’ baby doll.  But when I finally found it at Kohls for $29.99, I snatched it up without a second thought.

– For the 11 year old girl, the only item I had trouble finding was a hand held video game.  I searched high and low for a DS-lite on sale, but eventually, I said forget it.  Then BabyGirl said “mom, can I give her my Gameboy Advance?  It has some of my favorite games, but if you can’t find what she wants, she can have mine.”  I was moved by her generosity, but called the mom to ask if this was ok.  Not that it would matter either way, I just didn’t want her to think I was giving her daughter something we considered trash.  She was very humble and said her daughter would appreciate anything we gave her.  So BabyGirl gathered her GBA, the carrying case, night light, magnifying glass, and all the games in their original boxes and put them in a gift bag.

We were going to get her a karaoke machine, but we found out she received one for her birthday.  I bought both of the girls’ clothes from Old Navy because they were having a super duper sale – sweaters $10, long sleeve Ts $6, jeans $12, cute skirts $8 – all with an extra 20% off coupon.  Man, I had a field day in there!

– The 13 year old boy was Mr. EC’s responsibility.

– One of my girlfriends chipped in to help me do a little something for the mom.  We bought shower gel, lotion, and body spray from BB&W in the Sweet Pea and Cucumber Melon scents – both of our favorite – hope she likes it too.  We also shared the expense of a $100 gift card from Safeway so she won’t have to worry about buying food for Christmas dinner.

6. Miscellaneous: Technically, after adding my tenants to the list, I had nothing left for miscellaneous.  Despite the budget limitations, I had to buy an extra box of Christmas cards because I didn’t have enough for my personal list and the office staff.  I also bought a bag of holiday chocolates for work.  AND.  I had to buy the ingredients for sugar cookies.  Yes, BabyGirl and I still make sugar cookies on Christmas eve…and wait up for Santa. LOL!

Overall, I exceeded my budget by ~$13.  Not bad, but not quite on target compared to last year’s budget and actuals.  That’s ok though.  I don’t expect to have anymore holiday related expenses because I’ve decided not to travel for Christmas.  I’m going to kick back in my comfy, cozy home and enjoy the rest of this holiday season with my two three babies. ;-)