Walmart Holiday Layaway

I realize school is just starting but it is also a great time to start your holiday planning if you haven’t already.  Here is a blog post I wrote last year about saving money and time by planning ahead for holiday expenses.

 One way to purchase items over a period of time is with layaway.  Walmart is offering holiday layaway beginning September 16 and running thru December 14.  Items that can be put on layaway include toys, electronics, small home appliances and select sporting goods such as trampolines and large exercise equipment.  Each item must be at least $15 and the total layaway purchase must be at least $50.

A down payment of 10 percent or $10, whichever is greater, is required and will be applied to the purchase.  There is also a $15 fee to open an account.  If the order is cancelled or not paid in full, the $15 is not refunded.  Shoppers who make their final layaway payment get a refund of the $15 fee in the form of a Wal-Mart gift card.

Layaway plans are also offered by Kmart, Sears and ToysRUs.

Even though with layaway programs you avoid credit card debt and fees, you still need to monitor what you are spending so you are able to make the payments as they are scheduled.

90 Day Holiday Countdown - Part 3

Following is a recap of the holiday posts

Days 1-30

Days 31-60

Day 61 - CyberMonday
Day 62 - DIY Candles
Day 63 - Gift Card Incentives
Day 64 - Marcus Theatres Passport
Day 65 - Holiday Cupcakes
Day 66 - Save With Rebates
Day 67 - 21 Day Plan to More Organized Christmas
Day 68 - Stocking Stuffer Ideas
Day 69 - Saving on Holiday Expenses
Day 70 - Give the Gift of Theatre
Day 71 - Gift Ideas
Day 72 - Preparing for Holiday Guests
Day 73 - Winter Berry Wreath Salad
Day 74 - Holiday Shows at Planetarium
Day 75 - Order Dates for Holiday Delivery
Day 76 - Holiday Activities
Day 77 - Gift card packaging ideas
Day 78 - Christmas Cards or Not
Day 79 - Gingerbread House ideas
Day 80 - Holiday Tipping

Saving on Holiday Meals

Just as with holiday gift shopping it is important to budget for your holiday meals. Many of the grocery stores currently have and will have baking items and other holiday items on sale in the coming weeks.

Sunmart is offering Holiday Bucks to use on future purchases. You can earn up to 4 Holiday Bucks per shopping visit. You can earn 1 Holiday Buck per $30 spent per shopping trip up to $120. The Holiday Bucks can be redeemed through December 31.

If you have a list of items you will need that can be purchased ahead of time you can add them to your shopping a few at a time instead of a large bill at the end.

This is also a great time to stock up on items you may use throughout the year such as flour, butter, nuts, baking chips, etc. Butter, nuts and baking chips can be stored in the freezer so they last longer.

With the prices of groceries continuing to increase, it may be wise to stock up on items now if your budget allows.

Gifts in Cans

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In a previous post I described how to transform a cereal box into a gift/treat box.

I did a similar thing with nut cans and coffee cans. Cut scrapbook paper to make a band around the can and glue the edges together. You can also cut a circle of paper to glue to the top of the can. There are several recipes for snack mixes, here is a blog post I found with some ideas for snack mix recipes. The cans can also be used to give other gifts such as hot cocoa and other drink mixes

90 Day holiday Countdown Part 2

It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is about 90 days away. It is my goal to make a post the next 90 days with money saving ideas, recipes and decorating ideas to help you take some of the stress out of the holidays.

One of the first things to do is make a holiday budget. Sit down and make a list of everyone you are planning on buying a gift for. Along the each name write an amount you plan on spending and any ideas you may have. Total up your amounts to see what the total amount is. When you see the total you can divide by the amount of months or weeks left and try to work it into your monthly budget.

After you have made up your gift budget, also do the same thing with other extra expenses you are planning on such as parties, extra dining out, cards, giftwrap and other expenses.

Following is a recap of the holiday posts

Days 1-30


Day 31 - Black Friday Sales
Day 32 - Holiday Home Tours
Day 33 - Cookie Transformations
Day 34 - Ways to Chalk it Up
Day 35 - Avoiding Holiday Debt
Day 36 - Transform Cereal Box into Gift box
Day 37 - Gifts in Cans
Day 38 - Holiday Vendor Shows
Day 39 - Saving on Holiday Meals
Day 40 - Saving on Holiday Expenses
Day 41 - Its a Wonderful Night event
Day 42 - Concordia Catering Bake Sale
Day 43 - Gift a Book
Day 44 - Kids Money Gifts
Day 45 - Pride of Dakota shows
Day 46 - Thanksgiving Weekend Shopping
Day 47 - Best Buy Electronics Recycling
Day 48 - Unique Boutique
Day 49 - Budget Conscious Holiday Meals
Day 50 - Semi Homemade Holidays
Day 51 - Conscious spending
Day 52- Need Gift Cards
Day 53 - Black Friday Shopping
Day 54 - Unglued Christmas Market
Day 55 - Christmas Family Countdown
Day 56 - Poor Paper Boys
Day 57 - Save Coin Black Friday Deals
Day 58 - Holiday Light Displays
Day 59 - 10 Christmas Movies to enjoy
Day 60 - Weeky recap

Gift wrap ideas

Along with purchasing gifts, you also need to wrap the gifts. With a little work you can make one of a kind bags or reusable bags. If you are giving gift cards, there are various ways to give the gift cards instead of just the card you get from the store.

I have made a Pinterest board with Gift Bag ideas.

Another idea is to use containers for baked goods and other treats, such as the plastic coffee cans. Wash them out and remove the label. It can be as easy as wrapping a piece of ribbon around the can and tying a bow. Look around your house for other containers you could use for gift giving.

Holiday Planning Guide

Jessica from Life As Mom has put together a Holiday Planning Guide. It has planning pages for your holiday gift buying list and other schedules for the holidays.

Along with the e-book, in the coming weeks she will be having posts with recipes, gift ideas and other ideas to take some of the stress out of the holidays. She is a homeschooling mom of six, so she is used to stress.

I read her blog most days and get many great ideas from it.

Southwest Holiday Sale

If you have plans to fly over the holidays, check out the Southwest website to see if you can find a deal on your flights.

Southwest Airlines has flights between December 13th and January 5th on sale for as low as $59 One-Way. If you paid for your flights at a higher price, you can contact Southwest and they will issue you a credit for the difference.

Flights need to be booked by Thursday (Oct 27) to get these low rates.

Holiday Light Hanging Deal

Today's deal on SaveCoin.com is for exterior light hanging. For $75 you get 2 1/2 hours of exterior light hanging from United Lawn Services. The regular price of this is $160. There may be an additional fee for larger homes and the deal is only valid for homes and businesses within 15 miles of Fargo. Appointments must be scheduled by November 15.

There are several other businesses in the area that offer light hanging services for the holidays.

Check out SaveCoin.com today for more information or to purchase the deal.

Ways to Save on Tableware

If you are entertaining for the holidays and needing china, glassware or silverware one way to save money from paying retail is checking out thrift stores or resale stores. One local place that is great is Heirlooms. Heirlooms is an upscale resale store, where the proceeds supports the Hospice of the Red River Valley. It is located at 1617 32nd Ave S, Fargo. They have a room of china, glassware, silverware and table linens. Some thrift stores may also have these items at a good price.

If you decide to serve it buffet style, one idea is to put boxes, blocks, etc under the table cloth to place your items at different levels to add interest to your table.

If you need a cake stand or stand for other items it is easy to make your own. If you have extra pieces or you can find some at thrift stores. You can make a stand by gluing together cups and plates, glasses and mirrored pieces or glasses or vases and plates.

Tips to Hosting a Cookie Exchange

One way to get a variety of holiday cookes is to host a cookie exchange. A cookie exchange is when each participant brings a number of one type of cookie and they swap so each goes home with a variety of cookies.

Along with swapping cookies it is also a great excuse to get together with friends. I participated in a cookie exchange a few times through a group I used to belong to. In some cases you are asked to bring some extra cookies to enjoy during the party and in other cases they may have appetizers and h'orderves that guests bring.

Some tips on hosting a cookie exchange are:
It is recommended to send out invitations about a month before the planned date so people can put it on their calendars. Also, once you have a list of interested people you can take a vote to see what date and time works best for them.



When the guests arrive have them put their cookies on the table you have ready for them. After a 20-30 minute time of socializing the swap can begin. They can take turns going around the table taking a certain number of each type of cookie.

Before the swap begins you can have each guest introduce themselves and their cookie and if they have a story about their cookie (i.e. if it is a family recipe, etc).

The number of cookies each guest should bring depends on how many guests are participating. It is recommended to have about 10-12 guests and each to bring 10-12 cookies per guest.

The 10 dozen or so cookies may seem like a lot to make but you only need to make one kind and you end up with about the same number of cookies but several different types.

There are a number of websites and books with more ideas on cookie exchanges.

Photo Gifts

There are a variety of gifts you can buy that you can have some of your favorite photos put on. A couple of stores that offer photo products are Walgreens and CVS. Both Walgreens and CVS have discounts on photo products through this Saturday, Oct. 8. There are usually sales on these products frequently. There are also other stores and online sites that offer photo gifts. Some of the items available are photo books, collages, mugs, calendars, posters, throws and mouse pads.

There are also businesses and sites online that you can order a photo that is put onto a canvas. One of the sites I have used a couple of times is Canvas People. Last Christmas I ordered a canvas of our family picture for my parents. And my sister’s family gave them a throw that had a photo of them and the grandchildren.

With photo gifts you can enjoy your favorite photos throughout the year.

Making Mixes as Gifts

One way to either save money on bakning mixes for your own use or to give as gifts is to make your own. As in this post with a little time you can mix up the dry ingredients for recipes with instructions for wet ingredients and baking directions to use in the future. You can do the same thing with recipes you have or look online for other recipes such as cookies and bars.

If you are planning to use for yourself you can store in quart or gallon size storage bags or jars. You may want to store them in the freezer so they last longer.

If you are planning on giving them as a gift some ideas are putting in ziplock storage bags with a border on the top of the bag. Cut a piece of cardstock the same width as the bag and long enough to fold over the top of the bag and glue or tape the sides together. You could also put the mixes in glass jars and wrap the lid with ribbon. When giving as a gift include a card with the wet ingredients needed and baking instructions.

You could include the mixes in a gift basket with other items such as potholders, pans, baking chips, etc. I have also seen an idea online of using a 5 gallon pail with flour, sugar and other items needed for baking.

These mix ideas could be used for gifts for neighbors, teachers, bus drivers, and other people you want to purchase gifts for.

Sending Christmas Cards

Besides gifts, another major part of the holidays for many families is sending and receiving cards or family letters. Sending cards and letters is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends but some people may feel pressured to send them.

I realize we are all busy but if you start making plans and can break them down and work on them when you have time it may be less stressful than waiting until the last minute. If you can get some of it done now it will be easier than trying to do so many things closer to the holidays when things may be even busier. Cards after the holidays may be welcomed by some people since they get most of them before the holidays.

Also by having cards and letters done early, you may be able to find sales or deals than waiting until closer to the holidays.

If you don't have time now or before the holidays, you could consider sending them after the holidays. If your family can only get together over the holidays and you want to send a card of photos taken then, you could send New Years cards.

This is part of the series I am doing of ideas to help with your holiday shopping, decorating and recipes.

90 Day Holiday Countdown

It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is about 90 days away. It is my goal to make a post the next 90 days with money saving ideas, recipes and decorating ideas to help you take some of the stress out of the holidays.

One of the first things to do is make a holiday budget. Sit down and make a list of everyone you are planning on buying a gift for. Along the each name write an amount you plan on spending and any ideas you may have. Total up your amounts to see what the total amount is. When you see the total you can divide by the amount of months or weeks left and try to work it into your monthly budget.

After you have made up your gift budget, also do the same thing with other extra expenses you are planning on such as parties, extra dining out, cards, giftwrap and other expenses.

Following is a recap of the holiday posts

Day 2 - Sending Christmas Cards
Day 3 - Halloween DIY
Day 4- Experiences Over Gifts
Day 5 - Shopping For Holiday Supplies
Day 6 - Homemade Mixes as Gifts
Day 7 - Shopping With Layaway
Day 8 - Photo Gifts
Day 9 - Tips to Hosting a Cookie Exchange
Day 10 - Halloween Alternatives to Candy
Day 11- Saving on Baking Supplies
Day 12 - Shopping with Daily Deal Sites
Day 13 - Crockpot Cooking
Day 14 - Scrapbook Paper Gifts
Day 15 - Holiday Travel Expenses
Day 16 - Uses for Mason Jars
Day 17 - Holiday Rice Krispie treats
Day 19 - Wreath ideas
Day 20 - Beware of Sales Ads
Day 21 - Saving on Tableware
Day 22 - Gifts from Game Pieces
Day 23 - Online Holiday Shopping
Day 24 Getting Ready for Halloween
Day 25 - Giving Back During the Holidays
Day 26 - Thanksgiving Decorating
Day 27 - Saving on Holiday Outfits
Day 28 - Holiday Price Matching
Day 29 - Gift Wrapping Ideas
Day 30 - Canvas People Deal