Welcome to my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!!
I am so happy you decided to stop by my Christmas Blog!!
Every room in our townhouse has a different Christmas Theme and Color Scheme!!
I prove that you do not have to live in a large home to have several Trees, over 20, in all shapes and sizes!!
The majority of my Christmas decorations are placed in the same room every year and I know that this is not what most Decorator's care for but to me, it like seeing old friends again when I decorate each year for Christmas as many of my decorations were gifts from family and friends...........
The majority of my Christmas decorations are placed in the same room every year and I know that this is not what most Decorator's care for but to me, it like seeing old friends again when I decorate each year for Christmas as many of my decorations were gifts from family and friends...........
I do try to add a few new things and change up things a bit but for the most part, these decorations are part of my Christmas Traditions and bring back a lot of treasured memories.....
I post 3 TIMES A WEEK on MONDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAYS.....
As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....
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In my last post over on my regular Blog, Debbie-Dabble Blog, I shared how I decorated this corner of the Living Room in an Elegant Autumn theme for Fall......
HAPPY RUDOLPH DAY!!!!!
Rudolph Day is celebrated the 25th of each month......
Most will share something to do with Christmas on Rudolph Day....
Today, I am going to be touching on 2 different topics but both are connected.......
For today's Rudolph Day post, I am going to be focusing on Financial Planning for Christmas, which also goes hand in hand with my Winter Food Stock Up Plan....
How many of you plan financially for Christmas ahead of time?????
I briefly touched on this subject in my January Rudolph Day post....
Today, I am going to report on how I did with this so far.....
Ever since I gave birth to my two sons in December, yes both born in December, I started planning, financially, for not only Christmas, but for both their Birthdays!!
The one thing that helped me do this was that the Credit Union, where my pay check was deposited, offered a Christmas Club...
I was quite familiar with the concept of a Christmas Club because my Mother , who was a sewing machine operator in the Garment Industry, always had one that she depended on for Christmas gifts....
She even continued it in retirement.....
As my salary as a registered Nurse continued to increase over the years, so did what I chose to contribute to my Christmas Club....
By the time that I resigned from my job in 2019 and retired, I was receiving $3500 every October 1st, deposited directly in my Savings Account from my Christmas Club!!
Now I know you are probably thinking that is a lot to spend on Christmas presents...
My Christmas Club was used for so much more than Christmas gift giving....
Here is the breakdown of what it was used for:
1. Purchasing food for all the Holiday dinners which I host for my family including:
Thanksgiving Day, Jim's Birthday Pizza Party on Dec. 7th, Christmas Eve Holy Supper, Christmas Day Dinner, Joey's Birthday Pizza Party on Dec. 29th, New Year's Eve Dinner and New Year's Day Dinner and also Holiday get togethers with extended family and friends...
2. All Christmas gifts for my immediate & extended family, friends, the mail man and my hair stylist for which I give money to all instead of buying gifts....
3. HOA's yearly fee which is due in the beginning of each New Year
4, Property and municipality taxes which are due in March
When I retired, that was the end of my Christmas Club as it was automatically taken out of my pay....
Up until the birth of my Twin Granddaughters in 2023, we still did not have a Christmas Club ...
When Lily and Gigi were born several weeks early on December 29th, which is also their Uncle Joey's Birthday, Joe and I started another Christmas Club for 2024 for $1000 at my Credit Union, using direct deposit from our checking account...
Yes, we now had 4 Birthdays in December!!!!
I can not tell you how much that Christmas Club came in handy as I was trying to manage financially in the wake of Joe's passing....
I never managed the finances even though I did manage everything else in our married lives...
It gave me the money I needed for gifts, for now 4 Birthdays along with Holiday meals....
I increased the monthly amount for my Christmas Club for 2025 right after the New Year...
As time went on and I made it through the first year after Joe's passing, I was able to see what all my bills were for an entire year and start formulating a Financial Plan that I could continue to live comfortably with as a widow ...
Remember that I was new to all of this...
I am very proud to say that I was able to contribute more to my Christmas Club and will be receiving $2400 from it in October...
I have increased the automatic deposits that this will be the minimum that I will get next year and I will see if I can add more to it...
This will allow me to pay for everything that I mentioned previously in this post that I was using my Christmas Club for prior to my retirement in addition to Christmas contributions to my church....
This will also allow me to remain credit card debt FREE!!!
For many years now, I have kept a Christmas Planner....
When you have both your son's Birthdays in the same month as Christmas, and work full time night shift, you need to be organized....
Since I have hosted all Holiday dinners for my little family for over 30 years now, I keep a record of exactly what I serve for each meal as these are meals that stay the same , for the most part, because of our Holiday traditions....
These were my notes from last year as we did change a few things around...
I have even kept the receipts from Valley Seafood, a local place where I buy my seafood for Christmas Eve Holy Supper and New Year's Eve Dinner...
This not only reminds me of the cost but also what I ordered...
I have also written down all the ingredients for my Holiday baking as I usually make the same cookies every year...
I will be very shortly making a list of everything I need for holiday baking and will be picking up those items on the list over the next few weeks so I will pretty much have everything by the end of November instead of having to go and buy it all at once in December...
I already have everything bought for my family Thanksgiving Day Dinner!!!!
We always have a Turkey Breast instead of a whole turkey....
I picked up this one, which was on sale last week, for $1.99 a pound....
With the $1.00 off per pound, I only paid $12.84!
This will be the perfect size for us for Thanksgiving Day dinner..
In the Summer, Price Chopper included turkey breasts in their Buy One Get One FREE meat sale which they run about every 4-6 weeks....
I bought two 5.5 pound ones and actually made one of them for Sunday dinner last weekend....
I have also been doing my Winter Stock Up in anticipation of even more increasing grocery prices...
Right now, my pantry closet is overflowing and since I use instant flavored mashed potatoes, Heinz turkey gravy and canned vegetables for Thanksgiving Day Dinner, I already have them bought!
Since I started doing the Grocery shopping after Joe passed away, as he did it for 46 years of marriage, I have been stocking up on food as part of my overall Financial Plan....
Yes, Mother Barna's cupboard is filled!!
I only shop for groceries at Price Chopper and on occasion at Dollar General if they have a good sale on something that I use....
I feel driving all over to different grocery stores only costs you more in gas and equals out what you think you may save with sales in those stores...
I could go to Wegman's, as I actually drive through their parking lot on my way to Price Chopper to avoid a particularly crazy intersection, but I still have a hard time going there because Joe worked there in retirement.....
I buy in bulk if things are on sale....
I bought all of this plus a few other things this week for only $42.03....
I used over $11 in Rewards to decrease the total cost.....
These were 5 for $5.....
These were 10 for $10!!
And so were these....
The rice on the left was 4 for $5 and the shredded cheese, which I will use in casseroles, was 3 for $5!!
I think Joe would be proud of me because I actually think I am doing better at this than he did!!
LOL!!
I still send out Christmas cards via snail mail....
One book of 20 stamps costs around $16 now...
Instead of buying stamps for those cards all at once in December, I will be picking up a book of stamps next week when I go for groceries and another book of stamps in October so I will have the stamps bought when I start to write out my Christmas cards....
I have also been buying clothes for the twins for both Christmas and their Birthdays since July, when many things were on clearance in Boscov's....
I have bought larger sizes that they will fit in by Spring and early Summer...
I am now finished with any Christmas shopping that I would be doing...
I have also made an agreement with my son and DIL in regards to toys for the girls....
Since I have no idea what to buy them or what they already have, I am going to do the same thing that both my Mother and MIL did for my sons for Christmas and their Birthdays...
I am giving them "X" amount of money to use to buy toys for their Birthdays and Christmas....
They will then give me what toys they bought with that money....
I will wrap them up so the twins can open them here at Mimi's house when we celebrate each event....
This way, the parents pick out the toys they want the twins to have and I stay within my Holiday Budget by not having to shop for them...
Because you all know that it is human nature to keep buying things we see that we think someone may want as a gift....
I have been gifting money and gift cards for many, many years now because when both my sons hit 18 years of age, they requested money over gifts...
One last thing I want to mention is that for many years, Joe and I saved change for Christmas shopping...
Now I know many of you, including myself, do not use cash in paying for merchandise any more....
However, I do like to have some in my wallet for purchases under $20 or for places that do not accept debit or credit cards like yard sales, farmer's markets, flea markets, etc...
When Joe passed away, he had over $100 in change saved and I have been adding to it so it is well over $200 now...
I am saving that for a little emergency fund that I can easily cash in if needed...
Back in the day, we would cash in close to $500 and would use it for Christmas in addition to my Christmas Club....
Because of this Financial Plan, I will continue to be credit card debt FREE!!!
I wanted to share this with all of you because you may want to look into a Christmas Club at your financial institution or if they do not have one, set up a special savings account to use for Christmas shopping and contribute a set amount of money monthly into it.....
I know times are really tough financially right now and will be getting even tougher so many of you may struggle with this idea...
Maybe this will help....
These are the current average credit card interest rates unless you can find an institution that offers one for a great rate of only 13% like my credit union does on a Visa...
But why pay on this monthly when you can put that money into a Christmas Club or Savings Acct. monthly for Christmas spending???
I also found this statement online right after Christmas last year....
"This season, 36% of American consumers took on holiday debt,
according to a new survey from LendingTree. Those who racked up
balances this season took on an average of $1,181 in debt, up from
$1,028 in 2023."
Something to definitely think about....
And with that, I will leave you with this!!!
Because after all, Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!
I hope you will stop by to visit again on SATURDAY for my next post over on my regular Blog, Debbie-Dabble Blog!
Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!
Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!
Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!
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THis is a fun and useful post, Debbie. We do much the same. Monthly I put in a good sized amount into a separate account for gifts and Christmas (gifts throughout the year). For Christmas, it's not only for gifts but cards, postage, special occasions like party food, going to a holiday event, entertaining, etc. It keeps everything on an even track.
ReplyDeleteThese are all terrific ideas. As you know part of my work with the charity is counseling on spending. Young people today have their checks direct deposited on their debit cards and don't even have a savings account. Our retirement checks are direct deposited to our checking account and the first thing I do on the first is start transferring money. I have all kinds of accounts to save for yearly expenses. Recently I got a "bonus" some social security in addition to my public employee pension. The whole amount (which was unexpected) goes straight into the Christmas account. I have another account for property taxes, an account where I deposit any monies I earn from working as a poll worker - and that account is my Christmas overnight at the fancy hotel with my grandkids.
ReplyDeleteI have started moving money into high interest cds that my credit union was offering for six month periods. More "bonus" money.
I like the prepared pantry, too. Covid really got me into making sure we have several months of shelf stable foods.
I love this! We must be soul sisters!!!
ReplyDeleteSusan,
DeleteThanks so much for visiting!! Glad you enjoyed the post...I am playing catch up on my visits...I hope you are having a great week!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-dabble Blog
Such a fun post, Debbie. Beautiful decorations, stocking up on food and helpful tips.
ReplyDeleteThis is wise, Debbie, the holidays are coming up quickly and expenses pile up equally as fast.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I never heard of a Christmas Club, no idea if we have something similar anywhere in Germany.
ReplyDeleteSome people still get so-called "Christmas Money", though, it used to be called "the 13th paycheck", but has only been a percentage of the regular pay for many, many years. Still useful to have for the holidays.
I'm not a big organizer myself at all, so I'm always amazed at how others do it.
You are so wonderfully organized! It pays to save and be careful with the savings. Take care. x
ReplyDeleteI had a Christmas Club for years when our kids were growing up and I was a SAHM! So great to budget and be prepared. Also, I am sad I missed Rudolph Day......
ReplyDeleteYour "Rudolph Day" posts are always such fun to read! As I read through this one, Debbie, I was so impressed with how intentional and disciplined you are. Joe would be so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteWe do so many of the same things-right down to the recipes in the notebooks so everything is in one place. You are good at management of things and Joe is smiling down. We have birthdays spread all through the year and now that the grands are older I usually give them cash---they love that the best.
ReplyDeleteWhen the kids were little I started giving them a card with a $1 bill in it for however old they were that year. By the time they were 4 or 5 they were so excited to get that card and those $1s. I gave them a little present besides that, too.
Happy Fall Saturday. xo Diana.