I was really unsure of what to call this post.  I thought about calling it, “I took the plunge”, “I spent too much money”, “I broke the bank”, and some other stupid titles.  I don’t feel like being clever, so I’ll just come out and tell you that my hubby and I finally purchased a new mattress.  I had been saving for this purchase.  I was following Dave Ramsey’s advice to save for it and not charge it. 

My hubby and I have learned not to buy the first thing we see.  This is a good thing because we want to be good stewards of our money and we want to be happy with our purchase.  And this is bad because we want to be good stewards, we want to be happy, and it takes us way too long to do our research and make a decision. 

Making a decision on which mattress is pretty tough.  After all, you don’t lie on the store mattress for very long and every night you have to sleep on the one your choose.  You just can’t go throwing out money like it’s nothing.

I just have to say that the Tempurpedic was our first choice, but I would have to save for a lot longer to buy it.  I didn’t have $3500 lying around.  lol  And just a bit of advice . . . if you’re in the market for a mattress, I would recommend going by The Original Mattress Company.  They actually buy name brand mattresses and cut them apart so that you can really see what’s inside and make an informed decision.  Some mattress companies out there are advertising memory foam and all these other bells and whistles.  I looked inside one mattress that claimed to have memory foam and the piece of foam was about 2 ft by 2 ft.  No kidding!

Our mattress purchase cost us over $1200.  I’m such a cheapskate sometimes.  It makes me cringe to spend that kind of money.  I hope our backs will be happier for it.

What kind of big purchase have you made lately?  Did you do your research before buying?

I’ve been on the phone with my aunt this morning.  She is trying to buy my children’s Christmas presents.  She said that Toys ‘R Us had their scooters for $19.  Of course, when she got there the store was already out.  I also told her that my son needed some jeans.  She went to Belk and bought two pairs of jeans for him.  The J.Khaki ones were $10.99 and the Levi(?) ones were $12.99.  Then they gave her two $10 gift cards for buying the jeans.  Isn’t that crazy? 

I’m off to make some wish lists.  Each year I make lists for our kids for others in our family.  They like to know what to get them and so I usually go to Target, Wal-Mart, etc and make a list of things they like.  This year I’m a bit behind schedule because of our recent move.

I’m sure the stores will be crazy today, but I’m curious . . . Are you shopping today?  Let us know how it went.  Did you find some crazy bargains?

Focus on the Family is guaranteeing delivery if your order is made by Friday, December 12.  You might consider giving a resource to help with someone’s marriage or finances.  Perhaps a magazine subscription would be an appreciated gift.  With a magazine subscription, you receive a gift all year long.  Focus on the Family also offers children’s books such as The Berenstein Bears (one of my faves!), as well as dvds, jewelry and more.   I would just love to have the new movie Fireproof. 

I love the sales that Lifeway and Family Christian Stores have.  It’s a great time to stock up on cds, Bibles, books, dvds, and gifts for others.  The problem is, now that I live in the boonies there are none of these stores around.  No need to worry though because Family Christian Stores is also offering 99 cent shipping.

For three days only, December 12-14, Family Christian will be offering these $5 doorbuster sales.

• Snowman with spoon mug
• “Jesus Warms My Heart” snowman plate
• Christmas card holder/wall hanging
• The Nativity Story giftbook
• “I Thank My God” journals
• Sterling silver flared byzantine cross necklace
• Assortment of 18K gold plated cross necklaces
• BarlowGirl cd
• Sharecropper’s Seed cd by Nicole C. Mulle
• Beyond Measure cd by Jeremy Camp
• How Can We Be Silent cd by BarlowGirl
• Never Going Back to Ok cd by The Afters
• Winter Wonderland cd by Point of Grace
• Rush of Fools cd
• The Christmas Sessions cd by MercyMe
• Oh! Gravity cd by Switchfoot
• Tell Me What You Know cd by Sara Groves

50% Off Doorbusters:

• The Word of Promise NT Audio Bible
• The Word of Promise Next Generation NT
• Princess Bible
• Chronological Study Bible
• New Women’s Devotional Bible
• A Tale of Two Sons
• The Power of  Praying Wife

And much, much more!  Click here to see the ad!

image from Family Christian

JCPenney is offering free shipping on orders of $25 or more from jcp.com or the JCPenney catalog.  Simply use the code 46GIFT when prompted at the checkout.  Click here to read the fine print.

JCPenney has another sales code TOYS4ALL.  I’m not sure if it’s also for free shipping or for a percentage off.

Also the JCPenney website is advertising doorbusters for Saturday from 6 am to 1 pm.  Check out their sales ad.

Top 10 Regifting Tips for the Thrifty

Easy Christmas Craft for the Kids

10 Clutter Free Gifts

10 Time Saving Shopping Tips

30 Ways to Save Money at Christmas

Top 10 Ways to Save on Your Winter Heating Bill

Enjoy!

I’m sitting here at my parent’s house.  They live about 1 1/2 hours from us.  We planned to come for the day and return home tonight so that tomorrow we could start packing for our move (we’re moving next week!). 

I had no intentions of shopping tomorrow.  After all, we live out in the boonies and I’m lucky to find a decent restaurant.  I’d have to drive almost an hour to next largest city to get take advantage of Black Friday sales.  I’d almost considered signing up at Tree Hugging Family for Buy Nothing Day.  And then I did it . . . I saw the sales papers.  Oh dear. 

Hubby really likes House and Target has the season sets for around $13-14 per set.  I can get seasons 1-3 for less than $40, which is about the price of one season.  One sales paper led to another and now we’ve decided that we’re staying the night and heading out early in the morning to catch some deals. 

Hubby and I will get out by ourselves to shop while the kids sleep comfortably in their bedroom at my parent’s house.  Part of me thinks we’re a little crazy and then another part says it will be fun to get out alone and do something together.

How about you?  Are you shopping tomorrow?  Please take a second to answer in our poll to the right, or leave your comments below.

I went to get the backing for my Nana’s quilt.  I wanted Velvet, which is so expensive but looks great! I had a 40% off coupon and thought I could stomach the purchase.  I get to the store and find that the velvet is on sale already for 50% off.  So I saved money AND got to use my 40% off coupon for something else.  I had two so I gave my second one to the lady behind me.  She was very appreciative.  I saved $37 and helped someone else save money as well.  It was a good night.

Pottery Barn has a new bedding sale going on.  It would be the only way I could afford some of their bedding.  Some of it is 65% off.  Hope you enjoy window shopping.  HAHA.  Window shopping.  “Windows” and “shopping” brings on a whole new meaning now a days.

Turkey Butt wants a Chou Chou doll for Christmas.  This is the first year that she has actually asked for one consistent thing for Christmas.  So I found the Chou Chou doll at Wal-Mart for $30 and told my mom to get it .  The problem was that the price was actually $40.  That was ridiculous.  Mom called me from Wal-mart and said her Wal-Mart had it for $40.  I thought mine had it for $30 so I told her I would get it here and she could pay me back.  Then she called me back and said Read more