Since today was a shooping day we just did that, went shopping. I was curious to see how many people would be out shopping today. With our tough economy I know that many people are cutting back.

We checked all of the fliers and didn’t really see any spectacular sales but decided to head out to the mall anyways. The parking lot looked pretty full but once we got inside it was pretty empty. The mall was just about ready for Christmas- the Nativity was set up, Santa’s workshop was in the process of being set up and the Christmas music was playing.

Even though we didn’t head out with any specific items in mind I bought a few things. Later on in the evening we went to a great book sale at a book store, saw a neat looking VeloBind, not for me though. After that sale we went and got some dinner and went home. Overall- it was a pretty good shopping day- we found some really great deals and didn’t spend much at all but ended up with several great items.

I am really excited about doing some shopping this year for Christmas.  Shopping for all of our extended family members as well as a toddler and a teenager should prove to be interesting.  I am ready to get started looking for the best prices in my Black Friday ads. I will also be doing more online shopping this year. I will be also only buying from sites that offer free shipping. I am so thankful for the Internet for this reason- it really saved me a lot of money last year at Christmas time.  I bought quite a few gifts online and was able to save quite a bit of money by doing that.  I plan to look for the best buys that I can find again this year using sites like buy.com.

I recommend that you get started now looking for the best prices that you can find.  It’s a lot easier to shop around when you have a lot of time- so hurry up and get started!

I am planning to make tomorrow a day filled with shopping.  I have so much to get done. I am really starting to feel overwhelmed.  I need to check stores for all sorts of different items I am looking for.  And I need to start looking online for what I can not find.  And I need to do it quickly or I won’t have time to get everything done.

I have some interesting things on my list that I am looking for- a headlight for a bike, a glass cylinder shaped measuring cup, led christmas lights, and so much more.  Why can’t people just ask for things I can find at Target?  Oh well- everyone has their own things they want and I want to get everyone what they want.  Some people probably wonder why I want some of the things I want.

So tomorrow I am off to get a whole bunch of shopping done!

So did you read my rant on my other blogt? Go ahead and read it. I’ll wait…

Back? Okay good.

I have a better idea. Rather than broadcast to the entire world that I’m really upset with this person right now, I think I’m going to go shopping. Good idea, right? Medicate myself by spending money going shopping. I could spend the whole day shopping at the mall- get some new shoes, clothes, or some new luggage, maybe a new Jack Georges case for myself. Heaven knows I’ll feel better if I spend a couple hundred dollars on a pair of shoes. Okay, so I’m kidding… kind of. I know I will feel better if I take shopping trip and spend a bunch of money. But it will only be temporary and then I’ll feel even worse. Cuz then I’ll still be mad, have worked nothing out and have spent a bunch of money.

So I guess it would probably be best if I just talk to this person.

I posted a little earlier on my other blog today about how I like to do some shopping online so that I can save money. And while that is a great reason to do online shopping, I have another reason for doing it. I had a toddler. She does not share my love for shopping. Well, actually she does- but only for about 30 seconds. Then the screaming starts. But today I did some shopping online, looked at some day cream and she played with her toys and ran around the house. No being strapped in the stroller and no screaming, well a little bit of screaming at our dog, but generally it was a pretty smooth shopping day.

Did you know that in a little over 6 months that Christmas will be here?  Right now I’m thinking about getting all my summer decorations out, planning for several family birthdays that are almost upon us, getting back into the swing of things with summer vacation.  But, I also realize that before I know it, Thanksgiving will be here and then shortly after that- Christmas will be here.

So in order to keep ahead of the game- you should get started on your Christmas Green shopping now.  I create a list on a spreadsheet with all of our family members names.  Then I put down the amount of money we plan to spend on each person.  I leave several spaces open on my spreadsheet to fill in what I buy and another column for how much I have spent.  I also set it up to automatically calculate the total I have spent on each person as well as the grand total that I have spent on all family members as well as other purchases such as Christmas cards, wrapping paper and decorations.  It really helps to keep things in perspective about how much I really spend for Christmas.

My first step will be creating a new spreadsheet for this year.  Then I’ll start filling in ideas and let the shopping begin!  The sooner I get started the better- and I’m sure it’s the same for you too.