Holidays Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

Lower Your Holiday Spending, Stay on Budget, And Prevent Debt

Last Updated: December 19, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 47 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

If you’re anything like me, then you probably LOVE the holidays. I enjoy the decorations, the food, the people, and everything that goes along with it.

However, I know not to get ahead of myself even though I love the winter holidays an incredible amount. Holiday spending can quickly get out of hand and it’s quite easy to destroy a holiday budget.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average family in the U.S. spent $730 on the winter holidays in 2013 (it hovers around this amount most years).

Holiday spending can quickly add up when you are paying for food, gifts, decorations, and more. Plus, if you plan on traveling then your holiday spending may be much higher than this $730 amount.

This high price tag sometimes causes families to put their holiday spending on a credit card.

This is a big problem because that debt will eventually need to be paid off. Plus, interest and other finance charges may be added to this amount, which may cause the small amount you may have put on your credit card to inflate into a much bigger number. This can then impact your credit score, your credit history, your debt to income ratio, and more.

These are all things that no one wants to experience, especially since the holidays are not about the money you spend – they are about spending time with your loved ones.

While sticking to your holiday budget at times may seem impossible, I want you to know that you can enjoy the holidays and not go into holiday debt.

Continue reading below to read more about the several ways to lower your holiday spending and stick to your holiday budget. [Read more…]

What I’m Thankful For – Being Positive Can Change Your Life

Last Updated: May 1, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 63 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

If you are in the United States, you are probably preparing for Thanksgiving and any related festivities. You are most likely excited for the food, seeing family members, hanging out with old friends, and more.

As everyone knows, one part of Thanksgiving is to think about all of the things you are thankful for.

I think it’s always a good idea to stop and think about the positive things in life.

This can completely change your mindset and I believe it can make your day, year, and life better. No matter how bad life may seem, you can probably step back and think of a few positive things in your life.

Below are some of the several different things in life that I am thankful for: [Read more…]

Happy 4th Of July!

Last Updated: May 1, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello everyone! Happy Friday and Happy 4th of July to my readers who live in the United States. Today, I will hopefully eat a lot of BBQ and enjoy some fireworks. Maybe something deep fried as well… 🙂

What are your plans for today?

P.S. Enjoy the infographic below!

[Read more…]

Happy Memorial Day!

Last Updated: May 1, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend and I hope it’s a great Monday for you as well. For those of you here in the United States, Happy Memorial Day!

I’m taking today off from my normal blog writing, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Today, I’m going to sit back, try to relax, and enjoy the company of those that I love the most. I’ll still fit in some work though, as I can’t get enough of that in my life – good thing I love working! 🙂

Anyway, Memorial Day isn’t just about the start of Summer and BBQ season.

I want to thank everyone who has served and is currently serving in the military. If it weren’t for all of you, I don’t know where I would be! I know I mostly talk about personal finance here at MakingSenseofCents, but please remember the true meaning of Memorial Day and take a look at the infographic below.

What are you doing today?

Happy New Year!

Last Updated: December 31, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to pop in and say Happy New Year! We haven’t done too much because we are both recovering from the nasty and unpleasant stomach flu, but we are of course happy to just be able to relax.

In case you are bored today, here are some of my popular posts from the past year. Click on the headings below to read more. Enjoy!

Pursuing What I Love Or What Brings In The Stable Money

This is a post that I published on my birthday that really made me think. If you are thinking about making the switch to your passion, definitely read it.

Other posts that I published related to self-employment include:

I’m No Longer An Anonymous Blogger

For around 1.5 years, I was a semi-anonymous blogger. I used my real name, gave out my Facebook profile and so on, but I never posted many pictures of myself directly on my blog. However, that changed and now I am completely public. It does stink a little because I have to be a little more careful about what I publicly share (such as with exact financial amounts).

My Student Loans Are Gone

I eliminated ALL of my student loans in 2013, and to this day it still doesn’t feel real. I’m glad that we could get rid of them so quickly because I really hated having them hang over my head.

Should I Pay Off My House Early? – Pros and Cons

Earlier this year we were debating whether or not we should pay off our home early. We were in the process of possibly buying another home, but we have put that on hold for now.

How To Make Money Blogging

There are many different ways to make money blogging. In this post I detailed the various ways that you can! Also, if you are looking for other ways to make money, I also created the post Ways to Earn Extra Income.

Is a Business Degree a Waste?

I have three business related degrees, and I don’t regret a single one!

What I’m Thankful For

Last Updated: November 27, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 35 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hey everyone! With tomorrow being Thanksgiving in the U.S., of course I had to create a post about all of the wonderful things that I am thankful for.

I know that this is a personal finance blog and that I talk about money A LOT, but life is not all about money.

Yes, being able to pay your bills and save for retirement are both important. However, money can’t completely control your life.

Life is about what makes you happy.

Life is about all those little things in your life that you may forget about. Life is about all of those awesome moments that you think about later on and smile for.

Here’s what I’m thankful for:

I’m thankful for my family.

I don’t have a large family, but I am thankful for the family that I have in my life. I’m thankful for all of the awesome moments that I had with my dad, and little things still remind me of him every single day. My dad was a great man.

I’m thankful that I have W. He is awesome and I’m of course happy with the over 7 years that we’ve been together.

I’m thankful for my sister. We weren’t always the closest, but it has been awesome with her living with us, and me pretty much raising her. We constantly joke that she is our daughter, and that’s how it truly feels. I know that she reads my blog, so, hey Lexy!

I’m also thankful for my dogs (I’m a crazy dog momma!), the rest of my family, as well as W’s whole family (I definitely consider them my own family). Reconnecting with my dad’s side of the family back in October was great as well. I’m so glad that I jumped at the opportunity, even though I was so nervous!

I’m thankful for my friends.

I’m thankful for my wonderful friends for many reasons. They have always been there for me and I’m glad that we are still able to have fun nights, like we will be having tonight!

I’m thankful for my career.

I couldn’t say this enough, but I am so thankful for my business. I never could have imagined that I would be where I am today. Every single day I wake up and wonder if this is all real. Self-employment has been great! I’m very excited to see what will happen within the next year.

I’m thankful for the trip that we are planning.

We have been slacking with finalizing any plans for our long trip, but I am thankful that we can even do this. Being able to work while taking a trip of a lifetime? I couldn’t ask for anything better!

Also, we received our passports the other day. It only took one WEEK to get them. Isn’t that crazy fast?

I’m thankful for the blogging community.

Everyone in the blogging community is amazing and I have made so many friends, and I’m so thankful that back in August of 2011 I started this blog. My life has changed for the better, and I think a lot of it has to do with making blogging a hobby (and then into part of my business).

What are you thankful for?

I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving!

Halloween on a Budget

Last Updated: September 2, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 39 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Halloween is right around the corner. I still can’t believe that we are nearing the end of 2013. With the end of the year being near, we are approaching several holidays. The topic today (and that also relates to the giveaway below) is how to enjoy Halloween while being on a budget.

Usually we buy Halloween costumes every single year, but this year I don’t think we will be doing that. We probably used to spend around $50 to $75 on each costume every year.

There are many ways to save on Halloween costumes.

You can re-wear costumes from past Halloweens (which is probably what we will do since we have so many). You can also trade costumes with friends – this way you get to wear a new-to-you costume and it’s FREE.

Also, you can buy a costume, but wait until there is a coupon! Costume stores almost always send out a 20% or 30% coupon if you are on their email list.

Candy is also pretty expensive when it comes to Halloween. You might spend $4 or $5 a bag, and you most likely need more than one bag. I have heard of people spending well over $100 on Halloween candy, which just seems crazy! What we usually do is just fill up one big bowl full of candy and whoever the first kid is at our door scores the whole bowl. Their face always kills me and makes my day.

This year we won’t be passing out candy, we will be going over to W’s family’s home and celebrating there.There’s usually a pretty big block party and it’s always a lot of fun since their neighborhood is full of historic homes from the 1800’s and early 1900’s, so it really helps with the Halloween vibe.

Halloween will be pretty cheap for us. We bought some pumpkins, and might go to a pumpkin patch soon also. I sadly haven’t been in probably over 15 years!

To completely switch the subject, what about winter holidays? How much do you usually spend on the winter holidays? Give me your best holiday savings tips below! They can be Halloween or Christmahanakwanzika related.