The Spending Season

is upon us. You know what I mean....Halloween is next week, and Thanksgiving a scant four weeks after that. And that means.....Black Friday!

Black Friday, is, of course, the official start of the Christmas shopping season. Lots of great deals to be had. I absolutely hate shopping on Black Friday, I just can't stand the crowds. And it's getting more and more dangerous to shop on Black Friday. People are actually getting hurt. One man was killed last year because of the crowds trying to get in to a store. Remember the news reports?

But last year I did something different. I Googled Black Friday ads and found sites devoted to offering the Black Friday ads as they came out. Actually, as they are leaked by someone. No one seems to know who leaks them. I personally think it's the marketing department of the corporation, but that's just my opinion.

Because I had the ads (subject to change when the Black Friday ads when the ads were officially released), in advance, I was able to plan my shopping.

Another thing I did was to order on line. If you order online, you can get most of the items offered in the ads for the same price as if you fought the crowds in the stores. Some items are only offered in the stores and are not available on line, or at least not at the sale price; you have to watch the ads.

So, if you dislike shopping, especially on Black Friday, as much as I do, you might want to consider signing on to www.bfads.net.

I'll give you updates as I find other sites.

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Good to know information!

It's been awhile

...hasn't it? Sorry, Life sometimes gets in the way of good intentions.

I decided that to be more frugal, I'd start asking myself "is this something I need, or something I just want?" I will allow myself to buy something I want as long as I understand that it's a want rather than a need.

Recently, I decided to purchase a new cell phone. I really wanted a BlackBerry Storm. I'm on Sprint and it's not a phone Sprint carries. So, I looked at the BlackBerry phones that Sprint does carry and found a couple were acceptable in lieu of the Storm. When I got ready to purchase, I found the plan I was on wasn't sufficient for the phone I chose, so I looked at the plans needed for the BlackBerry.

In the course of making that decision (I would be paying less than $10 a month for a plan upgrade) Sprint advised that I could save on my current plan by nearly 50% by dropping some of the items I have on my plan. So...I faced a dilemma. Go with my current plan, which was now looking very nice, or upgrade phone and plan and spend more.

I could have the phone I wanted, but it would cost more. Or, save money by staying with the downgraded plan. I both want and need a new cell phone. The one I have took an accidental plunge into my kitchen sink one day. It still works, but I have to take the battery out to turn it off. It's a couple of years old, so I was wanting a new one anyway.

The questions are:

1. Do I need a new cell phone or just want one? The answer is actually yes to both.

Okay, I have permission to buy a new phone.

Now, what phone?

1. BlackBerry: do I need or want it? The answer is that I don't really "need" a BlackBerry, but I do want one. I don't really need or want the extra cost of the new service plan, which in itself will cost me about $250 over the span of the required two year contract.

Since I understand that my reason for wanting the BlackBerry is mostly because I want a BlackBerry, I now have permission to buy a BlackBerry. But I find I have reservations about it and I don't really feel good about it. So, I'll see if I can find a phone that will give me what I want, but will be accommodated by the downgraded service plan.

I looked around and yes, I found one that is acceptable. It has what I want, and lots of things I don't really need and some I won't use. Some of the things require my old service plan. I can always upgrade if I need to.

So, I ordered a Samsung Highnote last night. It will work on on the service plan, looks good (and yes, that was one of my criteria, so sue me! I like things that I think look good), it looks easy to use, the customer reviews were mostly good, I can use it for my music when I walk, it's Bluetooth enabled, so I don't have to use a corded headset or speakerphone. I like the speakerphone, but there are times when I don't want the world to hear my conversation.

The good news is I'm not getting the phone I wanted (and it is good news), but I am getting the phone I need and is acceptable in all ways. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything, my service plan, although extended for two more years, is almost 50% of what it was. And if necessary, I can upgrade

It should be delivered in 2-4 days, so we'll see if I'm as happy with my choice as I think I'll be.