[McD]

Okay! We save money year round for Christmas in a Christmas Club account. Hubby and I budget it out and then figure out how much to spend on each other from that.

I had bought hubs a few things he wanted from his list (punching bag, etc.), but I really wanted to get him a PS3. So I've been stashing money from my weekly spending money, collecting my change, any odds and end bits of money that come my way, I've been squirrelling them away.

The total cost of the bundle from Amazon (free shipping, no sales tax!) is 299.99.

As of today, I was at $216. I hopped online, was going to go ahead and order it and pull the difference money from my employee credit union savings.

I went to order it and somehow or another, I had a $20 promotional balance (I think from preordering a movie and a game awhile back?). So bam! My new total for the PS3 was $279.99.

Plus, I earned a $25 promotional credit by ordering the PS3!

 

[dcompton]

Great job. I have to confess it - my heart belongs to Amazon!

 

[Mom2-3]

I love our PS3! You and your hubby will love it

Start saving now for the games tho! New games are $49.99-59.99 eek!

 

[Dancing Lotus]

wow your a great wife. They way I figure it, Dh was naughty this year and he is the one who should have been tucking away his money to by me a gift.

I'm sure he will love the PS3 , enjoy!

 

[PaulaMM]

Okay! We save money year round for Christmas in a Christmas Club account. Hubby and I budget it out and then figure out how much to spend on each other from that.

I had bought hubs a few things he wanted from his list (punching bag, etc.), but I really wanted to get him a PS3. So I've been stashing money from my weekly spending money, collecting my change, any odds and end bits of money that come my way, I've been squirrelling them away.

The total cost of the bundle from Amazon (free shipping, no sales tax!) is 299.99.

As of today, I was at $216. I hopped online, was going to go ahead and order it and pull the difference money from my employee credit union savings.

I went to order it and somehow or another, I had a $20 promotional balance (I think from preordering a movie and a game awhile back?). So bam! My new total for the PS3 was $279.99.

Plus, I earned a $25 promotional credit by ordering the PS3!

McD

We bought our son a membership to Gamefly (kind of like Netflix for video games) rather than try to buy video games. Sure, you have to pay a monthly fee, but to me, it's better to pay a bit and keep the variety than to pay outrageous sums for games he may or may not like or grows bored with.

I think he builds up credit so that games can be purchased for a discount from the site, but we've never done that. He much prefers the variety of renting to owning them.

Not sure if you are interested or not, just thought I would share.

 

[mauimagic]

Terrific!! Your excitement is beaming and bouncing all over the placce!!

 

[Vanilla]

That's wonderful

 

[Palooka]

I'm sure your dh will love it and great job on the savings.

 

[mndtrp]

Use goozex.com for games instead. Trade old games, get credit for other used games. It's far cheaper than buying new, and still cheaper than buying used.

 

[frugalfranny]

Congrats..........am sure he will love it.

Way to save ---plot ----plan----and go for it!

 

[Libby]

WTG McD! :cheergrl: Just in time for Christmas!

 

[Darlene]

He must have been very good this year.
Won't he be surprised. I can picture you just sitting there all jacked up watching his reaction as he unwraps. Plus having the kids unwrap theirs... your house will be rockin this Christmas. Enjoy!

 

[McD]

My $25 promo came through. Might buy a game that DS has been wanting for him and his daddy to play together and wrap it as a 'Santa' present to those two.

 

[Mom2-3]

We love Little Big Planet! The first one is a lot cheaper now because #2 just came out. Plus Call of Duty is a huge hit with Dads and teens.

 

[Imarachne]

Doncha love it when a plan comes together ?

 

[McD]

He must have been very good this year.

He has been. Hubs is on second shift right now and as a result, he's at work by the time the kids and I get home, he's gone and when he gets home, we're sleeping. So we don't get a lot of time with him.

If Moo gets up in the night, he gets up with her so I can sleep. He picks up extra shifts at work, so sometimes he doesn't get home until 2 or 3 in the morning. He also did NOT deploy to Afghanistan. He made the selection for an extra detail/team at the pd (only person that did!)

And overall, he's just a good person. He's supportive and thoughtful (most of the time) and he gets me. He can make me mad quicker than anyone can, but he can also make me laugh harder than anyone.

So I wanted to give him a little something special this year. A way to show him that everything he does, does not got unnoticed.

And to those mentioning the new Call of Duty...that's been in my gift stash since the day it's been released. I preorded from Amazon.

 

[mndtrp]

He has been. Hubs is on second shift right now and as a result, he's at work by the time the kids and I get home, he's gone and when he gets home, we're sleeping. So we don't get a lot of time with him.

Not to detract from the original intent of the thread, but how does this work out for your family? I work 2-midnight, and wondered how this would ultimately play out once we have kids. It could be beneficial early on since there would be little to no day care needed, but I'm a big proponent of family dinners, so I'm concerned about once they get older.

At the moment, though, it's awesome. Having three mornings a week all to myself if killer, and I know the wife likes having three evenings a week to do her thing.

 

[McD]

It sucks. I try not to complain about it, because complaining doesn't change the situation, but it sucks.

The daycare thing doesn't really work out for us. Some of the husband's shifts don't end up until 3 or 4 in the morning, there's no way he'd be able to get up and be a functioning caregiver by the time I need to leave at 7:45. Plus, he has various work-related meetings or trainings in the morning and now that he has been selected for this extra detail, he's on call a lot. He also gets subpeona-ed (sp?) to testify a lot in the mornings.

Family dinners are non-existent. We are lucky if Zac gets to come home for 30-45 minutes in the evening for dinner. Moo starts wanting fed around 5/5:30, Wesley and I don't eat until around 6:00 when we are actually hungry and if Zac gets to come home it's between 7 & 9.

We don't see a lot of Zac at all. It is hard for Wesley to handle at times and reflects in his behavior, both at home and at preschool. It's really hard on Zac too.

 

[mndtrp]

Well, that's not something to look forward to.