All - Thanksgiving week is here.
That means a few things to many and many things to a few.
1.) You and your family will either BE traveling or HOUSING travelers.
2.) You or someone will be waking up early on Friday or staying up late on Thursday to get some "early" shopping done.
3.) Kids will have a 5 day weekend from school.
4.) FOOTBALL!
4.) FOOTBALL!
In a post about a month ago, I talked about Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I also mentioned that I would be following a few items to see how their price fluctuated from week to week.
First, let's discuss those items:
As you can see, some items increased in value, but most decreased, which was to be expected.
The biggest take away from this is that regardless of price increases or decreases, Amazon is the lowest possible price.
Let's just say you're going to buy a 60" TV and Chromebook. You drive to Wal-Mart, wait in line, use gas, pay sales tax, have to get the items into the car AND PAY $119.38 MORE! It seems like insanity to me, but hey...
You're welcome, I just took care of your shopping worries!
NEXT - Let's talk about if YOU are traveling somewhere for Thanksgiving.
1.) GET GAS TODAY! I recommend using the GasBuddy App or GasBuddy.com.
According to Reuters - Gas prices have increased for the first time in 2 months. I am going to assume that is due to the upcoming holidays. Around Lewis Center it looks like the cheapest gas is $3.18 (not including member discounts) and in Dayton, I see $3.07 in Tipp City or $3.19 at the Shell by Helke and Rt 40.
2.) Plan your trip around rush hours.
If you're going on a long trip (or even just an hour trip), PLAN - YOUR TRIP - AROUND RUSH HOURS! There are going to be 3% more travelers this year than last. That may not seem significant, but according to a Dispatch article earlier this year, there are 687,000 commuters during rush hour in Columbus ALONE! If you increase that by 3%, you add 20,610 commuters or about 192 MORE commuters per square mile of highway in Columbus.
3.) Get an Air Mattress!
What? - If you are having people over, GET AN AIR MATTRESS FOR THEM! If you buy it at Wal-Mart today, you can return it within 15 days (with receipt) and get store credit. And if you're a diligent shopper, you're going to buy some items there in the future anyways. They are very comfortable and more importantly, convenient. BE A GOOD HOST!
Finally - The Kiddos are off of school!
1.) Get by with a little help from your friends! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MZRh3PFmBY)
Chances are, if you have kids that need to be watched, you know other people that have kids that need to be watched. SO ASK AROUND! You need to go shopping, clean your house, by an air mattress or two (for your guests) and make further plans for the holidays. Ask a friend if they wouldn't mind watching your kids for a few hours. Then, once you're all ready, you can return the favor.
2.) Hire a babysitter!
Three recommended sites I have seen are Sittercity.com, Care4Hire.com and Sitters.com. I have very little experience in this realm, but based on reviews, these seem to be highly suggested and rated sites.
3.) Give them an early gift!
I almost hate to recommend this, but if you AREN'T going to buy them PS4 or XboxOne, but will maybe buy them some video games for older gaming systems, LET THE CONSOLE BABYSIT YOUR KIDS. Give them a new video game and let them play that for hours while you tidy up the main entertaining area.
One last suggestion if you need money or are going to be racking up debt on credit cards.
YOU CAN REFINANCE YOUR CURRENT HOME! Did you know, you can do a cash-out refinance up to 80% of the value of your house? Some people may think this is crazy. You know what's crazy? Paying 14.95% INTEREST OR HIGHER for Christmas shopping and other expenditures when you can pay 3.5 to 4.75% on it.
DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?
This is meant to make your life easier, if this doesn't make sense or you have advice for me, LET ME KNOW!
In person - I have ears to listen and a mouth to speak.
On my blog - I have eyes to read and fingers to type.
This is a two-way street ladies and gentleman. I know you're viewing because at last count I am at 850 Views!
LET'S GET TO 1,000 before New Years!
Sports Betting - I am 8-1.
This week I am going to be picking the Thanksgiving Day games and will provide you with 6 Picks!
Green Bay (+5) at Detroit and Under (52.5)
Oakland (+9.5) at Dallas and Over (45.5)
Pittsburgh at Baltimore (+3) and Under (40.5)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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