Tuesday, July 21, 2015

How far do you think ahead?

I guess it all boils down to how organized you are, right?

I put away $20 a week in a pot for birthday's faithfully.  This year is proving a little hard on the pot as we have three big birthday's this year, so the poor pot is taking a beating.  I am working on September's birthday's now.  Got August all wound up and ready to go.

I also put $20 a week in a pot for Christmas.  I have made a start on Christmas shopping; have you?

Do you have a system when it comes to birthday's and holiday's?

It was a big weekend for Our Little Munchkin, as she went from her crib to her toddler bed:
 Her crib/cot goes from a crib to a toddler bed to a full sized bed.  She sucks her thumb when she is tired and is ready to sleep.
It went smoothly as she sleeps on a "camp-type" cot at daycare, so she is used to having no bars on the side etc.

Next big step in her life is potty training!!!

23 comments:

Anne in the kitchen said...

That is a big step! They grow so fast don't they?

I think ahead and plan ahead. I will probably start on Christmas after Labor Day, but we no longer buy big gifts. Seems our adult kids would much rather have a check. Thank goodness for the granddaughter!

Betsy said...

Little Miss Piper has a bed like that, that goes from the crib, to the toddler bed, to a full-size bed. She loves hers too and it has been recently converted to the toddler bed. Just this week she's been working on being potty trained. We face timed this morning and she showed me her stickers. She's been doing very well the past three days. A big happy for mommy!

I try to plan ahead for Christmas and birthdays also. Christmas this year will mostly be gift cards as none of our children will be able to be home this year. But on the years that they come home, I typically start buying in the middle of summer just so everything is taken care of by Christmas time. We don't believe in going into debt, so I try to get a little at a time as the year goes. Have a wonderful week my friend.
Blessings,
Betsy

Fran said...

Bless her, growing up so quickly xxx

Craig said...

What a cute bed and clever idea that it grows with the child. And it goes without saying that she looks adorable in it!

T'Pol said...

Your little munchkin is so cute. She must be proud to be a "big girl" now.

Your post inspired me to write a post today so, thank you very much :) I do not use jars or boxes to accumulate money and I explain why not in my blog. I do plan very much ahead though.

Winifred said...

Ah bless! She's lovely.

Have to say I don't have a particular system for buying presents. I don't save up. If I see something I know they'll like I buy it. It's getting harder especially for children as they grow up. Everyone seems to have everything these days. Me included. I'm trying to get people to cut down but it's difficult.

Evelyn said...

she is so sweet! I don't save ahead for Christmas and birthdays as we only do close family and I am known for being cheap and I do money or gift cards, I am not very creative.

Rose said...

Ahhh, Gill, she is just so adorable. I love her in pink...

I save ahead for Christmas and birthdays...I have for years and years. I don't know how I did it before I started doing that. But no, not Christmas shopping done. I suppose I should at least start on Lorelei's.

Boopnut said...

I don't save up. In fact, I am running behind. It is difficult getting paid once a month. I am having a difficult time budgeting. Little Munchkin sure looks like she is enjoying her big girl bed!
Deb

Mysti said...

Big girl!!!!

My system is a little messed up at the moment, but usually we put $100 a paycheck aside. The first half of the year...the money goes to fund camp. The second half funds Christmas.

The kids didn't go to camp this year, and it took a little while to get a handle on our new finances when G-man left. But we do have $500 saved for Christmas right now. Enough that I can buy a few things if I wanted to, but we are trying to not buy anything more than we need because we will just have to move it eventually!

Cat Lover said...

You are much more organized than I am Gill. Munchkin looks very sweet!

Paula said...

Ella's crib turned into a toddler bed, but it was much higher than yours. She fell out a couple times so we moved her to her big girl bed (my great-grandma's bed) and got a full length bed rail.

I am so behind for Christmas. I usually shop/make all year long but I have absolutely NO IDEA what any one wants. I'm not even sure Colin's family likes the stuff we give them (socks, sweaters, etc). I am so frustrated about it all.

McVal said...

Awe!!! For my middle girl, we switched her to a toddler bed when we found her clinging to the top of the rail like it was a race horse and screaming. THEN I had to hold the door shut until she finally fell asleep halfway onto her brand new cottage toddler bed. It was rough... She'd been kicking and screaming against the door. Her voice got hoarse and she sounded possessed.... But she finally grew to love her new bed too.
That is so great that she adjusted so quickly!

Stella Jones said...

My munchkin Sammy is at the same stage as yours. Potty training commences this summer.
I am organised too Gill. I look ahead one month so in July I am getting presents and cards for August. I go to town once a week and get what's necessary. Today was a present and card for my daughter in law. Her birthday is on August 12th.

Jackie said...

Hmmm, I would love to say that I manage to put away as much as you do for Christmas and birthdays. I do put away whatever is left in my wallet (change and our crazy plastic money) at the end of two weeks. Sometimes it's a great deal, other times it is very little except silver.

I have started my Christmas list and will be beginning to shop shortly. I always try to be done by the middle of November, but sometimes (lately) I have been working on things right up until the week before Christmas.

God bless.

William Kendall said...

She looks delighted!

Little Red Hen said...

Have I made a start on Christmas shopping? You're funny. I used to put aside the kids' baby bonus starting in September but it's down to next to nothing now so there's not much point.

Linda aka Crafty Gardener said...

I put some money away monthly, work on a monthly budget, for gifts etc. I also try to make lots of gifts so that requires starting early, usually anytime now. I've actually got a list started or what I think will be good gifts.
I'm sure Little Munchkin will enjoy her big girl bed.

Maggie said...

I'm not as organized as I was last year, don't know whats what's happened! I've got a couple of things for Christmas but really don't know what the girls will want yet.

angela said...

Big girl in her big bed! A huge milestone. I start Christmas shopping after hubby's birthday in September. But if I see something during the year on special I snap it up and put it away. That way Christmas is never a shock to the budget

Chy said...

We have several savings accounts that we put money in to each week. One is for travel, one for emergencies, one for big items we need for our new house, like landscaping and window coverings, and one for Christmas and Birthday gifts. I love saving each week instead of trying to save at beginning or end of the month. Works much better for our budget. Great post!

EG CameraGirl said...

She looks quite content in her big-girl bed. :)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Your lovely granddaughter is growing up, Gill, we don't put aside $ for special occasions because there is no need to do that now. We can handle gift buying from our regular savings, which is nice. And, we don't buy in advance as "wants" or "needs" can change too fast these days where grandchikdren and other famiky members are concerned. We prefer to wait until closer to the birthday or holiday to see what someone would need/want.

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