Shopping Goals: November 2015

November is a month of shopping deals here in the U.S. as the last Thursday in November is our Thanksgiving.  So, this is a month to look for good deals on stuffing, canned vegetables, marshmallows, jarred gravy, cranberries (I try to pick up three bags or so to make cranberry sauce and stuff out of.  They freeze VERY well), turkey and other Thanksgiving staples.

This is also the month where the dark starts to invade Alaska with more force.  By December 21st we are at about four hours of twilight a day and then we start to gain light back.  So, this, for me, is usually the month where I really start to look for good deals on vitamins, especially vitamin D to see us through the darkest parts of the winter.

When it comes to satellite goals for things like Christmas gifts, I shop for store bought items early...like I start in January and shop little bit by little bit throughout the year.  The last couple of years I also make sure, if I can help it, to order anything online I want to get for the kids so that it comes in before the end of October.  I love this as it stops me from having to wait in line at the post office for hours (we are a heavy mail state due to our location, so holiday lines rewrite books on "long wait time"). 

This also allows me to focus on home made gifts instead of worrying about hitting sales for toys and such.

Due to my huge shopping trip last month, the list for this month is actually relatively short in comparison.  And with the exception of things I absolutely need for Thanksgiving dinner (like say, turkey) or need in general (like water softening salt) the rest of the items are on a "only if I can get them cheap" stipulation.

Monthly Shopping Goals:  November 2015

Home Depot

•  Water Softening Salt

Grocery Stores:

• Cranberries
• Onions
• Canned Green Beans (12 cans if they go on sale cheap)
• Canned pumpkin (2 cans)
• Turkey (wherever it is cheapest)
• Oranges 
• Cool Whip (I have Dream Whip still, but this is great to have in the freezer for a quick pie topper or for other quick desserts).
• Olives 
• Whole in-shell nuts (when you have a peanut allergic kiddo, cracking your own nuts becomes a necessity if you want pecans and walnuts for anything).
• Jello and Jello Pudding Mix 
• LED light bulbs 
• Vitamins (multi-vitamins and vitamin D)

Other items:

• Hershey-ets filled candy canes and other peanut free candy (for reinforcers for school and stocking stuffers).
• Gift cards (for son's stocking and one for an extended family member)
• Winter grade windshield washer fluid
• New windshield wiper blades
• Cloth/Sewing items (waiting on the Jo-Ann sales around Black Friday to see what goes cheap this year).

I'm not sure how many goals I'll get to stock up on this year as money is still really REALLY tight, but we'll see how cheap we can find things.