The Ghost of Christmas Budgets Future

By now you've worn it, played with it, smelled it, ate it, listened to it, watched it, cut with it, mixed in it, served on it (or in my case, because I didn't really know what to ask for, broke something on purpose and then Mighty Puttied it), or some combination of the above. Some of you have already returned it for whatever it was you really wanted.

But my question is this, "How'd your budget do? Does it need a little Mighty Putty of its own, or did it hold up pretty well?" Or perhaps a better question is, "What, if anything, will you do differently next year?"

As for me, next year I'll do a better job of looking at sites like dealnews.com (slogan: "Where every day is Black Friday") before I go out shopping. But I have to say, using these online saving tips paid off, especially Bing Cashback.

I'll also continue to use cell phone apps like have ShopSavvy which kept me from overpaying on more than one occasion. With ShopSavvy, you simply take a picture of a product bar code with your phone's camera, and within a few seconds you're shown a list of the best local and internet prices for that item.

And perhaps next year, I'll focus our September-November shopping on the non-toy presents. According to Dan de Grandpre, founder and chief executive of dealnews, the best time to buy toys is at least two weeks after Black Friday (or about two weeks before Christmas) when retailers, such as Toys 'R' Us, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com, slash prices to clear out unsold inventory.

I'm also going to push for drawing names on my wife's side of the family. It's so much more enjoyable (and quite a bit less expensive) to worry about buying gifts only for one or two people. Plus, they get better presents 'cause we can afford a little bit more.

The downside is if you draw you-know-who's name (a.k.a. MrOrMrsImpossibleToBuyFor - because they either don't like anything or they're just going to take it back, or they're taking it back because they don't like anything), you're up a creek for a bigger present.

But all and all, if we keep to the same intentional and pro-active strategy next year, will we let our budget scare us? Not a ghost of a chance.
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Matthew Pryor in his 8th year with Sound Mind Investing, now serving as Director of Operations. Visit www.soundmindinvesting.com to learn more.