I ended up making purchases I hadn’t anticipated but overall it was a very purposeful and productive day.  Yeah, there were one or two unnecessary impulse buys but that’s what comes with a trip to Costco at Christmas time, right?

Costco — $100.99
I went in for juice boxes and those Izze sodas.  OMG!  Do you know what those things cost?!  $11.45 for a case of 12.  That’s a one-time, special-occasion purchase, I can tell you that!  Apparently, The Husband’s granddaughter really likes Izze sodas.  The Daughter assures me that all of the children/grandchildren will like them and they will be a fun and special treat at the Family Christmas party.  Just so long as no one expects me to serve them on a regular basis

Well, the good thing about expensive treats is they make everyday treats like Capri Sun 100% Juice boxes ($8.69 for a case of 40) a little more palatable.  Quite by accident I came across a case of Vitamin Water that The Daughter had asked me to look for ($16.99 for a case of 20).  I’ve looked for these before but thought our Costco didn’t carry them as they are not stocked with the other beverages.  These things aren’t cheap but The Daughter mostly saves them for after games; I have serious doubts as to their nutritional value but somehow I find them easier to take than Gatorade (which I just despise and hate spending money on).

I also picked up a container of Taster’s Choice coffee for The Husband ($9.49), an 18-count carton of Nest Fresh eggs ($2.99), a loaf of Udi’s San Francisco sour dough bread ($4.29), a 2-loaf package of Rudi’s organic honey whole wheat bread ($5.99), and a 3-box package of Kashi Autumn Harvest shredded wheat cereal ($7.99).

The package of 12 mega-muffins ($5.99) was an indulgence but not an impulse buy — The Son had asked if I would buy some on my next trip to Costco.  It’s been probably two years since I bought the last package so I saw no good reason to say no.

I also bought a mega-pack of white tissue paper ($5.19).  This was actually a business expense and I’ll write a reimbursement check to The Husband from my business checking account.  I wrap all of my clothing orders in white tissue — it’s a nice, inexpensive touch that adds a quality of professionalism to my shipments.  Costco only sells these mega-packs at Christmas so if you need some, stock up soon.

The final purchase was definitely an impulse buy but one that I’m just thrilled to have found.  I’m sure you’ve been in this situation — you know you’re looking for a gift but you have no idea of what that gift is.  Then you see it and you know it’s exactly what you’ve been looking for!  I knew I needed one more gift for The Son — something to put under the tree this year.  That mystery gift turned out to be a copy of The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook ($19.99).  The Son has expressed a great deal of interest in cooking over the past few years; he’s been learning to make some of his favorite dinner recipes lately in addition to making a mess of pies last week for Thanksgiving.  Even better, he’s shown a willingness to experiment beyond his normal ingredient comfort zone when he’s doing the cooking.  I loved the layout of this particular cookbook — 3-ring binder style with appetizing photos and a clean, appealing layout.  A quick look-through gave me hope that the recipes run along the lines of standards and classics but with good, clean ingredients.  And there looked to be plenty of recipes that either already comply with my extensive food allergies or could easily be modified to fit my diet.  The Husband thought the book was a great idea; we both think it will be well received.

Costco gas — $38.69
The Tank’s tank was just below the half-way mark and the price of gas was right so I filled up.  I pumped 13.346 gallons at $2.899 per gallon.   The odometer reads 117,091.

~ o o O o o ~

I did the rest of today’s shopping on-line:

REI — $34.27
Two weeks ago while writing my SmartWool sock product review, I noticed that REI’s Outlet had the mini-crew hiking socks on sale.  I also noticed that the SmartWool website doesn’t list those has a current style so I’m a little worried that they’ve been discontinued.  So I figured I should go ahead and get a few more pair while the price was right.  I bought 4 pair at $7.93/pair (that’s about 1/2 off).  I had to pay tax, naturally, but I didn’t pay any shipping because I chose to pick them up from my local store.  This free shipping if you send your on-line purchases to a store is just one of the many reasons that I’m a loyal REI shopper.  REI’s return policy is also among the very best too.  But I digress….

Tower.com — $13.97
I’ve tried twice now to pick up a copy of Quirky Kids – once when I had a B&N coupon and then again yesterday when I had a Borders coupon.  But neither store had a copy in stock.  The coupons were both only good for two days so even though both stores offered to order the book in for me I didn’t accept either offer.  After yesterday’s lack of success, I came home and tried to find a good price on-line again.  I was open to either new or used but I knew I was only willing to make a purchase if the deal were sweet enough.  Just who do those st*pid eBay sellers think they’re fooling when the charge $2.75 for a used book and then want $8.00 for shipping?  Thanks but I think I’ll pass.  Anyway, I ended up finding a new paperback copy at Tower Books and that price includes shipping.  I’m excited to get the book; it promises to be a good read and might help me gain more insight into my own quirky kid (I hope).

~ o o O o o ~

Cash — $2.00
My last purchase of the day was to lay down $2.00 in cash to see The Son’s team get defeated in the last 30 second of the game.  Win or lose — doesn’t matter to me.  The kids are fun to watch.  The Son got some playing time but he didn’t score any points.  Then again, he didn’t make any fouls either.

I know that Thanksgiving is now just a distant, pleasant memory for most but I hope you’ll forgive me for my belated Thanksgiving post.

I’ve just been looking over my YNAB budget* and discovered an unforeseen benefit of the holiday — a lower gasoline bill this month.  With The Daughter being out of school for a whole week and The homeschooled Son not having classes, lessons, or rehearsal, and neither child having games or team practices, I estimate that the holiday saved me somewhere in the neighborhood of $60-75 worth of gas for The Tank.

In the spirit of sticking to YNAB’s Four Rules (specifically, Rule #2:  Give Every Dollar a Job), I’ve moved those $$’s originally budgeted to Auto: Fuel over to my Gifts categories where I’m sure they’ll be put to use (or more honestly, where they’ve already been put to use).

I’m already anticipating what the two-week school and activity vacation at Christmas/New Year’s will do for my gas budget (and, as a result, my gift budget).  Don’t get me wrong, though — I’m not pumping additional $$’s into my gift budget and planning purchases I hadn’t already budgeted for.  My gift list remains the same.  All I’m doing is taking real dollars that won’t be spent on gas and allocating them to gifts; before the gasoline windfall was discovered, the funds for gifts were coming out of other discretionary budget categories such as vacation and savings.