As a minimalist, I don’t do much shopping. Before the pandemic, I bought most of my clothes from the sales racks at Macy’s. Its clothes seem to be O.K. for older women. I did go shopping several times with my daughter Lisa, who lives in Madrid, and we shopped at H&M, Zara, and other stores. So, I got an idea of what fast fashion is.
Scams are terrible, especially during the holidays. But scammers are out there every day, searching for their next victim. Scammers will ask you to pay with gift cards. Why? Because they’re like cash: once you use a gift card, the money is gone. A scammer may say they’re from a government agency or are a family member in a bind who needs money right now.
Before the pandemic, I had several small businesses I liked to shop at downtown. But, like many consumers, I’ve turned to the internet to do a lot of my shopping as covid surged. I need to get back in the habit of giving small businesses some of my economic dollar votes. Today is Small Business Saturday.
Fortunately, I was able to get a great deal on Black Friday. I need a new Apple iMac because I can no longer get updates for mine. It’s 12 years old. I’ve been watching the prices for the Apple 27” iMac with Retina 5K display for months. Finally, for Black Friday, Apple reduced the price $600.
Today, I’m thankful for family and friends. I’m also appreciative of jobs and careers that have enabled me to have a home and enough food. I’m thinking about the Thanksgiving family gatherings I had with my family when I was growing up, then later celebrations when I became an adult and had children of my own.
My memories of Thanksgiving include family trips to Cashmere, Washington, to my great aunt Mable Kenyon’s home for a fabulous meal, how to go to both parents’ homes for the celebration after I was married, and my mom enjoying the Thanksgiving dinners I cooked after she was no longer able to make them.
This year at Thanksgiving, I’m thinking about my mom and dad. They met on a wheat ranch during the Great Depression and had virtually nothing with which to start their married lives. When I was married in the 1960s, my former husband and I also had nothing. However, we did get college degrees.
If you’re going to shop for deals on Black Friday – the sales are now available earlier, stick around longer, and are increasingly moving online – be sure to keep comparing prices. Sometimes prices are marked way up then marked way down. During my journalism career, I’ve written articles on items likely to be on sale each month during the year.
I just wanted to write and let you know today about what’s going on with my newsletter. I scour personal finance websites every week to find the best tips for people to use in their personal finance lives. I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on it. Recently, J. Money of Budgets Sexy took a look at my newsletter.
