Sorry, to all my readers that I have put blogging aside during this crazy month! I have been so busy with Christmas shopping, work, and figuring out school/university things for next year.

BUT! I would like to talk a little about shopping for Christmas presents. How many of you will run to the mall, knowing that it will hold all the things you need? Or crossing the border into America hope to get a better deal on something we have here? Have you ever thought of getting those presents second hand? This Christmas I have thrifted 95% of my presents to friends and family this year! Things like scarves, jewelry, house hold items, even some forks and spoons for my mothers jewelry making hobby. Of course, there were things like chocolate or food related items that I bought from places like Walmart or Save-on-Foods (but i was always looking for a sale, I'm pretty cheap). So, instead of going to the mall and spending tons of money, check out your local thrift/consignment stores and take the time to dig through the store, you never know what you'll find!

Another idea for a Christmas present is something that my boyfriend actually did for his mother's present last year. He decided that instead of buying a specific item that she may not even use, he was going to sponsor a child from a third world country and donate a certain amount of money a month to support that child. He gave his mom the picture and information about the child he had chosen to sponsor and has been donating a monthly amount to help that child have a better life. Another one of my friends spoke with her family and they all decided that instead of buying gifts for each other, they would sponsor a family together and use the money they would have spent on each other, to support that family.

And the last present suggestion? MAKE your present! If it be art work, like a painting, drawing, or even a song, or baking of some kind. Why go out and spend lots of money when you have the ability to make something that will most likely mean so much more to your loved ones than a new shirt or a pretty necklace.

This Christmas try something different when it comes to presents, don't think you always need to spend hundreds of dollars to make someone happy.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and God Bless!

AW

Thrifted Car?

How many of you are either teens or parents look for that first car? Have you ever considered Craigslist? Kijii?even Ebay? Yeah, it takes forever to go through all the pages, go through all the ads, and to find THE car, BUT in the end it can totally be worth it.

When I was searching for my first car, I had my heart set on a VW beetle or rabbit. It seemed to not be a very popular car on Craigslist and I had to go on day after day and scroll through the recent posts. My dad was a huge help and gave his input on every single car I considered, as well as coming along with me to check out the ones that had caught my eye and seemed decent. 

But every car we looked at always had some kind of major issue or the sellers had lied about certain things in their adds. I started to get frustrated and was going to give up on my dream car, but then my dad came across a hopeful add. It was of a white 1987 VW cabriolet. The only problem? It wasn't running and I did not want a project car, but my dad had a feeling he knew what the issue was, so we went and checked out the car. It was clean and well kept, aside from the lack of it barely ever being driven by the current owner. My dad checked out quite a few things (I have no idea what he looked at) and then decided that we would take it. We ended up paying only $350 (including two never used snow tires).

I was extremely nervous when purchasing the car, because this was my hard earned money going into something that didn't even run at the time, but my dad began to fiddle and we even had a friend who bought and sold VW come and take a look. My dad ended up getting the motor to catch, but the car wouldn't actually start. So, we finally brought it to a VW specialist, who fixed it in 30 min. The cast was $300 and i had a beautiful running car. 

Meet Oliver! It has a few nicks and scrapes and of course there are all the little odd things that come with buying an old car, but other than that I love it. I've had it for about a year and it has done me proud.

Whenever I tell people the price I paid for my car they are always amazed and can't believe that I actually paid $350. I like to think I used the same skill I was when thrift shopping, I go through every rack, look at every possible purchase, try it out, then make my final decision whether the purchase is really that great. Which in this case, it was a steal. I would encourage all of you to check out these websites when looking for a new car, you'll be surprised by some of the things you'll find and of course the amazing prices!

Hope all of you are having a great start to your Christmas holidays!

AW