Teaching Children About Money with and without Jeff Opdyke

Given my love of reading about things financial, frugal, and family-oriented, you would think that I would love Jeff Opdyke, who has long written about families and money for The Wall Street Journal. In fact, though, I seldom read his column, and when I do, I get upset for one reason or another.

Perhaps this is a knee-jerk reaction to an essay he wrote many years ago: there he recounted spending $20.00 on spices for a recipe that called for a teaspoon of garam masala. I almost passed out! Not only can you make this spice blend with spices that are in your pantry, but you can buy the blend ready-made for very little.

Today, however, I succumbed to an essay. Here is the opening:

To a comment from his 14 year old son that a $30 field trip was kind of expensive, Dad replied "I guess $30 is kind of pricey for a 14-year-old without any income. But it isn't so meaningful to me."

OK. So Opdyke now realizes that his cavalier answer was dumb. (Was he showing off to his son? Who knows.)

The rest of the essay talks about how our kids see WHAT we buy, but not what we don't buy. In other words, children don't see the complex decisions about money that may underlie every purchase...or non-purchase.

I just don't believe it. Children notice EVERYTHING. Over the years, my kids asked why we didn't have cable, why we didn't have tostitos, why we didn't go to McDonalds more than twice a year, etc. I'm sure my students know how to gather evidence for comparative essays because they COMPARED and CONTRASTED all the similarities and differences they saw in family consumption patterns.

In fact, I remember asking my own parents why Karen got a princess phone for Christmas and Cheryl's mother made lasagne, which seemed more interesting than our family fare. Many years later, I remember the answers. I would guess that my children remember some of my answers too.

One parent in the Opdyke circle complained that his children didn't see that he bought a lower-priced car than he needed to so that the family might use the money saved for other things. Trust me, the kids noticed. I remember lying down in the backseat of a 1950 Buick (this was in 1965, no seat belts in that old car), so that my friends couldn't see us! And I knew why we had it too.

If it's true that the parents in the Opdyke circle never explained why they make certain financial decisions, then maybe the problem is that the kids didn't feel comfortable asking.

Did your families encourage questions about financial decisions--both visible and invisible? What kinds of explanations should parents give? Are you comfortable answering questions?

How the Children of the Pathologically Frugal Dress Plus Lemon tree

Yesterday, Miss Em ruminated on her inability to buy an $80.00 sweater. We wonder whether children develop pathological frugality through nature or nurture. We wanted to show you that some carefully selected frugal choices can look quite snazzy. Frugal children need not look like paupers.




Miss Em sports a
1. Terracotta mohair sweater: This was a karmic discovery. Miss Em was already stressing about Anthropologie sweaters when we were in Florida. We accompanied shopaholic grandmother to her hair salon. While she was being beautified, we perused the goods in the thrift shop next door. There we found this hand knit beauty. The elderly volunteers at the shop surrounded Miss Em, with her bloom of youth. They reduced the price of the sweater to from $25.00 to $10.00 on the spot. These were the stylish elderly women of my childhood memories. They were so short! Miss Em towered over them as they brought her things to try on.
2. Lands End Shoes: Ballet flats for $20.00 with free shipping is pretty good.
3. Garnet Hill tights: From their recent sale ($9.00 reduced from $26.00) and now sold out. These are very nice, made in Italy. Miss Em got all three styles.

Frugal Son wears a
1. Leather jacket: As my readers know, Frugal Son has been studying in France. Of course, French students do not wear stretched out tee shirts as US students do. They wear leather jackets and collared shirts. A few weeks ago, Frugal Son mentioned that he wanted a leather jacket. I said that I had just bought one at Goodwill for his perusal for only $6.00! He likes it even though it's a little big.
2. Maroon cashmere sweater. This is either Pringle or Lyle and Scott. I pick up men's cashmere from these esteemed labels when I see them. Mr. FS has owned this for many years; it was borrowed by Frugal Son a few years ago. I don't think he plans to give it back. It was under $3.00.
3. Collared shirt: This is from the new Lands' End Canvas line. It was around $22.00 with free shipping. It has a narrow, Euro cut. Frugal Son is very happy with his new clothes.

In the background is our lemon tree. A few days ago, I mentioned that the tree has been garbed in a blanket in hopes of protecting it from the Arctic weather that is upon us. So this is from those happy, pre-freeze days, when lemon trees wore nothing at all.

And finally, Frugal Son's haircut is courtesy of his talented sister. Someone told him he looked like Lou Reed.

When to Splurge: Anthropologie Sweater

A Mother-Daughter Rumination

Situation: Anthropologie has beautiful sweaters, many over $100. True statement pieces. Miss Em is swooning over a few. They go on sale seldom, if at all. Besides, this is not a good year for sales. Retailers, stung by overstock during the financial meltdown, do not have huge inventories. Next year will probably be a better year for sales.

Mother's View: Well, I am pathological. So my instinct is to say NO. Or rather, my instinct is to say WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR. Buying a pricey sweater now means that you won't be able to take advantage of later opportunities. Also, I know from experience that indulging just leads to more indulging. At least for most people. I also know from experience that ketchup and moths--or the worst, mustard--seek out your newest and most expensive items.

Complicating matters. Shopaholic Grandma offered to buy the sweater in lieu of a $100.00 cash gift. Also, Miss Em has several hundred dollars in her debit account, so she could buy it if she wanted to.

So, we turn the mic over to Miss Em. Miss Em, why have you not purchased the sweater???

Daughter's view:
Let me first point out: the sweater I want is not $100. It is $79.95, reduced from $148. That's a little better. I think.

Did you know brushing your teeth with your non-preferred hand can increase will power? Well, so can rejecting something you really really (REALLY!) want. It gets easier every time. Practice--putting down gorgeous and cheap Talbots merch. Practice--saying no to an Anthropologie sweater you've been lusting over for months that's finally gone on sale. Practice--not taking home a gorgeous $3 Banana Republic skirt at Goodwill because, let's face it, you already have a lot of skirts.

It's hard, especially when I know I can get the Anthro sweater. We save on so many other things!

But the fact remains that I buy a lot. That fact is always ready to confront me in the form of a little purple notebook in which I record of all my clothing purchases. I write down every. little. thing. By month, I tally number of items and total cost. The facts are there, and since starting this little journal, I feel much more able to make level-headed decisions (trust me, the beauty of this Anthro sweater is enough to make anyone woozy). I've only kept it about six months now. I'm hoping that the same way it's shown me how much I've bought over that time, it will show how little I buy over the next six months. Just in time to justify a spectacular Anthropologie sweater!
Bring it on.

Readers, how do you resolve these internal conflicts?


P.S. Here is a picture of the sweater. I didn't think it would EVER go on sale--it's too nice! The day it did, it sold out of almost every size within 24 hours. Sigh.



Is that the essence of beauty, or what?

Clutter and Bargains: The Example of Babysitting

1968: I am 14 years old. My father is self-employed and his business is doing pretty well, so my mother is also working full-time. This is why I am going to buy my back-to-school clothing myself. In those days, a teenager could proffer a store credit card (visas et al were in the future for most families) and say "My mother said I could use this." In those innocent days, the teenager would be believed.

However, I tried to pay for as much as I could with my babysitting money. I had just raised my price from 50 cents an hour to 75 cents. I had lost a few customers to the price increase, including one family that fired me for not cleaning the house while I was there, but there were lots of children. Even at 75 cents, babysitting was so cheap that many of the moms left for hours on end on school days, often telling me that they were taking a course in "crafts." Or the couples went out at night for 8 or more hours. Little did I know that for some of these families, the 60s had arrived, with a full complement of John Updike-style infidelity during the day and "swinging" at night.

Anyway, I took the bus to A & S, a mid-priced department store that is probably no more. In fact, that whole genre seems to have disappeared. There I bought 4 items: a tan corduroy skirt, a tan and brown diagonal plaid skirt, a cream fisherman style sweater, and a brown v-neck sweater. You can tell that I was trying to mix and match, having probably read an article to that effect in Seventeen. So proud was I of my self-sufficiency that I remember the prices: $6.00, $8.00, $10.00, $6.00, for a grand total of $30.00. Except for the corduroy skirt, these items were probably synthetics, since the natural fibers movement of the 60s did not really hit till the 70s.

In other words, 40 hours of babysitting, which probably took me 3 or 4 weeks.

My daughter was 14 in 2005, owing to my late start on children. There are not too many kids around, so babysitting is in short supply. Happily, some children appeared across the street and Miss Em walked over to announce her availability. We wondered what to charge and guessed that $6.00 an hour would be the going rate. Much to her surprise, before she could announce her rates, she was given $60.00 for her 6 hours. We learned that $10.00 an hour was standard!

If Miss Em went to Target or Ross, she could buy clothing for about what I spent so many years ago. But her 4 items would only have taken 3 hours of work. Is it any wonder that our closets are overflowing and that the floors of most teenage rooms are dotted with clean and dirty piles of clothing?

Is it any wonder also that thrift stores are filled with near-new clothing? When I first went to thrift stores many years ago, the pickings were indeed slim. Now, I must keep myself from overbuying.

Sadly, the things that are really important, education and, most important, health care, are out of reach for many. These don't mess up your house either. Both have risen way faster than inflation, while clothing, plastic toys, and other junk are so cheap that it's easy to accumulate.

Last summer, Miss Em was asked to babysit for two kids while she was staying with my mother in Massachusetts. The east coast rate is even higher: she was paid $15.00 an hour and netted $120.00 for 8 hours of work.

Keep it a Treat: A Key to Frugality

I don't know if I've mentioned quite how divine a daughter I have. Her current divine activity involves spending three weeks with her recently-widowed grandmother, who did not want to go to her summer house alone. I was under the impression that Miss Em's willingness to, as she put it, "be Grandma's boyfriend," was unusual, but many people to whom I've spoken have declared that their children--16-20--would do the same. So whatever this generation is called (Y,Z,AA???), what a wonderful bunch of kids!

Anyway, a certain amount of stress is involved, so we get daily phone calls. There are a number of areas where Grandma-family-values are different from our-family-values. One that has come up already is the issue of restaurant meals. Miss Em's grandparents were almost daily restaurant-goers in retirement. Our family, as my devoted readers must have noticed, is a cooking family. In addition to her job as boyfriend, Miss Em has contracted to do all the cooking for Grandma.

Miss Em called this morning, with the news that (surprise!) Grandma wants to go out to eat again. Miss Em said, "I want to cook tonight, so that when we go out again, it will be a real treat."

My wise daughter has hit the frugal nail on the head! If you go out to eat all the time, it ceases to be a treat. Somewhere in the Amy Dacyczyn oeuvre--aka The Tightwad Gazette--is a story that makes a similar point. Amy talked about how she took her kids out for single-dip ice cream cones. These evoked an ecstatic response. Amy said that many parents, seeing the ecstasy, would respond by taking the kids out for ice cream more and more, eventually graduating to double- and then triple-scoops. Amy took the opposite tack: she responded by not taking her kids out for ice-cream again for a looonnggg time, to keep it a much-awaited (rather than simply expected) treat.

I must say that I remain in awe of Amy's austere self-control in the frugal department. I can't quite pull it off. But I do try to keep things a treat. And it is interesting that my dear daughter is begging her grandma, "Please don't take me out to dinner! Let me cook. Let's keep it a treat!"

Dear Readers, do you agree? And, do tell, how do you keep it a treat?

Cheap Chic: Garbage Couture

Another post whereby Frugal Scholar mooches off her kids. This time, the mooch is via the Divine Miss Em, whose talents are numerous. Miss Em is a senior in high school. Those who have been followers for a while may recall that she goes to a wonderful state-supported magnet school, the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. This is a residential high school, located on a college campus. It is available to all who qualify for the sum of $700.00 a year for room and board. What a gift for my children!

We received a recent email full of news about the senior class activities, including the Senior Breakfast. The theme this year was garbage. So all the girls made dresses out of garbage bags. Would I be too doting-mama to say that Miss Em won the Best Dressed Award?


There is so much here to emulate: pick a theme that will lead to frugal fun. Their prom had an India theme. So Miss Em borrowed a sari, bought some cheap Indian jewels via a website, and--being artsy--painted henna designs on many hands. This was perhaps a $20.00 prom. I read a blogpost on conscientious spending, where another proud mama noted that her daughter stuck to a $300.00 prom budget, which was a far cry from the over $1000.00 average. Well, I think we can do even better than that!

Similarly, the Senior Breakfast could have had a country club theme or such. But no--the kids thought of something creative and frugal.

So below we have an excerpt from Miss Em's email and some pics from the festivities. I have no idea what the guys wore. The pics show what I have always thought: the important thing for the girls is getting dressed up with your friends.



What is Senior Breakfast, you ask? Well let me tell you! It's an LSMSA tradition where the night before "Dead Day" (Dead Day is the day before exams start, where there's no class and dead silence because all the students are studying themselves to death) we have a late-night breakfast. As in, it starts at midnight and ends around 1AM. We are served breakfast and hang out with our classmates and we dress up in accordance with the theme. This year, the theme was trash-bag formal. You make formal attire out of trash bags, duct tape, any "trash" you can think of. Being a crafty girl, I worked super hard on my costume. I made it entirely from trash bags. It was a floor-length gown with ruching and layers. I must admit, it was very impressive by the time I was done with it. I made it ball-gown-big at the bottom by blowing up garbage bags with air, tying them off, and putting them underneath the dress. I'll attach a picture of it. I think you'll be impressed. It was also fun to spend so many hours on the dress, wear it, and then literally rip it off my body. Wheee! I also made accessories out of duct tape. Duct tape earrings and headbands and even a bracelet and a ring.

Although the pictures may have a girls gone wild vibe, let me assure you, this is a studious and accomplished bunch. Indeed, I am sure they will all do well in college, and, thereafter, will rule the world.

Sentimental Education, Tactile Shopping, and Second-Hand Chic

First part of title is about me and my beloved Miss Em, for whom I am providing an education in thrift shopping, which, since it's full of feeling, is sentimental. Second part is the self-explanatory title of a book.

One side advantage of being a teacher who has to stand before over 100 20-somethings three days a week is that it keeps me from lapsing into total slob-hood. Those who teach at prestigious research institutions dress in very upscale clothing. Elaine Showalter of Princeton used to write about her high-end shopping for Vogue and I saw a spread a few years ago on the fashion sense of the McGill English Department. But those of us not lucky enough to teach in the higher echelons can tend toward the dowdy.

Recently, one of my students said, "You dress a lot better than most teachers." That doesn't sound so great, but it's high praise. If I look OK at all, it is because I seldom buy anything without the permission of Miss Em, who has unerring style sense.

But when we brought our stuff to Buffalo Exchange, the tables were turned. Miss Em noticed that a much greater percentage of my stuff was taken. Most of hers was rejected. She also noticed that the uber fashionable and often pierced managers of Buffalo enjoyed yakking with me, even though I am about thirty years older than they are. One manager and I even discussed the possiblity of my being their first middle-aged employee! (No, I like my current job. But I would be good.)

So Miss Em and I discussed my history--how in the depths of graduate student poverty I found vintage clothing to sell at the Eye of Osiris, a vintage shop in Bloomington Indiana. Even though I have very few talents--I am an excellent reader and a good cook and that's about it--I was instantly successful in the vintage biz. For some reason, I immediately figured out that you find vintage and designer clothing by quality fabric. You don't look at the clothing; you first run your hands along the rack. Indeed, if you see anyone doing this at a thrift store, you will know that you are in the presence of a picker.

I promised Miss Em that I would teach her the secrets of tactile shopping. She is kind of a beginner, having refused to set foot in a thrift store for much of her childhood. (She would walk into Goodwill and ostentatiously hold her nose!) But, trust me, she is a fast learner and a person of great visual discrimination.

But what if you don't have a mom like me to help you undergo your rite of passage into tactile shopping? There is a book that tells you very clearly how to evaluate clothing for fine fabric and fine construction.

I mentioned this book, which I had borrowed from a former friend many years ago and whose title I had forgotten, in a post a while back. I googled "consignment shopping guide," and amazingly the book came up: Second-Hand Chic by Christa Weil. Even more amazing, there was a copy in my library system and I am reading the book with great pleasure. This is a 10 year old book! It is a testament to its timeless information on fabric quality and clothing construction that it is still in print. The sections on how to shop second-hand are dated, of course, because the book has nary a mention of on-line shopping. But the rest of the book is excellent.

Check it out, if you have a chance.

Teenagers and Money, Frugal This, Frugal That

Many of the bloggers I read have a sense of impending doom, as they wait to hear about the future of their employment. Given the economic situation, I sometimes feel that my frugal thoughts are awfully trivial. Here are a few of them.

Teenagers and Money: This is a topic that recurs. How does one teach teenagers about money? In truth, we teach them by our actions.

Example: my daughter's friend Sadie, whose parents lost their house two summers ago. They had been living in a small house in the country for 15 years. According to them, they got a notice saying they had to be out at the end of the month. So they left, and moved into a trailer on the farm of their employer. Only a few months later did I realize that these were probably the first people I knew (albeit tangentially) who had lost their house because of a sub-prime loan.

Sadie is a senior in high school. She works in a salon doing shampoos a few days a week. She takes home around $150 a week! Bossy me (an occupational hazard), I asked if she had a savings account. No. I asked if she saved any money. No. She explained that she had "expenses," which turned out to be pet food, meals out, and clothing (she has no car and lives with her parents). I launched into a lecture (an occupational hazard) about the importance of saving.

Next time I saw her, I repeated my questions (an occupational hazard). She said that while she still did not have a savings account, she keeps $80.00 in her room at all times for an emergency. This teen runs through $7000.00 plus a year! She's been working for two years and has $80.00.

Then I realized that her parents probably had out-earned Mr. DFS and me. We were in school till we were 30. We became teachers, not the most lucrative profession. These people did not go to college and began working at 18, buying a house then and starting a family.

Am I being too judgmental? Should I continue to ask questions and make suggestions?

Frugal This, Frugal That: Today, Mr. DFS and I, along with the rest of our department, had a free food opportunity, a catered lunch provided by a textbook publisher. We have 2 or 3 of these every couple of years. I'm not sure of the ethics here, but the food was delicious! We had seafood chowder and a waldorf salad (chicken, apples, and pecans), followed by king cake. If you're not from Louisiana, you probably don't know about this cake. It is cake topped in Mardi Gras colors--purple, green, and gold--and contains a tiny plastic baby. If you get the baby in your piece, you have to buy the next cake.

While I was eating, I was musing on the ethics of all this. Then I read about the perks gotten by various political figures recently. I suppose that they would scoff at my little lunch. Any thoughts, dear readers?

Frugal Dilemma: Our Frugal Daughter, though she does not supply posts as our Frugal Son does, is never far from our thoughts. She is up for two college scholarships. The competitions are on THE SAME WEEKEND and cannot be re-scheduled.
Choice 1: A big school in another state offers the chance to be one of 40 fellows, who are mentored and groomed by faculty. $1000 over whatever other scholarships you get. 50 students are invited to compete.
Choice 2: A private college offers FREE TUITION, ROOM and BOARD to 3 or 4 students. About 80 students are invited to compete. Frugal Daughter has already been given a scholarship almost equal to tuition.

School 1 offers an almost sure chance of a lesser benefit; school 2 offers an enormous benefit, but almost no chance.

At first she was drawn to the smaller school, mostly because of the wonderful recruiter. But now a good friend who goes there is saying the school is TOOOOO small and she wants to transfer. So Frugal Daughter is conflicted.

Aren't we lucky to have these trivial problems in these difficult times? Even so, dear readers, we welcome your counsel. Any thoughts on any of these?

Frugal New Year

We got back from a trip to Florida a few days ago. After a 14 hour drive, we needed tranquility. Here is our low-key a frugal day, the last day of 2008.

Frugal Scholar: Even though I still count as a Yankee after 20 years here, I made the classic meal of black-eyed peas for the last day of 2008 and, for good luck, the first day of 2009. This is a totally flexible dish. I cooked up a pound of dried peas, sautéed some sausage and green onions from the garden and added to the peas. With a dash of hot sauce, it’s a favorite. How can anything so easy and cheap be so good? We had this with some of the greens that are proliferating in the garden. Also served with mashed potatoes (my favorite!) and some cranberry sauce bought very cheap at Big Lots.

Mr Frugal Scholar: He spent the day gardening and doing various chores around the house.

Frugal Son: Unlike his mother, he likes tedious cooking tasks. So he made up a bunch of tiny meatballs. Really tiny! These will be frozen and thrown into soup later.

Frugal Daughter: She sewed on a button for me (yes, I am the proverbial “can’t sew on a button” person). Now I can wear the great jacket I got at Banana Republic that was reduced to $17.00. She also offered to wax my eyebrows! What a great kid! This would have cost me $10 at the local beauty school and at least $20 in a salon.

Frugal Children went away for New Year’s Eve: Frugal Daughter to Lafayette and Frugal Son to New Orleans. Frugal Parents watched “Burn After Reading,” which was lent by friend of Frugal Son.

What a frugal day! Happy New Year!

Disney : Japan :: Not Worth It : Worth It

This post is a musing on “Not Worth It” and “Worth It,” a twofer, definitely “Worth It.”

Frugal people tend to be value-oriented. In other words, frugal people think of the value of an item or experience, rather than the cost. This is a concept that is mystifying to non-frugal folks. I know; I’ve tried to explain. The value-orientation is why I think it’s well worth it to buy a piece of furniture for over $1000.00 (a lot over in one case) and not worth it to buy a soda in a restaurant, even it is $1.00.

And, of course, the “Worth It” “Not Worth It” ratio differs from person to person and family to family. When I was in graduate student poverty, I spent about $8.00/pound on good coffee beans, which I ground every day. Now, 20 plus years later (and my salary is more than 20 times my graduate school stipend), I pay about $3.00/pound for New Orleans coffee with chicory. I wish I’d had this coffee back then. Besides, now I’m too lazy to grind coffee beans.

This brings me to the example I want to highlight: the ubiquitous Disney Trip for grades 6-12. At least this was ubiquitous for my children. When they hit sixth or seventh grade, every single class or subgroup at school featured a Disney Trip. The trip cost about $600.00; that covered bus transportation, a 3-day ticket to the theme parks, and 2 nights in a hotel. Breakfast and dinner were included but lunch, eaten in Disney World, was not. This grated on my values orientation. The parents of my children’s friends who generally agreed with my thinking—and certainly agreed that the trip was a major rip-off—all capitulated. “But Alexandra REALLY wants to go! All her friends are going.”

I was alone. I couldn’t argue that we didn’t have the money (we did) and I don’t like lying to my children. We said,”This is a rip-off. When there’s something that’s WORTH IT, even if it’s more expensive, you can go.”

We were hoping that a class or a club would sponsor a trip to DC or to Chicago—anything but the Disney Trip! Most of the kids had been to Disney numerous times anyway. But, in an appalling lack of imagination and initiative, every year my poor children had to opt out of a Disney Trip. Sometimes there were two or three: the Honors Club Trip, the Science Club Trip, and so forth. Some of these 12-17 year-olds went on two or more Disney trips each year, depending on how many organizations they were involved in. My children were disappointed, I suppose, but I think they trusted us when we said they could have something even better later.

Then, first my son and later my daughter went to a wonderful residential magnet high school in Natchitoches, Louisiana. When my son began in 11th grade, he announced that during winter break a teacher was leading a 10-day trip to Japan. He pointed out that the cost was equal to about three of the Disney Trips. He didn’t even have to remind us of the promise or to do the math for us: the minute he said it, we knew it was WORTH IT.

Ditto for my daughter, who went on the same trip two years later.

This might ring some chimes. It’s easier for parents to say “No” to their own desires than to the desires of their children. And we were up against peer pressure, from both the children and the parents of their classmates.

What say you, Dear Reader? What’s WORTH IT to you and yours? How do you decide?

Frugal Holiday Gifts—Teen Edition

Truly, my two children give the lie to the common lament: “Teenagers are so expensive!” They are frugal in their own wants. My daughter, the Divine Miss Em, is particularly gifted at frugal gift-giving.

My daughter attends a residential high school about 250 miles from home. Don’t gasp, frugal readers! This is a wonderful state-supported magnet school that costs only about $800/year for a truly superior education. If you don’t have the $800 (this includes room and board), there are scholarships available.

So … she had to get her holiday gifts for friends together over Thanksgiving break. Her gifts are great. These are creative and frugal gifts.

If you happen to be an intended recipient, read no further.

Friend 1: Nice razor set (regularly $7.99, but $3.99 at Walgreens yesterday, with a $3 in-store coupon = $0.99). Pinwheel pen in matching color (had this lying around the house).



Friend 2: Vera Bradley pencil and brush case (regularly $18, but on sale for $5, plus about $1 for shipping / tax). This was filled with some of the Snickers bars I bought for Halloween (but ended up not giving out).



Friend 3: Large stack of magazines for a magazine-lover with no subscriptions (we get these with unusable Frequent Flier miles) plus little bow (cost unknown) plus huge chocolate bar (free after rebate at CVS) plus a set of three small bubble blowers (90% off at CVS last September, maybe $0.40).



Friend 4: over-the-top large sword that shoots out bubbles (bought at 90% off CVS sale last September, for about $0.70) plus joke gift.



Friend 5: cute underwear ($0.99 at Ross Dress for Less) plus Cover Girl lip gloss ($7 at CVS, but free after rebate).



Wrapping paper: I never bought this when my children were younger, which caused them great embarrassment. (I used a roll of wallpaper someone gave me.) When we went to the closet, there, in addition to the wallpaper, were several rolls of very snazzy gift wrap. My admiring husband said, “Look! This was only $1!” I wandered over, saw the wrap I had forgotten about, and said, “No. It was 10 cents. I got it at the 90% off sale at Big Lots last year.”

You do the math. This was put together on Black Friday, in the comfort of our own home. Happy Holidays!