Ok, we’ve all been there. It’s December 20th, your family holiday party is in just 3 days and you have NO IDEA what to get! Whether it’s small gift ideas for each member in the family, or a Secret Santa style gift with a small budget, I’ve got your back.
And, in typical Paige fashion, let’s get right to it.
I truly have ONE niece, spend zero time around children otherwise, and have STILL heard about this Bluey show. It’s supposedly even good for adults! (Haven’t tried it out yet, but who knows?) Your sweet nieces or nephews (or you, no judgement) will just love these adorable plushies!
I wasn’t quite sure what to think on this one, but with how quickly fidget spinners took off I can only image how well transformer fidget spinners will be!
I’m actually not sure about this calendar, I think its days are numbered… hehe… get it?? Ok ok, I’m not a dad and I’m terrible with jokes but I couldn’t resist that one.
We’ve all seen those Tik Tok videos of families playing these games that seem too dumb to be fun, yet, here we are. There’s a whole set of “dumb-but-fun” games put together for yourself, or a great family gift!
I don’t know about you, but I have never met someone who doesn’t want a massage of some sort. So, save their money and get them this automatic neck massager!
Talk about making someone’s day with a Magic Bullet Blender! Remember, New Years Resolutions are just around the corner – working out and drinking protein shakes are about to be someone’s main focus for, well, at least 2 months…
And for my final favorite last-minute holiday gift, a heated eye massager. As someone that personally struggles from migraines, I can only imagine how amazing this must feel!
I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you got in the comments!
I don’t know about you, but my dad is the HARDEST one in the family to shop for. He’s already purchased the things he’s wanted throughout the year, and hunting, camping, tech, and tools are expensive! So, I’ve looked through Amazon to find the top 5 gifts you should get for dad this year, without breaking the bank!
Some links in this post are affiliate links that may help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
If your dad is a drinker, beer or otherwise, you can’t go wrong getting him this insulated Stanley stein mug. Whoever said that Stanley’s were just for soccer mom’s? Only kidding… mostly…
Okay, okay, I promise this is the last cup on the list. HOWEVER common, tell me your dad won’t just LOVE showing off his NFL tumbler to his buddies, and it’ll cost you less than $50!!
The massage gun became SUPER popular a few years ago. So, if you or your dad hasn’t already pulled the trigger (ha ha, get it?) by getting one, now’s the time! Prices have gone down, and it’s the PERFECT holiday gift for dad.
Picture this, you’re on an outing while on vacation with the family and your dad pulls out a portable charger that you gave him for Christmas, now that’s a way to rub it in to your siblings! This portable charger is compact, foolproof, and has multiple port types for different devices.
For the final gift idea for dad, he can never have too many high-quality hoodies. Whether he’s the type to be out camping, in the garage with his tools, or even just chillaxing at home, this hoodie is the perfect gift for him this holiday season.
I hope this has given you a good idea for what to get your dad for the holiday season! Wondering what to get for mom? Check out 10 Amazon Christmas Gifts for Mom Under $50.
Organizing expenses can be a time-consuming and painful task. Luckily for you, I’ve got a few tips to help you organize your monthly and annual bills.
We’ll start by discussing why organizing your bills is important, when and where to organize them, which bills to organize, and how to BEST organize them.
Some links in this post are affiliate links that may help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Why organize your bills?
Organization as a concept has been used for centuries. It’s easy to assess why you should organize your bills if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, but if not, why would you need to organize? My simple answer to this is checks and balances. In business it’s common practice for each expense to be checked for accuracy and relevance.
So, why would you treat your life any different? Don’t you want to know every expense that’s affecting your cash flow, while also not overwhelming yourself by checking every single transaction? Yes? Good. You’ve come to the right place! Using my organization method will enable you to not have to check every single transaction.
When to organize? Am I too late?
Good news – you can organize your expenses/bills ANYTIME. It’s never too late, or too early, to start tracking what money is being taken from you, when it’s being deducted, and why.
Starting early is a huge benefit to you, because you can continue to add expenses as they come, instead of backtracking. However, the benefit to back-tracking your expenses is accurate tracking. more on that in the “How” section.
If you prefer tracking your bills physically, you can get this Bill Tracker off of Amazon!
Where to organize them?
Now, there’s not one single best place to organize your bills. Instead, you need to choose what works best for you. Some of my suggestions would be; iPhone notes, Google Sheets (what I use), Excel, Google Docs.
In order to find which platform is best for you, ask yourself: Where do I track other things in my life? Are they on paper? In the Notes app of my phone? Or in a Drive somewhere?
Another deciding factor of which platform to use is if you’re sharing this document. Do you have a financial coach that may want access? Or a partner? If so, make sure that you choose a live platform that each of you can update in real-time.
I, personally, use Google Sheets. The document is shared with my Husband, and we track his expenses in the same place. I also appreciate the customizability (is that a word?) in Sheets. If I want to add a new column for which card the expense is charged to, it’s as easy as a click of a few buttons! Before that, I used the Notes app on my iPhone. This worked for the first 3-4 years of tracking my expenses, but I quickly learned I wanted to see my bills in a more visually-pleasing way, so I switched to using a table on Google Sheets.
Which bills should I organize?
The simple answer is, all of them! That’s right, from the $0.01 monthly charge (not sure what this would be but…) to your $500-ish spent on holiday gifts each year.
Types of Bills to Track
Consistent Monthly
An expense that is consistently charged monthly may be your mortgage, phone bill, insurance, HOA, gas, electricity, media subscriptions, car wash, and more. This is any charge that will continue to be charged monthly at the same cost. The only adjustment to this cost would need to be given with notice to you, for example when Xfinity sends you that very unfortunate email that your rates have increased (knock on wood).
This type of bill should be fairly easy to track, because you have an email notifying you of the charge and/or you can check previous charges to see the consistent amount that is charged.
Consistent Annual
A Consistent Annual charge is similar to a consistent monthly charge in that it will continue to be charged at the same cost, but instead at an annual timeframe. A good example of this may be an annual charge to a fitness gym.
It’s important to track these annual charges because right now you may have the money to make the charge, but 1 year is a very long ways away. You never know what may change with your financial situation, and it’s better to plan ahead.
Monthly Semi-Predictable
Monthly Semi-Predictable charges are things like food, gas, and entertainment. You don’t spend an exact $50.27 when you eat out each month, that cost may vary each month. However, for gas in particular, you may make a similar commute each month and be able to figure that you spend an average of $300 a month (I know, I know, I have a Jeep…) to go off of.
Annual Semi-Predictable
Similar to Monthly Semi-Predictable expenses, Annual Semi-Predictable expenses are costs that may vary slightly each year, but you want to make sure to plan ahead for them. A good example of this is money spent on gifts around the holidays. You can’t put an exact number on it (I mean, toys are getting more and more expensive each year!), but you can guesstimate (one of my favorite words) what you may spend on holiday gifts so you can plan ahead.
A great example that I used Annual Semi-Predictable expenses for was my contacts. I used daily contacts (terribly expensive, thankfully I’ve made the switch) that costed about $1,000 a year. Now, I’m not the type that can just whip out $1,000 and call it a day. For that kind of expense, I need to plan a few months in advance. Thankfully, I had tracked my expense ahead of time so by the next year I was able to get my contacts in time and not have to use my glasses – which I very-much-so dislike. Anyways, that’s off topic…
Now that you’re familiar with the different types of expenses to track, how to get that process started? Let’s cycle back to that platform that you decided to use for your tracking. Let’s stick with Google Sheets, and if you have questions for tracking on other platforms you can leave your questions in the comments below.
Within Google Sheets, create a new sheet and name it whatever you want. This should stand out so that you remember how to refer back to it at any time. Start your organization with a table with headings that look like this:
Title the type of expense at the top, then the above columns. Here’s what they mean:
Date Charged = Which date of the month you can expect the charge to be made
Notice that sometimes, when banks are involved especially, you may receive payment on varying dates, but it’s always the second Monday of the month. In that case, you would put “Second Monday” in this cell
Amount (est) = The amount that is charged. In the Semi-Predictable types of expenses I put “(est)” next to the Amount since this amount is an estimate
Reason = What the expense is for. I keep this short; gas, entertainment, EOS Membership, etc.
Location (card) = This is where you can expect the charge to come out of. I am pretty centralized to one card for all expenses, but I know some individuals like to (or need to) keep charges coming from multiple bank accounts or credit/debit cards
End Date? = The last date this expense will be charged. Not every expense will have an end date, but for example mortgage payments and car payments should have an end date, and it can be hopeful and helpful to keep this end date top of mind
After you’ve created a similar heading format, you can start to add each individual expense. I’ve created a guide for each type of expense below:
Consistent Monthly
Remember, these are bills that are charged at the same rate, at generally the same day each month. Check through your previous charges on each account, and any that repeat monthly should be added to this list.
Consistent Annual
These are similar to Consistent Monthly charges, but are instead charged consistently each year. If you haven’t already been tracking your consistent annual charges this may be difficult, but you’ll want to check through your past year of charges and try to remember if this is an annual charge that will be repeated.
Another option, and preferred by some, is to add expenses to this list in the FUTURE. At the end of each day, check your expenses & add any recurring charges to this list. In order to catch all annual expenses you would need to do this each day for an entire year, whereas you’d only have to check each day for a month to catch the Consistent Monthly expenses.
Monthly Semi-Predictable
In order to guesstimate your monthly spend on things like gas, entertainment, and food you will want to check through your previous months of charges. Some bank apps have a user-friendly version to check this. For example, Chase Bank has a feature that shows you how much you’ve spent on food in the past month, and will even give you an average for the past few months.
If you don’t have a fancy feature like this in your bank’s app, you can throw a guesstimate (I love that word, can you tell?) number in and each month check yourself for accuracy.
Want to help your kids, or yourself, save? Try out this ADORABLE Piggy Bank
Annual Semi-Predictable
To guess your upcoming Annual Semi-Predictable expenses, the best idea I can propose to you is to think. Ask yourself, what is something I pay for each year? Think through each season, each child, each sports event, and ask that question. For me, I know I pay for my contacts, Christmas gifts, and cheap flights-finder app (Flights from Home) annually.
Now that you’ve added all of your expenses, total them up (in Google Sheets you can type = Sum (First Cell:Last Cell) ) to find your monthly and annual expenses. Now, you can plan ahead for expenses that are coming your way and be more on top of your finances for the future!
My mom wears these EVERY night! We all know they accidentally staying up way too late with their glass of wine, so let’s make sure they have a chance to wake up with fresh-looking eyes in the morning!
Now, this may not be every mother’s cup of tea. However, if your mom was like mine in the 90’s it was knee-high black leather platform boots ALL. THE. WAY! (I just pray those flip-flops don’t make a come-back). This boot will give them the nostalgic throw back they are secretly craving, while also fitting into today’s modern fashion.
If your mom hasn’t already joined the Alexa band-wagon, it’s time to get her turned onto one of the most powerful tools. Think about it, this tiny speaker is your “foot in the door” to getting her an infinite amount of Alexa voice-controlled gifts. Light bulbs, light switches, other speakers, and even drape-openers! Not to mention, it’s dang CUTE!
Talk about comfort through the holidays! This mini heater will keep your mamma nice and toasty whether she’s in Alaska or Arizona (yes, my mom thinks 60 degrees is freezing).
So, you’ve discovered Attachment Styles and want to know, “where in the world did I get this from?” Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Some links in this post are affiliate links that may help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
What are Attachment Styles?
Attachment Styles are a guide for individuals on how they handle relationships – both romantic and not. There are two categories of attachment styles, and the three subsets fit within those. The two categories are Insecure and Secure attachment types. Anxious and Avoidant belong within the Insecure type, and Secure is the third style that belongs in, you guessed it, the Secure type.
Check out the book “Attached” to get a more in-depth description.
Did my Parents Cause My Attachment Style?
To put it shortly, maybe. Our attachment style is shaped by our primary caregiver. Your primary caregiver is the person that primarily spent time with or cared for you during your early years of childhood.
“But Paige, how did someone who raised me affect my attachment style these 20, 30, or 40+ years later?” Let me tell you! So, whomever raised you taught you how much you could or couldn’t trust the world. For example, a securely attached person had a primary care giver (for the sake of, we are going to call this the “parent” moving forward) that came to them when they cried, and took care of them, almost every time. This child learned that they could trust that the world would take care of them.
However, if your parent rarely came to you when you cried and you had to fend for yourself, you learned that you cannot trust the world, and an avoidant attachment style was acquired so you could protect yourself.
Finally, an anxiously attached person had a parent that was present sometimes, but not all of the time. They learned that you can only trust if you force that trust, and check on it regularly. Therefore, the anxious attachment style was created.
Consistent vs. Inconsistent Parenting
You may notice, the theme to these differences is the consistency, or inconsistency, of care given during early childhood. Consistency looks like the parent promptly coming to help the child when they cry, giving physical needs such as food and water, and satisfying emotional needs with tenderness and closeness.
Inconsistent parenting can take two forms. First, complete and total neglect. Those horror stories that used to pop up in your Snapchat news stores? Yep. That’s what I’m talking about. This looks like a parent that lets their child cry without ever coming to their rescue. Or if they do, it’s extremely rare. The second form of inconsistent parenting is only sometimes coming to the child’s rescue. The randomness of this care causes lots of confusion for the child and, eventually, an anxious attachment style.
Read Jessica Baum’s “Anxiously Attached: Becoming More Secure in Life and Love” here.
Can I Blame my Parents?
So now that I know that my attachment style came from my parents, it’s all their fault! Right? Well, not quite. Although your parents may have set the tone for your attachment style, you have the choice to wallow in your pain and pity, or you can choose to change. It is possible to overcome your attachment style, and achieve a Secure attachment. It’s hard, and it can take years, but it’s worth every ounce of pain and grit that it takes. I know from personal experience.
So yeah, I could have sat back and practiced learned helplessness now that I know my parents caused my attachment style. However, then I never would have grown into the woman I am today! I would have been stuck checking my boyfriend’s phones, their location, and questioning every move they made. Not to mention, my attachment style led me to be with some pretty, how do I say this nicely… insignificant men.
Instead, I mastered my attachment style and am now in a secure relationship with the man of my dreams. If you want to learn more about your personal attachment style and how to overcome it, check out my other post with this link.
Which Attachment Style am I?
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Who did I spend the most time with as a young child?
Did I enjoy spending time with that person?
How much time did they spend with me?
Did that person act like they wanted to be with me?
Do I remember being well fed and cared for by that person?
If not, what did our relationship look like instead? Distant? Maybe inconsistent?
Now that I’m grown, what do my relationships look like?
Do I get jealous easily?
Do I dislike spending too much time with my partner?
My best answer to this question is, it depends. Some people are almost a secure attachment style, but they need a bit more reassurance than someone who is secure. Others are so engrained to being an insecure attachment they can hardly even start a relationship.
I would say the best way to assess how hard the transition to a secure attachment style for you would be to assess your current situation. Are you in a happy, and I mean truly happy, relationship? With no cheating, jealousy, or contentment? Then you’re probably pretty close to a secure attachment! However, if you ask yourself and the answer is no, I can’t seem to get into a relationship either because I scare people off too soon with my intensity or avoid talking to someone long enough to start a relationship, then you’re an insecure attachment style.
Overall, the first step to overcoming your attachment style is finding out your style type. This can be found by pondering your relationship with your primary care giver growing up, and the quality (or lack of quality) that relationship gave you at a very young age.
