It seems that the older I get the more challenges that I have finding appropriate birthday presents for my friends. Most of us make more money than we did a couple a years ago and if we want something we usually just buy it.

But that doesn’t mean that I still don’t need ideas when it comes to birthday presents. I’ve had a number suggestions that I should be buying gift cards for my friends so that they can pick out their own gifts, but I feel that the gift card shows that I didn’t take the time to find something appropriate for them.

With my best friend Dave’s birthday coming up, I needed to figure something out relatively quickly. I knew that he is a big coffee drinker so I thought that I might get him one of the best coffee makers on the market.

It took me a little while but I was able to find the best coffee maker and the best coffee pot sold together in one set. I bought it and hopefully he needs a new coffee maker, otherwise I don’t know what else to get him.

I remember when I was a little girl and my mother would take me shopping for Dad’s birthday or for father’s day. Mom, not being a very creative or imaginative person, would always peruse the mens ties and that is usually what we ended up buying him.

As I grew older and started purchasing gifts for him on my own, I realized how very hard my dad is to buy for. He has everything that he needs and if he wants something, he just goes out and gets it for himself. I have strayed from the ties, as I have figured he must have about a hundred by now, and I usually end up getting him cufflinks now.

I got him some for his birthday a few years ago and he loved them, so I decided I should stick with something I know he will use. I have even been eyeing some money clips that I know he would enjoy.

When I was shopping for a cell phone for my teenage daughter, I had no idea what I was doing. I had never had a cell phone before, but it was what she really wanted for Christmas. I also thought it was a good idea for me to be able to keep track of her, now that she was so independent.

I had no ideas what questions to ask, but the sales person was excellent. He suggested that I get one that had secure gsm. I had no idea what that was, so I just nodded my head and agreed. Like I said, I was a little lost in the store.

I bought the one with the cell phone encryption that he had recommended and my daughter loved it. In the end, that is all that mattered. That, and the fact that I would feel better knowing where she was.

One of the habits I have that my husband finds most annoying is my fascination with shopping bargains. If he loses me at a store, he knows that he will be able to find me rifling through a clearance bin or walking up and down the discount aisle.

I don’t know what it is, but I have always loved getting a bargain. I would never buy anything at regular price if I didn’t have to. I guess this started a long time ago, when we were young and were struggling financially. The only way I could get things for myself is if I found them on clearance.

Old habits must be hard to break, because although we are financially secure now, I still seek out the sales. When my husband decided to get a new television for the family room, I went on a hunt for LCD TV bargains, telling him we certainly could not buy at full price.

I guess I can see why he might be annoyed with me.

As we get older, it seems to get harder and harder to find a good gift.  I mean, as our income levels get higher, we can find ourselves in the position to buy pretty much whatever we want, so why would we wait to get it as a gift?

That is the exact problem that I am in with my brother.  You see, we wanted to get him something unique for his graduation from school, but he has pretty much all the things that he needs.  But, that means that we can just get him something that he wants instead.

Talking to his wife, she told us that we should buy GPS for him.  I guess that is all he ever talks about, though he has never bought one for himself.

So, we will be going out later today to get him one - I just hope that he doesn’t buy himself one before the celebration - or we will have to come up with another idea…

About one time per week, I take some time to look online to find deals on online auction sites.  Sometimes I have a particular product in mind, while other times, I just look to see if there are any deals available.

Today, I was able to find some good deals on bouncy castles for sale.  A buddy of mine has a party rental business, and he would find a good deal on them very desirable.  I didn’t even realize that these sorts of things were sold on auctions until today.

I guess that isn’t the only thing that is sold on them either.  I found some inflatable slides, and I even placed a bid on one - my kids would love it.  Okay, maybe I would like it too, provided it can hold my weight (I have gained a bit since being a kid).

Well, I am going to keep look for the next hour before I go to work.  I’ll have to see what other treasures that I can find that are on sale.

Sometimes the Internet frustrates me to no end. I think that it is a highly valuable resource for finding whatever you need, but it is so frustrating to come up with the thousands of things that you do not need when you are doing a search on something.

My friend was telling me about some great aromatherapy products that she had purchased and I decided to go and look online to see if I could get them at a good deal. My results showed up with tons of massage therapy equipment, but nothing like what I had been looking for.

I decided that I would just buy them at full price rather than to waste my time searching for something that I may never find. I was frustrated and that is not a frame of mind that I like to be in. I decided that it would be best just to let it go.

I’ve been trying to help my dad pick out an anniversary ring for their 50th wedding anniversary.
He’s been looking at anniversary rings in diamond styles and he has found a few types that are something we think mom would like, but we are considering having something custom made too.

Though he has looked at several diamond rings in platinum and some other finishes, she loves emeralds and we thought that maybe a combination of emeralds and diamonds would be very pretty. Dad is sparing no expense in this gift. He is very  appreciative of what mom has done to take care of him and his family over the years. He also can’t believe that she has put up with him for so long.

I tend to agree. He is not an easy man to get along with sometimes but he has given her pretty much whatever she asked for too. I’m very happy that he asked for my help in picking this gift out too and I hope she loves it as much as the thought we’ve put into it. 

I have been looking for a new motorcycle for a long time, and I have been shopping in my hometown.  Sure, there have been a couple of good deals, but most people were asking too much for what they were offering.

So, I decided to take my search online to see what I could find.  I really didn’t know how buying and selling motorcycles worked online, but I thought that I would take care of that detail later.

It turned out that there was a much better selection online, and I found a cycle trader website that had the types of motorcycles that I had been looking for.  The site also had information that explained how buying a motorcycle online worked.

So, I have found the bike that I have been looking for, so I have contacted the seller.  Hopefully the transaction will go smoothly - if not, it will be a good learning experience.

When I was shopping for clothes for the kids in a consignment store close out, I saw a whole bunch of Halloween costumes that were on sale for next to nothing. I thought that my kids would have a lot of fun playing dress up with them, so I bought the whole lot and took them home.

When we were going through them I was surprised to see some really unique ones among the bunch. There were a few mythical creatures, some rock stars and even a George Jetson costume. There were a lot of homemade ones that I know someone had to have put a lot of effort into and my kids loved them.

I was grateful that I was not going to have to make costumes for the kids for years to come and they could basically be whatever they wanted to be. It was one of the greatest consignment store purchases that I have ever made.