Its that time of the year again, everyone is asking what your New Year Resolution is going to be. Lose weight, stop smoking, read a whole book, clean some forgotten area of the house... they are all great ideas, but lets face it we usually give up after a feer months.

I thought I would share a lesson I learned this week about letting my 5 year old watch movies on my Kindle. So, since I have a Kindle my bank account is link up to it so that I can purchase items. I am also have a Prime Membership, so I get some things for free.

Well my eight-year-old has no trouble navitaging the movie and apps stores only choosing those that are free. My youngest however taught me a lesson yesterday.  I helped him pick a movie to watch and soon he came back watching something else. I then told him that he can't change the movie without my help.

Ok, so its the last week of school before Christmas Holidays. The kids have parties, projects, and now bumps to spare. This was my week: Monday a project where me daughter had to dress as Susan B.Anthony and give a speech - check got a 100 on that! Tuesday night my son hurt his hand- went to the doctor today - sprained wrist - check. Then, this afternoon my daughter hit herself with the door - knot on the head - check.

Tis the season to feel overwhelmed with gift giving. I am mainly speaking about the people you encounter outside of your family on a regular basis.  I wanted to share some ideas to save some money, but not make people feel that you are forgetting them.

A Close Group of Friends

If you socialize with a regular group of friends, get together and put names in a hat. Have everyone over for lunch or go out and exchange your gifts then. Don't feel bad about setting a price limit either.

Along with all the other madness of this holiday season, it time for the Flu, Strep, and Runny Noses! Yesterday I got the call from the school nurse about my daughter having a red and pussy throat. Yes, it was Strep!  So, other than wrapping our children up in bubble wrap, what can we do to try to prevent illness.

I hope that you all survived the weekend full of savings and crowds. Did you keep track of what you spent? Lets face it December is probably the most expensive month for most of us and its not even here yet. So what are you supposed to do?

Being that its the end of the year, it is the perfect time for us to look back at our expenses and see what changes we could make to help save for that rainy day or pay down on our debt.  Even if you are in the black, it doesn't hurt to make a few changes to help better our situation.

Are you ready to shop? Well there are other who are ready to benefit from all your hard work. Yes, tis the season for others to steal. I would like to share with you some safety tips to help keep you and your gifts safe. The most important thing I would suggest that goes for all these situations is to leave your kids at home. They are a good distraction for theives to get your stuff. Also, go shopping with someone else. You are safer in a group.

In the parking lot:

Park in an area around lights and close to the store.

Every so often we put some money in our wallet and before you know it, well its gone. Where did it go? Good question. Its seems that we are not very conscious of where we spend our money and granted its time consuming to keep track of it, but lets take the challenge and do just that. For the next week, write down what you spend your money on. It might just surpirse you. If your primary means of "checking out" is check card or credit card, it is even more difficult to keep a conscious effort to track your spending.

The countdown to Black Friday has already began. This Sunday we will be checking out the upcoming sales. The question is can you afford those holiday purchases? Be honest!!! Most of us can't, so what are our choices? I am going to give you some ideas on ways to save. I am also going to follow up with several blogs on how to be financially responsible throughout the year.

So lets get started......

First, make a list of what you would "like" to get your loved ones. Try sticking to one or two items. This year our kids are getting one big item and several little things.

In my house we watch a lot of Nick Jr. and Disney, I have noticed one thing that almost all the shows have in common. That one common thing is that there are no parents! So who is raising these kids and helping them navigate their way through the world? Beat me!