November 7, 2025 • 21 mins
This episode helps you reset holiday expectations and build a simple, firm budget that keeps stress low while making space for meaningful traditions and lasting experiences. We’ll walk through practical steps like using cash envelopes, safe shopping habits, and decluttering before buying, plus ways to teach kids the value of experiences over quick thrills like game skins.
What We Cover:
- Setting a clear family budget and spending caps
- Avoiding swipe traps and “small discount” lures
- Using cash envelopes and safe shopping strategies
- Decluttering closets before adding more
- Balancing fairness without overspending per child
- Choosing experiences over piles of gifts
- Teaching long-term value vs. temporary buys
- Shopping early and skipping panic purchases
- Giving within your means (and supporting Angel Tree)
- Setting healthy expectations with kids and partners
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:34):
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the
Gaggets Pot.
I am your girl Charlie Shantae.
Thank you for joining me onanother episode.
And oh my gosh, can y'allbelieve it's November?
Like, we we in November, likeholiday season November.
Like we were just in summer.
(00:55):
But anyway, thank you forjoining me on another episode.
Uh, if you have not already,please make sure that you are
liking and subscribing.
So every time a new episodecomes out, you are the first to
know.
Because if it's a new episode,guess what that means?
It means it's a Friday.
And guess what?
It is Friday in November.
Like that just sounds crazy.
(01:15):
Like, how do we get here?
Like, it is November.
Like, what?
Like, how do we get here?
So that means the holidays iscoming up.
So holidays means spendingmoney, means buying presents,
means all kind of this stuff.
So that's what we're gonna talkabout today.
We're gonna like, I'm gonna haveto make this into a little
(01:35):
thing.
Like, how are we gonna savemoney and budget during the
holidays?
Because you know, we gotThanksgiving, you got food,
family, furniture, a lot ofmoving parts.
So grab whatever it is that youdrink or whatever it is you do
when you listen to this, so wecan go ahead and jump in today.
I got water, and I got me alittle coffee.
(02:01):
Because when I tell y'all it'sbeen a rough week already, but
when I'm recording this, it'snot gonna be same time.
Y'all hear this.
So by the time this comes out, Ibe good to go by then.
So but holiday budgeting withkids in mind, like the what this
is the time of year where peopleget the most stressed out.
(02:22):
And look, y'all, I am doing mybig what I got by notes again,
so that I can still task.
Yes, but no, seriously.
Um, this time of year, I feellike it's a time of year when a
lot of people stress out.
So if you know somebody who isalready stressing out about like
holiday shopping and how to dothings for their kids, whatever,
make sure you send them thisepisode in the next few episodes
(02:43):
to come because we're finnabreak down how we're gonna do
this budget.
We're gonna break down how we'regoing to buy stuff, how we're
gonna strategically buy stuff,and how we're not gonna put
ourselves into debt while doingit.
Um, this is the time of yearwhere, like I said, the holidays
come around and you know yougotta set your budget.
It also teaches, you know, youcan it'll it'll it's a good time
(03:06):
to teach your kids about budgetbecause they're gonna get
holiday money.
But we're gonna talk about thatum in some more episodes, in
some episodes down the line.
But today we're just gonna talkabout keeping it nice and
mellow, make sure you're notoverspending and make sure
you're not purchasing thingsthat you know you don't really
need.
I know this year the big hype isabout laboo boos and stuff like
(03:26):
that.
I really don't even know what alaboo-boo is.
I I don't know.
I don't know.
Um, so let's let's first talkabout like the reality of
spending because like this stuffcosts, and we know this year uh
things are very expensive thisyear.
Inflation, tariff, there's a lotof key and moving parts and
whatnot.
(03:46):
And these costs can add up.
I cannot tell you how becauseyou just swiping, swiping,
swiping.
You're like, oh, this is a gooddeal.
It says five dollars off.
Let me go ahead and get it.
Swipe.
Oh, this is this.
Let me get it swiped.
And by the time you end upswiping, you don't know because
you just swiping, swiping,swiping, and it's going through.
So you just like, all right.
(04:06):
And then when you get home, youhave kind of like that sticker
child.
Like, oh my god, like I reallyspent this amount of money.
Um, so the average family, andthis is crazy.
When I was researching for thisepisode, like this is crazy
because I thought I spent a lotof money.
The average family spendsbetween 15 and$2,000 uh, I
(04:27):
believe, is per person duringthe holidays.
This is crazy.
Now, I thought I was doing a lotof spending because I spend no,
I sp I spend probably about athousand dollars, like a between
five hundred and a thousanddollars a person, just
depending.
Um wow, that is crazy.
(04:49):
Oh my goodness.
And I think I want to say thatthe reason why I spend that much
because I buy something for someone one child, and I'm like, oh,
okay, well, I bought them this,so okay, I need to go buy this
kid this, and then okay, well, Ibought them this, and it costs a
little bit more than what that,and so it ends up being a
ping-pong and a back and forth,kind of like a guilt trip.
(05:09):
Like, okay, well, I spent thisamount of money on this person,
but I spent this amount of moneyon this person, but I'm never
taking into consideration.
Well, you're talking aboutpeople who have a 10-year age
gap, so they're not going to bein the same thing, and what one
person likes is probably gonnacost more than what the other
person likes.
So if I continue to just barterand compare, go back and forth,
(05:31):
it's just gonna be a back andforth, back and forth, back and
forth.
And that's how it evens itthat's how it just adds up.
Last year, what I did was I saideverybody get$125 budget and
we're gonna make it do what itdo.
And guess what?
I spent$125 on everybody, andeverybody was happy.
Okay, as a matter of fact, thestuff that I bought, I ain't
seen since then.
(05:51):
But guess what?
I'm only out of about$500.
I'm not out of like$3,450because I'm spending all this
money on stuff.
I ain't even seen this stuff.
I think I think Marco Polo hasthe picture like laying on his
dresser or something that I gothim of the F1 thing.
So um, you know, like you gottabe mindful when you're shopping
(06:14):
and buying.
Like, how long am I gonna seethis stuff?
How long are they gonna use thisfor?
Is this something that they canuse long term?
Set a family budget.
Now, this is easy for me.
Every year, I always start atthe beginning of the year and I
put a certain amount of moneyback.
My kids are older, so is I justdone took the guesswork out of
(06:34):
what they want for Christmasbecause you're older.
I don't have to be like, well,do they want this toy, do they
need this toy, or do they needthat toy?
I pretty much let them tell mewhat it is that they're gonna be
wanting for the holidays, andthat allows me to save X amount
of dollars throughout the yearso that by the time the holidays
(06:56):
roll around, you know, I haveenough money to get it.
Or if I see it come on saleearly in the year or what have
you, then I'll go ahead and getit, and then I just know that I
kind of got to pay myself backfor go ahead and advancing it.
Now, the best way to do this,y'all know me, y'all know I love
the budget with cash dollarbills.
(07:17):
So I will go to the bank and Iwill get an envelope and I will
break out on the envelope andwrite, kind of like how your
mama used to write you a note onthe envelope.
I write down everybody's budget,what I need on there.
Like I make like a column likeNew Face, Marco Polo, X amount
of dollars, Malia, Naya, da dada da da da da da da.
(07:38):
Break it down like that so Iknow what I'm working with.
And then I'll take everybody'sindividual envelope because I
don't because of holidays andpeople rob and they steal, I
don't shop for everybody at thesame time, so I'll never have
whatever my budget is, I'llnever have that amount of money
on me.
Ever.
Like that is just unsafe.
That is just dangerous, and Idon't have big ticket items, or
(08:01):
if I'm getting a big ticket itemor something like that, I make
sure I do it in the middle ofthe day.
I don't go to like the 5 a.m.
or whatever like that.
If it's a big ticket item, Imake sure I do it in the middle
of the day.
Um, and I take alternate bagswith me.
Like if I'm going to buy like aPlayStation or something like
that, I'm not gonna walk outwith a Best Buy bag.
I'm not gonna walk out with aGameStop bag, it's gonna be like
a JCPenney bag, a dealer's bag,or something like that.
(08:23):
People not stealing pillowcasesand stuff like that.
So, or you can do a digitalsystem.
I'm not good at digital.
I I have purchased many ofdigital worksheets, wasted my
money completely because I my mymind don't compute like that.
I just can't do it.
Like, I'm a write down, like Idon't even have my book in here.
(08:45):
I was gonna show y'all my moneybook.
Like, I write it down, stable.
I can't get with the digital,like I'm so I am so old school
with it.
Like, I just can't, I can't getdown with the digital products.
Uh so how do we do this withoutyou know without going over?
(09:11):
Um, I always make sure that thekids go through all of their
stuff, get rid of whatever youdon't want, get rid of the stuff
you don't play with no more, getrid of stuff you don't wear
anymore, get rid of all of thatstuff because what's the point
of getting new stuff when you'rejust gonna put the new stuff on
top of the old stuff?
And one year I did that, andwhen I tell you, I ended up, I
(09:35):
want to say it was right beforethe hurricane hit last year.
New face had this big grosswork, and I had probably found
about$500 worth of clothes inhis closet that still had tags
on it that he had not wornbecause we did not go through
his stuff from the previousyear, and so he outgrew all of
this stuff.
So somebody um I donated it, sosomebody got some nice items.
(09:58):
Um, courtesy of us not doing ourdue diligence.
I always try to model goodspending behavior.
I always say if you wantsomething, make sure you save up
for it.
Is what you're getting atemporary fix, or is it
something that you can utilizelong term?
(10:20):
One thing that New Face alwaysdoes is he likes to play these
games and buy these skins andthese Roblox and the whole nine.
And I always ask him, like,every time you do that, you buy
this stuff, then we gosomewhere, and then you want
something, but you don't have nomoney for it because you spent
it on this these Roblox becauseyou got the skin of the week or
whatever.
This is temporary stuff.
(10:41):
You have got to realize that youneed to save your money for your
long-term stuff.
Every time we go to the mall,you love to go to the bookstore,
you love to get a new book.
This is something, and he gets abook and he will read it long
term.
You know, you like to readbooks, and you know this is
something long term.
Why would you not pick the bookover the Roblox?
Because the Roblox is somethingthat does not last a long term.
(11:07):
We always do traditions anddifferent stuff like that.
So last year we started doingElf on the Shelf, and Elf on the
Shelf came through with somecrazy stuff.
Um, I can't wait to break himout this year.
Uh, his name is Didi.
Welcome down.
Uh I think he's somewhere inhere.
Um he's getting ready.
I talked to him the other day,he's getting ready to come on
(11:29):
back out.
Uh, he might make an appearancea little early this year.
I don't know.
We see.
He said, you know, it's a littlecold where he's been, so he
might make a little appearance.
Um, some of the things we do,uh, Malia is the baker of the
children.
So Malia will bake.
Um, I'll cook.
Like I said, I know, and I'veprobably been saying this for a
couple episodes.
I don't know.
But I owe these kids a bananapudding.
(11:50):
So I have got to uh I have gotto get on, I've got to get on
that because if not, these kidsare gonna tie me up.
They want their banana pudding.
Um, we do we always have uh gamenight.
I don't know, we've never donelike my little note says
handmade gifts.
We never did that, but we mightdo that this year.
(12:11):
We might just do a littlepainting or whatever.
We do that typically with umwith Halloween, but I don't we
really did no arts and craftsfor like Christmas.
Like, nah, we ain't we did that,but it might be something that I
might do this year.
I don't know, Wizard.
Oh, don't do that.
I know I ain't getting to thebottom.
(12:34):
Moving right along.
Um, so uh I just talked to y'allabout that.
So with my kids being older,it's a little bit easy.
Like I said previously, I don'thave to go buy these like little
(12:56):
small gifts or whatever.
We're starting to do experiencesand different stuff like that.
Experience trips we have in ourhouse what's called Heavy
Christmas, Light Christmas.
Heavy Christmas means we're notgoing on a trip, we're not doing
anything.
I'm gonna throw some gifts underthe tree.
Light Christmas means we'regoing on a trip, and this trip
don't have to necessarily be forChristmas, it can be sometime
during the year because it'sgonna cost some a good amount of
(13:17):
money.
So if we do uh a lightChristmas, that means we're
taking a trip somewhere or we'redoing something big, so it's
probably not gonna be nothingunder the tree.
This year is uh I don't knowwhat this year is because uh
what would I call it this year?
New Face already has his gift,so I'm not even I'm thinking
about not even putting up aChristmas tree.
(13:38):
He got a guitar and he got ChrisBrown tickets.
That's that was that was hisChristmas, so I'm not even sure,
you know, experiences.
That's that's just what it is.
So that right there was five uh$750.
So that's his Christmas rightthere.
(13:58):
His Christmas is gone.
Uh Marco Polo, he turns 25 thisyear, and his birthday is a
couple days before Christmas.
So I don't I don't even knowwhen I'm gonna get the boy for
either.
So there's that.
Uh so you know, just gotta.
I I like to give experiences.
Go experience, go have fun.
(14:19):
Um, I know one year forChristmas, you know, new face,
Marco Polo, get the kids mixedup.
Marco Polo drives, he has hisown car.
So one year for Christmas, I waslike, I'll pay your car
insurance for a month, bro.
Who wouldn't want that?
And he was like, for real?
I was like, Yup, I'll pay, I'llI'll cover your car insurance
for for one.
(14:39):
Actually, I think I did it fortwo months, and he was like,
Dope.
And I was like, Yep, that's yourgift this year, so don't look
under the tree.
I want you to look outsidebecause your gift is right
there.
Insurance on your car.
That is your present.
Merry Christmas.
Um, but I'm just more leaningtoward experiences.
(15:02):
I I so desperately, and the kidsare not on board.
I so desperately want to rent anRV and like drive for the
holidays, but they are not onboard.
So hopefully we can get the kidson board to do that.
But we might go to Great WolfLodge or something like that.
Uh probably not Disney orUniversal because everybody does
that.
Like everybody wants to surprisetheir child on Christmas morning
(15:24):
with Disney.
We don't do that around here.
We we don't do that.
We like to we like flights andbaits.
That's what we like.
But this year we're not doinganything like that.
So yeah, no.
Uh no.
Uh, and last but not least, whenit comes to holiday spending, I
(15:45):
always say get things that aremindful, things that are
practical, things that areuseful.
I always say don't just becauseyou always go to the store and
you see people grabbing stuff,uh, and it's kind of like you're
just grabbing it because it'slast minute.
Like, did you put any thought tothat?
(16:07):
One thing I always tell people,I tend to find the better deals
before the holiday season.
I'm gonna do an episode aboutthis because the way that I on
the years that I do buy stuff, Ihave a method to my madness and
it works, it avoids the longlines, big crowds, and then
things like that, and it justworks for me.
(16:32):
Everybody, everybody's gonna dotheir own thing.
Um, but when you go into it,just have a budget.
Things are tight for everybody.
I'll just say it like that.
Um, things are tight foreverybody, and do what you are
comfortable with.
I always say if people don'tunderstand that you are doing
things within your means, thenyou may need to re-evaluate uh
(16:55):
some things.
Do not go out here overspending,trying to make people happy,
trying to impress people.
Don't go max out your creditcards, putting yourself in a lot
of debt, trying to get thingsfor people.
People have to understand thatsometimes the the money gets a
little funny, and I have I canonly do what it is within my
(17:15):
power.
Every year I always set a budgetaside and I always buy off the
angel tree because my childrenliterally have the world.
I always get a child off theangel or two, just depending on
what my budget is like for theyear.
I always get so I think thisyear I'm gonna end up getting
two kids off the angel tree justso I can get back.
(17:38):
So I have a budget set aside forthat.
I always I typically get an 85%of what is on a child's wish
list.
I do draw the line at likeXboxes, iPhones, and different
stuff like that.
I focus more toward the clothes,the shoes, and plus I like
getting like little, littlekids, and then I also like
(17:58):
getting teenagers, and then thisyear I think I'm gonna get a
couple of teenagers um tosupport.
So this year, just make sure youare being conscious about your
money.
Make sure that if you don't havethe means to do Christmas like
how you've been able to do it inthe past, sit down and make some
traditions, do some low cost,cost effect effective stuff.
(18:21):
You can always go to stores likeDollar General, Five Below, or
different stuff like that.
They have great gifts as well.
Don't break the bank this yearbecause you still have bills,
uh, you still have daily livingexpenses, you still have food
and different stuff like that.
So do not please do not breakthe bank when it comes to
(18:44):
spending for the holidays.
Do what is within yourwheelhouse.
Start, it's the beginning ofNovember.
Go ahead and start doing yourbudget.
I've already started doing mine,but mine is pretty clear-cut
because New Face is alreadyhaving stuff.
I just gotta figure somethingout for Marco Polo.
Um, and I don't got no spouse,but if you have a spouse, sit
(19:06):
down with your spouse, sit downwith your kids and set the
expectations of what theholidays is.
The holidays is just not aboutspending uh money, seeing who
can get the bigger gifts anddifferent stuff like that, but
actually sitting down, makingsome holiday traditions,
ensuring that the love is therebecause money can never replace
love.
(19:26):
Yeah.
All right, and again, if youhave not already, please make
sure you are following us onYouTube and Instagram at the gag
is pod.
And make sure you are followingus on your favorite podcasting
app in the right-hand corner.
There should be a little plussign or a little check mark.
Please make sure you are hittingthat so that when a new episode
is released, you are one of thefirst to know.
(19:49):
And Ford, I don't I don't have ayou can't make this up.
I haven't been having too manyyou can't make this up stories
because well, I do, but I can'ttalk about them, which is the
crazy part.
Um I can't talk about them yet,so they'll be in some later, uh,
in some later episodes.
(20:09):
But yeah, make sure you sharethis with your friends, your
family.
It's a good holiday season.
Um, yeah, so our song, lyric ofthe week.
I've been waiting a whole year.
I've been waiting all year toput this song on the song lyric
(20:32):
of the week.
So the song lyric of the weekfor this first week in November
is Mariah Carey, All I Want forChristmas.
I had to do it.
Cue the music.
I had to do it.
Well, I can't cue the musicbecause copyright, but cue the
music.
Um, it's the that that's justlike when you play summertime by
(20:54):
Fresh Prince.
Same thing with Mariah Carey andAll I Want for Christmas.
I am your girl, Charlie Shantae.
This is the Gag is pot.
Bye, guys.
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the
Gaggets Pot.
I am your girl Charlie Shantae.
Thank you for joining me onanother episode.
And oh my gosh, can y'allbelieve it's November?
Like, we we in November, likeholiday season November.
Like we were just in summer.
(00:55):
But anyway, thank you forjoining me on another episode.
Uh, if you have not already,please make sure that you are
liking and subscribing.
So every time a new episodecomes out, you are the first to
know.
Because if it's a new episode,guess what that means?
It means it's a Friday.
And guess what?
It is Friday in November.
Like that just sounds crazy.
(01:15):
Like, how do we get here?
Like, it is November.
Like, what?
Like, how do we get here?
So that means the holidays iscoming up.
So holidays means spendingmoney, means buying presents,
means all kind of this stuff.
So that's what we're gonna talkabout today.
We're gonna like, I'm gonna haveto make this into a little
(01:35):
thing.
Like, how are we gonna savemoney and budget during the
holidays?
Because you know, we gotThanksgiving, you got food,
family, furniture, a lot ofmoving parts.
So grab whatever it is that youdrink or whatever it is you do
when you listen to this, so wecan go ahead and jump in today.
I got water, and I got me alittle coffee.
(02:01):
Because when I tell y'all it'sbeen a rough week already, but
when I'm recording this, it'snot gonna be same time.
Y'all hear this.
So by the time this comes out, Ibe good to go by then.
So but holiday budgeting withkids in mind, like the what this
is the time of year where peopleget the most stressed out.
(02:22):
And look, y'all, I am doing mybig what I got by notes again,
so that I can still task.
Yes, but no, seriously.
Um, this time of year, I feellike it's a time of year when a
lot of people stress out.
So if you know somebody who isalready stressing out about like
holiday shopping and how to dothings for their kids, whatever,
make sure you send them thisepisode in the next few episodes
(02:43):
to come because we're finnabreak down how we're gonna do
this budget.
We're gonna break down how we'regoing to buy stuff, how we're
gonna strategically buy stuff,and how we're not gonna put
ourselves into debt while doingit.
Um, this is the time of yearwhere, like I said, the holidays
come around and you know yougotta set your budget.
It also teaches, you know, youcan it'll it'll it's a good time
(03:06):
to teach your kids about budgetbecause they're gonna get
holiday money.
But we're gonna talk about thatum in some more episodes, in
some episodes down the line.
But today we're just gonna talkabout keeping it nice and
mellow, make sure you're notoverspending and make sure
you're not purchasing thingsthat you know you don't really
need.
I know this year the big hype isabout laboo boos and stuff like
(03:26):
that.
I really don't even know what alaboo-boo is.
I I don't know.
I don't know.
Um, so let's let's first talkabout like the reality of
spending because like this stuffcosts, and we know this year uh
things are very expensive thisyear.
Inflation, tariff, there's a lotof key and moving parts and
whatnot.
(03:46):
And these costs can add up.
I cannot tell you how becauseyou just swiping, swiping,
swiping.
You're like, oh, this is a gooddeal.
It says five dollars off.
Let me go ahead and get it.
Swipe.
Oh, this is this.
Let me get it swiped.
And by the time you end upswiping, you don't know because
you just swiping, swiping,swiping, and it's going through.
So you just like, all right.
(04:06):
And then when you get home, youhave kind of like that sticker
child.
Like, oh my god, like I reallyspent this amount of money.
Um, so the average family, andthis is crazy.
When I was researching for thisepisode, like this is crazy
because I thought I spent a lotof money.
The average family spendsbetween 15 and$2,000 uh, I
(04:27):
believe, is per person duringthe holidays.
This is crazy.
Now, I thought I was doing a lotof spending because I spend no,
I sp I spend probably about athousand dollars, like a between
five hundred and a thousanddollars a person, just
depending.
Um wow, that is crazy.
(04:49):
Oh my goodness.
And I think I want to say thatthe reason why I spend that much
because I buy something for someone one child, and I'm like, oh,
okay, well, I bought them this,so okay, I need to go buy this
kid this, and then okay, well, Ibought them this, and it costs a
little bit more than what that,and so it ends up being a
ping-pong and a back and forth,kind of like a guilt trip.
(05:09):
Like, okay, well, I spent thisamount of money on this person,
but I spent this amount of moneyon this person, but I'm never
taking into consideration.
Well, you're talking aboutpeople who have a 10-year age
gap, so they're not going to bein the same thing, and what one
person likes is probably gonnacost more than what the other
person likes.
So if I continue to just barterand compare, go back and forth,
(05:31):
it's just gonna be a back andforth, back and forth, back and
forth.
And that's how it evens itthat's how it just adds up.
Last year, what I did was I saideverybody get$125 budget and
we're gonna make it do what itdo.
And guess what?
I spent$125 on everybody, andeverybody was happy.
Okay, as a matter of fact, thestuff that I bought, I ain't
seen since then.
(05:51):
But guess what?
I'm only out of about$500.
I'm not out of like$3,450because I'm spending all this
money on stuff.
I ain't even seen this stuff.
I think I think Marco Polo hasthe picture like laying on his
dresser or something that I gothim of the F1 thing.
So um, you know, like you gottabe mindful when you're shopping
(06:14):
and buying.
Like, how long am I gonna seethis stuff?
How long are they gonna use thisfor?
Is this something that they canuse long term?
Set a family budget.
Now, this is easy for me.
Every year, I always start atthe beginning of the year and I
put a certain amount of moneyback.
My kids are older, so is I justdone took the guesswork out of
(06:34):
what they want for Christmasbecause you're older.
I don't have to be like, well,do they want this toy, do they
need this toy, or do they needthat toy?
I pretty much let them tell mewhat it is that they're gonna be
wanting for the holidays, andthat allows me to save X amount
of dollars throughout the yearso that by the time the holidays
(06:56):
roll around, you know, I haveenough money to get it.
Or if I see it come on saleearly in the year or what have
you, then I'll go ahead and getit, and then I just know that I
kind of got to pay myself backfor go ahead and advancing it.
Now, the best way to do this,y'all know me, y'all know I love
the budget with cash dollarbills.
(07:17):
So I will go to the bank and Iwill get an envelope and I will
break out on the envelope andwrite, kind of like how your
mama used to write you a note onthe envelope.
I write down everybody's budget,what I need on there.
Like I make like a column likeNew Face, Marco Polo, X amount
of dollars, Malia, Naya, da dada da da da da da da.
(07:38):
Break it down like that so Iknow what I'm working with.
And then I'll take everybody'sindividual envelope because I
don't because of holidays andpeople rob and they steal, I
don't shop for everybody at thesame time, so I'll never have
whatever my budget is, I'llnever have that amount of money
on me.
Ever.
Like that is just unsafe.
That is just dangerous, and Idon't have big ticket items, or
(08:01):
if I'm getting a big ticket itemor something like that, I make
sure I do it in the middle ofthe day.
I don't go to like the 5 a.m.
or whatever like that.
If it's a big ticket item, Imake sure I do it in the middle
of the day.
Um, and I take alternate bagswith me.
Like if I'm going to buy like aPlayStation or something like
that, I'm not gonna walk outwith a Best Buy bag.
I'm not gonna walk out with aGameStop bag, it's gonna be like
a JCPenney bag, a dealer's bag,or something like that.
(08:23):
People not stealing pillowcasesand stuff like that.
So, or you can do a digitalsystem.
I'm not good at digital.
I I have purchased many ofdigital worksheets, wasted my
money completely because I my mymind don't compute like that.
I just can't do it.
Like, I'm a write down, like Idon't even have my book in here.
(08:45):
I was gonna show y'all my moneybook.
Like, I write it down, stable.
I can't get with the digital,like I'm so I am so old school
with it.
Like, I just can't, I can't getdown with the digital products.
Uh so how do we do this withoutyou know without going over?
(09:11):
Um, I always make sure that thekids go through all of their
stuff, get rid of whatever youdon't want, get rid of the stuff
you don't play with no more, getrid of stuff you don't wear
anymore, get rid of all of thatstuff because what's the point
of getting new stuff when you'rejust gonna put the new stuff on
top of the old stuff?
And one year I did that, andwhen I tell you, I ended up, I
(09:35):
want to say it was right beforethe hurricane hit last year.
New face had this big grosswork, and I had probably found
about$500 worth of clothes inhis closet that still had tags
on it that he had not wornbecause we did not go through
his stuff from the previousyear, and so he outgrew all of
this stuff.
So somebody um I donated it, sosomebody got some nice items.
(09:58):
Um, courtesy of us not doing ourdue diligence.
I always try to model goodspending behavior.
I always say if you wantsomething, make sure you save up
for it.
Is what you're getting atemporary fix, or is it
something that you can utilizelong term?
(10:20):
One thing that New Face alwaysdoes is he likes to play these
games and buy these skins andthese Roblox and the whole nine.
And I always ask him, like,every time you do that, you buy
this stuff, then we gosomewhere, and then you want
something, but you don't have nomoney for it because you spent
it on this these Roblox becauseyou got the skin of the week or
whatever.
This is temporary stuff.
(10:41):
You have got to realize that youneed to save your money for your
long-term stuff.
Every time we go to the mall,you love to go to the bookstore,
you love to get a new book.
This is something, and he gets abook and he will read it long
term.
You know, you like to readbooks, and you know this is
something long term.
Why would you not pick the bookover the Roblox?
Because the Roblox is somethingthat does not last a long term.
(11:07):
We always do traditions anddifferent stuff like that.
So last year we started doingElf on the Shelf, and Elf on the
Shelf came through with somecrazy stuff.
Um, I can't wait to break himout this year.
Uh, his name is Didi.
Welcome down.
Uh I think he's somewhere inhere.
Um he's getting ready.
I talked to him the other day,he's getting ready to come on
(11:29):
back out.
Uh, he might make an appearancea little early this year.
I don't know.
We see.
He said, you know, it's a littlecold where he's been, so he
might make a little appearance.
Um, some of the things we do,uh, Malia is the baker of the
children.
So Malia will bake.
Um, I'll cook.
Like I said, I know, and I'veprobably been saying this for a
couple episodes.
I don't know.
But I owe these kids a bananapudding.
(11:50):
So I have got to uh I have gotto get on, I've got to get on
that because if not, these kidsare gonna tie me up.
They want their banana pudding.
Um, we do we always have uh gamenight.
I don't know, we've never donelike my little note says
handmade gifts.
We never did that, but we mightdo that this year.
(12:11):
We might just do a littlepainting or whatever.
We do that typically with umwith Halloween, but I don't we
really did no arts and craftsfor like Christmas.
Like, nah, we ain't we did that,but it might be something that I
might do this year.
I don't know, Wizard.
Oh, don't do that.
I know I ain't getting to thebottom.
(12:34):
Moving right along.
Um, so uh I just talked to y'allabout that.
So with my kids being older,it's a little bit easy.
Like I said previously, I don'thave to go buy these like little
(12:56):
small gifts or whatever.
We're starting to do experiencesand different stuff like that.
Experience trips we have in ourhouse what's called Heavy
Christmas, Light Christmas.
Heavy Christmas means we're notgoing on a trip, we're not doing
anything.
I'm gonna throw some gifts underthe tree.
Light Christmas means we'regoing on a trip, and this trip
don't have to necessarily be forChristmas, it can be sometime
during the year because it'sgonna cost some a good amount of
(13:17):
money.
So if we do uh a lightChristmas, that means we're
taking a trip somewhere or we'redoing something big, so it's
probably not gonna be nothingunder the tree.
This year is uh I don't knowwhat this year is because uh
what would I call it this year?
New Face already has his gift,so I'm not even I'm thinking
about not even putting up aChristmas tree.
(13:38):
He got a guitar and he got ChrisBrown tickets.
That's that was that was hisChristmas, so I'm not even sure,
you know, experiences.
That's that's just what it is.
So that right there was five uh$750.
So that's his Christmas rightthere.
(13:58):
His Christmas is gone.
Uh Marco Polo, he turns 25 thisyear, and his birthday is a
couple days before Christmas.
So I don't I don't even knowwhen I'm gonna get the boy for
either.
So there's that.
Uh so you know, just gotta.
I I like to give experiences.
Go experience, go have fun.
(14:19):
Um, I know one year forChristmas, you know, new face,
Marco Polo, get the kids mixedup.
Marco Polo drives, he has hisown car.
So one year for Christmas, I waslike, I'll pay your car
insurance for a month, bro.
Who wouldn't want that?
And he was like, for real?
I was like, Yup, I'll pay, I'llI'll cover your car insurance
for for one.
(14:39):
Actually, I think I did it fortwo months, and he was like,
Dope.
And I was like, Yep, that's yourgift this year, so don't look
under the tree.
I want you to look outsidebecause your gift is right
there.
Insurance on your car.
That is your present.
Merry Christmas.
Um, but I'm just more leaningtoward experiences.
(15:02):
I I so desperately, and the kidsare not on board.
I so desperately want to rent anRV and like drive for the
holidays, but they are not onboard.
So hopefully we can get the kidson board to do that.
But we might go to Great WolfLodge or something like that.
Uh probably not Disney orUniversal because everybody does
that.
Like everybody wants to surprisetheir child on Christmas morning
(15:24):
with Disney.
We don't do that around here.
We we don't do that.
We like to we like flights andbaits.
That's what we like.
But this year we're not doinganything like that.
So yeah, no.
Uh no.
Uh, and last but not least, whenit comes to holiday spending, I
(15:45):
always say get things that aremindful, things that are
practical, things that areuseful.
I always say don't just becauseyou always go to the store and
you see people grabbing stuff,uh, and it's kind of like you're
just grabbing it because it'slast minute.
Like, did you put any thought tothat?
(16:07):
One thing I always tell people,I tend to find the better deals
before the holiday season.
I'm gonna do an episode aboutthis because the way that I on
the years that I do buy stuff, Ihave a method to my madness and
it works, it avoids the longlines, big crowds, and then
things like that, and it justworks for me.
(16:32):
Everybody, everybody's gonna dotheir own thing.
Um, but when you go into it,just have a budget.
Things are tight for everybody.
I'll just say it like that.
Um, things are tight foreverybody, and do what you are
comfortable with.
I always say if people don'tunderstand that you are doing
things within your means, thenyou may need to re-evaluate uh
(16:55):
some things.
Do not go out here overspending,trying to make people happy,
trying to impress people.
Don't go max out your creditcards, putting yourself in a lot
of debt, trying to get thingsfor people.
People have to understand thatsometimes the the money gets a
little funny, and I have I canonly do what it is within my
(17:15):
power.
Every year I always set a budgetaside and I always buy off the
angel tree because my childrenliterally have the world.
I always get a child off theangel or two, just depending on
what my budget is like for theyear.
I always get so I think thisyear I'm gonna end up getting
two kids off the angel tree justso I can get back.
(17:38):
So I have a budget set aside forthat.
I always I typically get an 85%of what is on a child's wish
list.
I do draw the line at likeXboxes, iPhones, and different
stuff like that.
I focus more toward the clothes,the shoes, and plus I like
getting like little, littlekids, and then I also like
(17:58):
getting teenagers, and then thisyear I think I'm gonna get a
couple of teenagers um tosupport.
So this year, just make sure youare being conscious about your
money.
Make sure that if you don't havethe means to do Christmas like
how you've been able to do it inthe past, sit down and make some
traditions, do some low cost,cost effect effective stuff.
(18:21):
You can always go to stores likeDollar General, Five Below, or
different stuff like that.
They have great gifts as well.
Don't break the bank this yearbecause you still have bills,
uh, you still have daily livingexpenses, you still have food
and different stuff like that.
So do not please do not breakthe bank when it comes to
(18:44):
spending for the holidays.
Do what is within yourwheelhouse.
Start, it's the beginning ofNovember.
Go ahead and start doing yourbudget.
I've already started doing mine,but mine is pretty clear-cut
because New Face is alreadyhaving stuff.
I just gotta figure somethingout for Marco Polo.
Um, and I don't got no spouse,but if you have a spouse, sit
(19:06):
down with your spouse, sit downwith your kids and set the
expectations of what theholidays is.
The holidays is just not aboutspending uh money, seeing who
can get the bigger gifts anddifferent stuff like that, but
actually sitting down, makingsome holiday traditions,
ensuring that the love is therebecause money can never replace
love.
(19:26):
Yeah.
All right, and again, if youhave not already, please make
sure you are following us onYouTube and Instagram at the gag
is pod.
And make sure you are followingus on your favorite podcasting
app in the right-hand corner.
There should be a little plussign or a little check mark.
Please make sure you are hittingthat so that when a new episode
is released, you are one of thefirst to know.
(19:49):
And Ford, I don't I don't have ayou can't make this up.
I haven't been having too manyyou can't make this up stories
because well, I do, but I can'ttalk about them, which is the
crazy part.
Um I can't talk about them yet,so they'll be in some later, uh,
in some later episodes.
(20:09):
But yeah, make sure you sharethis with your friends, your
family.
It's a good holiday season.
Um, yeah, so our song, lyric ofthe week.
I've been waiting a whole year.
I've been waiting all year toput this song on the song lyric
(20:32):
of the week.
So the song lyric of the weekfor this first week in November
is Mariah Carey, All I Want forChristmas.
I had to do it.
Cue the music.
I had to do it.
Well, I can't cue the musicbecause copyright, but cue the
music.
Um, it's the that that's justlike when you play summertime by
(20:54):
Fresh Prince.
Same thing with Mariah Carey andAll I Want for Christmas.
I am your girl, Charlie Shantae.
This is the Gag is pot.
Bye, guys.
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