Bah Humbug! It's December, again - 8 more days to go

Janet Yellen's Christmas gift to the world

Real Bah Humbug of a day. Eight days to go, and Ms Yellen gives the world a Christmas rate hike gift. Sigh. So my mortgage will go up, supermarket prices will be hiked, again, as if they didn't need another excuse - no more boxes of cherries at $99 - they'll be $125 in the new year.

Sarcasm aside, I shall be scrooging money away into bank accounts and convincing my boys that they'll thank me sometime in the future. This is where searching for special offers and coupons will become an art. I am wondering if I can top mother of two, Holly - the extreme couponer of 2015 and pay for the next month's shop in coupons and vouchers? I have $160 of vouchers, I suppose that is a start.

But, I am woefully far off the £1,200 that Holly managed to collect.

Vouchers are funny things, they are sort of like money, but not. Some of them have no expiry date, which means you are under no pressure, whilst others have an expiry date, a shelf life. So, if you hit that, then wham, you've just thrown away free food or something else.

Then there are the vouchers that promise you 50% off something, or two for the price of one. As long as you spend $600. I don't want to spend $600, so please do not send me vouchers promising me a discount or $100 off, if I have to spend more than I would have done in the first place. 

I fell for that one yesterday. I popped into the Cocoa Tree chocolate shop. I only wanted one box of chocolates for a gift. But then, there was this sign that said: "Buy three, get one free."

Instead of shrugging my shoulders and walking to the cashier, I then wasted 10 minutes deliberating what other three items I should purchase. None of which I needed or really wanted. And consequently, I spent twice as much as I had intended. 

So much for vouchers and special offers - there is nothing special about them at all. 

A New Year's resolution, to only buy what I go into the shop for and too bad if something looks enticing, as invariably, it's a con.

Bah Humbug ...

DOWN THE CHIMNEY ©

But Mum just shook her head and sighed,

'He's lodged right up inside,

I think his rather largish tum,

Has far surpassed his bum.'

And Dad then had a strange idea,

To bring some Christmas cheer,

We'll pull the sack with a large hook,

To dislodge it from the nook.

Bah Humbug, again - Do I really need more vouchers?