Were you up and out at 4:00am to take advantage of Black Friday sales? Me neither.  I prefer to do most of my Christmas shopping online, and have taken advantage of some great online deals from Cyber Monday up to the week before Christmas by surfing online rather than standing in line.

I thought I would share with you a few gifts we have received over the last couple Christmas seasons that have improved our frugal household.  If you are still looking for gift ideas for a frugal friend, you can’t go wrong with one of these selections.  Note, a couple of these suggestions are not cheap, but will help you or a friend become more frugal.

Black & Decker Energy Saver Series Power Monitor. Here is one we don’t have, but it is on our Christmas list this year.  I’ve become a bit obsessive about ways to cut our utility bills (yes, I admit it, I have a problem!).  It hurts opening those huge energy bills in the extreme summer and winter.  This gadget allows you to see the effect of each electrical appliance as they cycle on and off, and using info from your electric bill, you can estimate how much those appliances are costing you to operate.

Programmable Thermostat.  Our utilities were out of control before switching to a programmable thermostat.  We managed to shave nearly 20% off our utility expenses by allowing the night temperature to float up in the summer, and drop lower in the winter.  Just before the alarm clocks go off each morning, the thermostat returns the inside temperature to a comfortable for the morning routine.  A 5-1-1 or 5-2 model even allows you to set a different schedule for sleeping in a bit on the weekend (unless you have small kids).  With utility costs continuing to rise, it won’t take long for this one to pay for itself.

The Total Money Makeover. This one remains in my top two favorite personal finance books.  Oddly enough, I heard the audio book first while commuting after accepting a new job in a new town.  I was hooked, or “gazelle intense,” as author Dave Ramsey likes to say!  I credit Dave, and this book, with helping turn around our financial lives.

The book is not overly complicated, is inspirational, and is written in a tone you’d expect from Dave Ramsey. It would make a great gift, and I recommend a copy for yourself if you have never read it.

Your Money or Your Life. I already mentioned The Total Money Makeover, but this book is my other favorite money book. It is the book that got me interested in the idea of personal finance to begin with, and it introduced the concept of financial independence.  Written in the 1990s, the information is timeless and thought-provoking.  When I read this book I finally made the connection between work, earnings, and life energy.  I realized that trading my precious life energy to pay for additional stuff was simply not worth it–that I could enjoy a more simple way of like and work less for it.

TiVo Series2 80-Hour Dual Tuner DVR. We’ve had our TiVo for a couple years now, and I have to tell you it is one of the best purchases we have ever made (this was a present to ourselves).  For a while we were renting a DVR from our cable company, and the digital service that went along with it. Then, I discovered TiVo.

I like the TiVo interface much more than the one that came with the cable box, and I like the fact that I own the machine outright. If I move, I can take it with me. If I want another one for the living room, I can buy one. No extra rental fees from the cable provider.

We have really cut back on television viewing, but enjoy the efficiency of watching a program on TiVo.  Fast forwarding through commercials cuts way down on television viewing time.  I also like the ability to log into my TiVo box from work, or on the road, and select a program to record via a web interface.

Programmable 5.5 qt. Crock Pot.  We stay pretty busy around the frugal household these days.  A couple times a week we have after school activities and sports practices on the same night!  Not much time for meal preparation on those days.  And that is where our crock pot comes in handy.

Our favorite meal is a large pork roast rubbed with garlic salt and cooked slow all day in a crock pot and about a 1/2 cup – 1 cup of water.  We have enough meat to slice for homemade barbecue sandwiches for days–delicious!

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine Subscription. For one dollar a month (assuming a $12 annual subscription) you can get some of the best reporting on investments, taxes, insurance, paying for college, planning for retirement, home ownership, major purchases such as cars and computers and other personal finance topics. Over the years I have also subscribed to Money, Smart Money, and a host of other finance magazines, but Kiplinger’s remains my favorite.

Money Jar Bank.  Think of this as a new-age piggy bank.  It is essentially a sturdy, plastic jar with a special lid that contains an LCD display and keeps a running tally of your savings as coins are added.  A word of warning, the jar contains small parts that may present a choking hazard for younger children. However, if you have an older child, and are interested in fostering their savings habit, this is a great gift idea.

Presto 22-inch Jumbo Electric Griddle.  I mentioned that we stay busy and have little time cooking most weeknights. To further complicate matters, we are experiencing more cold, rainy weather than we are used to.  This makes grilling outdoors tough. Our solution? An indoor griddle.

The griddle was given with the idea we could use it to make pancakes and breakfast foods, but we found it to be excellent for cooking slices of chicken, pork, and thin steaks indoors. As fattier meats cook the grease runs down into a drip container making meats a little healthier.  Cleanup is a snap thanks to a non-stick surface.

Money Mammals. We were lucky enough to receive a copy of Money Mammals from the creator, and my kids really enjoyed it.  In my review I posted here at Frugal Dad, I called Money Mammals the Little Einsteins for personal finance education for children.  It remains a unique product, and would make a great gift for little ones on your Christmas list.

The following is a guest post from Kevin Brand, SVP of product marketing for Earthlink.

1. Assess your needs.  Look at the ways you use technology in your home. Take a week and monitor how often you are on the phone, watching television, or surfing the net. Once you see how much time you are using these services, compare it to your plan. Many people have access to high-speed Internet at work, making it unnecessary to pay for high-speed bells and whistles at home. The key is to avoid paying for excess.

2. Downgrade.  Once you assess your needs, get rid of services that you aren’t fully using.  Are you downloading video and playing games or just checking email and sports scores on the Internet? If it’s the latter, it doesn’t make sense to pay for a high-end, super-fast Internet connection. A less expensive but safe and reliable service such as dial-up service – which some providers offer with a special Accelerator option – may be just what you need.

The same applies to your cable bill. Do you need the premium channels or DVR? Better yet, if you can watch most of your favorite shows online or you predominately watch shows on only a few channels, you may be able to downgrade your service to a cheaper plan. Be honest about what you really need, and don’t pay for services you aren’t using to their fullest potential.

3. Take advantage of freebies.  Look for companies that offer free services. Some Internet providers offer free virus protection, which saves you from buying costly software yourself.  Others offer free spam protection and other security enhancements, a good bet if you’re looking to maximize savings and still surf safely.  Also, leverage your Web access by surfing special cost-savings sites, like www.pricegrabber.com, www.bizrate.com or www.thedailydeals.com.  Look for any special promotions your provider might offer on their home page.  A lot of Internet providers have partnerships with other online merchants to offer special savings to their subscribers. If yours doesn’t, consider looking for one that does. And sign-up for the email alerts from the companies that you already do business with to take advantage of special promotions.

4. Avoid bundles.  Advertisers may create a “need” that might not really exist for you. If you’re a cost- conscious consumer, look closely at how much you’re paying for popular, but often pricey, bundle packages that include phone, cable and Internet. It may be easier to pay all-on-one bill, but it doesn’t allow you the flexibility to choose the best individual services that fit your lifestyle. Nor will a bundle provide the flexibility to adapt your services based on lifestyle or location changes. Also, promotional pricing may exist initially, but the price may go up while you’re still locked into your bundle.  So, you may not need all the “bells and whistles” or restrictions of a high-cost bundle. In fact, if you opt for options like Freestanding DSL for your Internet access, you might be able to ditch your home phone altogether.

5. Study your bill.  Read the small print. Know what you are paying for and make sure you’re only paying for services that you actually use.  Also, be familiar with your contracts and look for changes to the Terms of Service. Know when your contract ends, so you don’t unwillingly default into another one. And be aware, not all Internet providers offer free, 24/7 customer support. If your provider doesn’t, you could be eating up dollars you don’t need to spend.

6. Pay smart.  Finally, make sure you are taking advantage of special deals and incentives. Some service providers offer discounts up to 40% for annually pre-paying. Others offer special pricing for a year’s commitment.  And always ask for what you want from your provider. A customer-service focused Internet provider may be willing to give you a credits if there’s been a serious issue involving your service or account.

Just to piggyback on what Kevin said about downgrades. We have saved a ton on our cable, internet and phone packages by stripping away all the unnecessary options from each service. The basic cable package with a TiVo serves us quite well, as does the unadvertised “value” internet package offered by our cable company.  For half the price of the regular service we get about half the speed, which suits us just fine.

I admit to being put off by the commercialism of Christmas, and the entire holiday season. I’m not quite a Scrooge, but pretty close! A while back I wrote about being a reformed emotional shopper. Might sound strange coming from a guy, but it is true. I used to shop when I was sad, happy, or just plain bored. I collected DVDs and CDs, video games, computer equipment, etc, and Black Friday ads were a thing of beauty. So was the rush of finding a great deal!

Black Friday Emotions:  The Thrill of the Hunt

For some reason, advertisers have managed to convince us that if we don’t get to stores at 4:00am on Black Friday morning we are going to miss out on the deals of a lifetime. As if the products they are advertising will never again be available, or at least not at the price they are offering. I say, bah humbug!

First of all, if you are hanging out at a mall or parked in front of an electronic store at four o’clock in the morning you aren’t going to get the best deal anyway. There are many ways to save more on typical Black Friday purchases by using eBay, Amazon.com, or Craigslist to buy new items online, or gently used items via auction.

Secondly, too many people (myself included) get too caught up in the “thrill of the hunt” on Black Friday. It’s human nature, I suppose. People hear about a great deal and swarm to the store, whether they really need the item or not. Once there, they refuse to give up their place in line because someone else might get a better deal than them, or they may miss limited quantities reserved at that specific sale price.

Black Friday Ads: Loss Leaders Galore

Some of you may be wondering how stores can afford to sell their products at such huge discounts. Well, the answer is they really cannot afford to, but they do it in the hopes that you will come in planning to fill a shopping cart full of other items at a higher profit. It is the classic game of dangling a “loss leader” in front of consumers and hoping they don’t come in to buy just that item and leave.

So where will Frugal Dad be tomorrow morning at 5:00am? I’ll be hunkered down under a warm blanket with my family, sleeping off Thanksgiving Dinner and enjoying a day off. We have officially declared it a “No Spend Weekend” and plan to do a little work around the house, ride through our neighborhood and enjoy Christmas lights, and enjoy a warm fire with a holiday movie. Plenty of time for online shopping later.

I recently read an interesting little story in the L.A. Times,  Giving Thanks, about the real lessons learned from the first Thanksgiving. It is a story you probably missed in school. It is a lesson in capitalism, in self-sufficiency, and in personal freedom.

Here is a short excerpt from the article:

For the Pilgrims, life was a constant battle for survival. Later, Governor William Bradford made a decision. Instead of the colonists sharing their crops equally, he assigned a parcel of land to each family and told them they could keep whatever they produced for themselves.”

“Then what happened?” asked Sam.

“At last the Pilgrims began to prosper. Governor William Bradford wrote in his book ‘Of Plimoth Plantation,’ ‘This had very good success, for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.’”

When crops were shared amongst all the colonists, some figured out that they could work a little less and still enjoy the same fruits. Those who worked hard began to resent those that worked less, and soon began to produce less themselves. However, when each family was responsible for feeding themselves, but were allowed to keep all that they produced, they began to prosper.

The “industrious” hands Bradford referred to are the same hands that built this country into what it is today. However, somewhere along the way we forgot the lessons from this Thanksgiving story.

We have slowly crept back towards a time of dependence on others to take care of us, rather than reliance on our own industriousness. To further stifle the entrepreneurial spirit, our government plans to levy higher taxes on those who are most industrious. And what good will that do?

Those who are most industrious provide jobs, and products, and services for others. To punish them is to ultimately punish ourselves. No, instead we should celebrate their success, and make it as easy as possible for more people to emulate them.

So on this day of Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for our founders, who had the guts to set out on a journey for freedom, and ultimately fight for that freedom. I’m also thankful for the men and women who continue to fight to protect our freedoms today.

Our way of life will likely be tested in the coming months and years, thanks to the economic tailspin we’ve witnessed recently. But penalizing those who are most industrious is not the way to prosperity. Relying on someone else to provide for us is not the path to self-sufficiency. Remember these lessons on Thanksgiving Day, and beyond.

I hope everyone is ready to settle in for a wonderful day of thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, it is a shame we wait until the fourth Thursday in November to celebrate it.  This year, I am most thankful for my health; after watching my mom fight for her life at 53 years young.  She remains hospitalized (today is Day 75), but is making progress. We hope to have her home, or on to the next phase in her recovery by Christmas.

I’m also thankful for all of you. I’ve so enjoyed interacting with readers over the last year, and am grateful for you taking the time to read a few of my thoughts each day. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Don’t eat too much, and don’t go broke shopping for deals on Black Friday!  I’ve got a couple interesting posts lined up, so in between naps and football, sneak in a visit to Frugal Dad if you can.

The Fab Eight

(Yes, three extras…who doesn’t go overboard on Thanksgiving?)

100 Money Saving Tips for Holiday Gift Giving Bonanza.  The title says it all–100 ways to save money during the holiday season. Great collection of tips!

Tips for Working from Home.  If you work from home, or desire to, you need to read these tips.  I hope to one day work for myself, whether or not I’ll do it from home remains to be seen.

Clutter is Money.  The point where my finances began to really turn around was the moment when I realized that I got more satisfaction from having less things than acquiring more.

34 Reminders to Help You Find Your Way.  Great collection of life tips to help keep things in perspective. My personal favorite: “Don’t spend your whole life waiting for the `right time’.”

Money Saving Tips for the Holidays Guide eBook. This is a great e-book from the M-Network. Check it out to make this holiday season a little more frugal!

Money is 100% Emotional.  We often forget that money is simply an exchange medium. It doesn’t own or control us.  We are not defined by it, or at least we shouldn’t be.  Often the best way to get control over your finances is to remove the emotions you’ve been associating with money (fear, guilt, shame, etc.).

Traveling During the Holidays? 10 Tips for Making It Easier With Kids.  These are great tips to take along if you are doing some last-minute traveling for Thanksgiving Day.

Adjust You Tax Witholdings for More Take-Home Pay.  A nice reminder as we head into the end of the tax year. One of the fastest ways to increase your take-home pay is to lower the amount of taxes being withheld. If you got a huge refund this year, adjust your witholdings to avoid it this year. Better to owe a small amount at the end of the year than give the government an interest-free loan all year.