Over the years I’ve tried to compile a few last minute gift ideas. Oddly enough, I nearly waited until the very last minute to run this post, as we find ourselves on the final shopping weekend before Christmas. However, it’s not too late to add some frugal gifts to finalize your Christmas shopping this weekend.

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.

Amazon Gift Card.  Amazon.com used to be the one-stop shop for buying books online. In fact, it still is.  But Amazon now offers so much more!  I have bought everything from packs of diapers to household appliances from Amazon, and I’m sure an Amazon gift certificate would go a long way towards pleasing someone on your list.  They offer several options for procrastinators like print from home or email delivery, so no waiting on a gift card via snail mail–perfect for last minute gifts.

Netflix Membership.  Plans start at $4.99 a month, and are a wonderful last-minute gift idea for the movie buff in your life.  Simply select the plan, length of time you would like to gift and you’re all set.

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.

529 College Savings Plan Contribution. You could just skip presents altogether and make a contribution to a child’s 529 college savings account. It could be for a niece or nephew, a younger sibling, or maybe even an unrelated child whose family could use a little boost. This is truly the gift that will continue to give for years to come.

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.

Cash. If all else fails, give cash.  Cash is the universal gift. It can be spent anywhere that accepts money!  No worries over expiration dates, stores going bust and gift cards becoming invalid.  And one of the best things about cash is the recipient doesn’t have to spend it at all.  Maybe they can use it to add to their debt snowball, or get a jump start on an emergency fund.

The best ghost stories are typically made by a compelling history. A ghost isn’t that exciting unless there is a macabre reason that they feel the obsessive need to remain. While often these stories are tales of love gone wrong or other natural disasters, sometimes money, debt, and bankruptcy are known to play a role.

With Halloween approaching, it can be interesting and fun to look at how money troubles, debt, and bankruptcy find their way into several well-known tales of hauntings. Following are three prominent haunting that prove that debt does live beyond the grave.

Lemp Mansion – The Lemp Mansion is the one-time residence of the family that founded the Lemp Brewery dynasty, one of the first and largest St. Louis brewhouses in the 19^th Century. Lemp beer became a staple around the world. Over the next century, a chain of suicides, a mysterious death and other events ensued in the house. Once Prohibition hit, the business headed to bankruptcy. After restoration, visitors have reported strange sounds, locking and unlocking doors, candles lighting on their own, a beer glass flying off the bar, and figures appearing and disappearing.  Among them is a lady dressed in lavender, allegedly one of the departed Lemps still walking about the home. Did we mention the legend that persists of a “monkey-faced boy” who was kept in the attic for a time? No. Well, you can see there’s more to the story.

Nakagusuku Castle Ruins – Okinawa is a ground zero for ghosts – an island where buildings are left unfinished after construction rattles the nerves of unknown spirits, according to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. In 1975, an Okinawan businessman decided to build a hotel-casino resort near the Nakagusuku Castle Ruins. Local monks warned him that he was building too close to a cave with restless spirits. During construction, several workers died, and the rest of the spooked builders eventually walked off the project cold. Construction stopped, the businessman went bankrupt and ended up in an insane asylum. How’s that for a real-life Halloween ending?

Black Hope Curse – Allegedly the inspiration for the movie Poltergeist. Residents of the Newport subdivision in Crosby, Texas, allegedly had “strange experiences” in the early 1980s after discovering their suburban homes were allegedly built on top of an old cemetery for slaves.  The phantoms allegedly helped drive one family to bankruptcy, or so it is claimed. But money problems were preferable to some of the other spooky things and reported strange deaths that happened to the families of the residents. Or so the story goes. Or at least as it is told on various websites dedicated to hauntings.

By the way, if your house is haunted and you are trying to sell it, that can be a financial blessing or a curse. Not a lot of people want to live in a haunted house. However, if you can find the right type of buyer who is looking for a haunted house, then it’s a plus, since haunted houses are not exactly easy to find. However, in some states, the law requires the sellers reveal if a house is haunted. So be aware of the laws of your state.

The Stranahan House: The Stranahan House was built in 1906 for Frank Stranahan. He married Ivy Cromartie and used his newly acquired wealth to build her a home whose charm and beauty would endure into the 21st century. However, Stranahan died on June 23, 1929 but his life story had a sad end. Legend tells that he committed suicide after having sunk into financial ruin in 1927 when he lost most of his wealth and holdings in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. As many as six family members have also died in the house. The ghost of Frank Stranahan is still in residence at the home he built with such loving care. Reports of strange apparitions and ghostly noises have come from rattle staff members. The ghost of Ivy Cromartie Stranahan, who died in an upstairs bedroom in 1971, was also reported to appear accompanied by the strong scent of an antique fragrance. The uneasy ghost of her father, Augustus Cromartie, who died in that same bedroom year before, is reported to make his presence known on occasion. Other ghostly residents include Ivy’s brother and sister and the apparition of an Indian servant girl seen outside the rear of the building.

With the holidays quickly approaching, parents are starting to feel the pressure rise. The kids still expect to see a variety of gifts under that tree. However, with the recent economic upset, more parents than ever are experiencing serious stress in their family budgets. The good news is that you can have a nice holiday season without breaking the bank by learning the tricks that enable you to shop economically for Christmas toys. By making a plan and sticking with it, you may find that it isn’t as hard as you thought.

Keep It Simple

Kids can only soak in so much fun before it gets overwhelming and you are wasting your money. Three gifts per child is a very doable number and is plenty enough to keep most kids happy. Many parents categorize these gifts into something that their child can wear, something that is educational and one toy that is just pure fun. Don’t waste your Christmas budget on cheap fillers or things like socks. If they need socks, buy them, but confine the Christmas gifts to just a few high impact items. This is actually usually harder for the parents. While the kids are fairly adaptable and barely notice these types of changes, the parents feel social pressures to do more. Breathe deep! This will be great for both you and your kids.

Start Early

When you get the scope of holiday shopping under control, you can start to plan your strategy. One of the most economical ways to shop for Christmas toys is to start early. Set aside a certain amount of your budget each month and have it available when you happen to see a great price. For example, office stores have their major sales at back to school time in September, so if you’re child is really wanting a camera or MP3 player, check then. Don’t forget to browse through all the after Thanksgiving sales as well. Even if you don’t like to brave the crowds, you can get many of the same prices by shopping online instead.

You Don’t Have to Give to Everyone

While it can be fairly simple to shape your own child’s attitudes and the traditions that your family celebrates, the expectations of extended family and friends can really thwart those efforts and affect your budget. Don’t be afraid to take people off your list that you don’t feel a personal connection to. For families that you really want to recognize as special in your life, consider giving one gift that the whole family can enjoy. This could be something like an unusual board game. Food is also a big hit. Make a cookie basket or some homemade bread and jam. Finally, don’t be afraid to open a dialogue with your family. In all likelihood, you are not the only one shopping on a budget this year and your more frugal suggestions will likely be appreciated.

Focus on Quality

Any parent who has ever shopped for Christmas gifts for children knows the annoyance caused by a gift that breaks a few days after being opened. In simple terms, buying poor quality gifts is a waste of your money. Resist the urge wrap a bunch of cheap toys just for the impact. Buying a few quality toys that will last for years is much more economical.

Take Advantage of the After Season Sales

If you haven’t had the chance to do a lot of these things this year, don’t despair. You can get a great head start by shopping the after Christmas sales. Many of holiday decorations and toy sets are deeply discounted, often as much as fifty percent or more in the week after Christmas. Stock up and get a head start of next year.

I have always been a conscientious shopper. I never leave the house without my coupon folder, always use my club card and always comparison shop before I purchase. That’s why I’m a huge fan of shopping online. Bargain hunting and price comparison is quick and easy. So naturally I planned to purchase our Halloween costumes online this year.

This year, we have a costume party to attend and I thought it would be fun to dress in theme costumes like superhero or Disney characters. We weighed the options and finally settled on The Incredibles because they worked so well as a family costume.

I love the ease and convenience of online shopping and I know I had many online Halloween costume stores to peruse.  My goal was to find the costumes at the lowest price. I Googled “cheap costumes” and saw an ad for www.costumediscounters.com that offered “Guaranteed Lowest Prices Plus Free Shipping.” That had my name all over it.  I place my order and a week later I had my 3 costumes: Mr. Incredible, Mrs. Incredible Child Costume and….Another child costume? Where was my adult Mrs. Incredible costume? Apparently they made a mistake and sent two girl’s costumes instead of one girl’s costume and one women’s costume.

The only thing that makes shopping online a nuisance and expense is if you have to return something. But, when I called the customer service number for Costume Discounters, the exchange turned out to be easy, pleasant and best of all – FREE. I explained the problem. They were very apologetic and quick to act. They processed an order for the correct costume and I was directed to an online exchange site that allowed me to print a return UPS shipping label right from my own printer. The customer service rep walked me through the whole thing which only took a few minutes. I brought the package to my office the next day and dropped it in the UPS drop box in the parking lot and that was that. I didn’t cost anything extra, took almost no time and I had my costume in the correct size a few days later.

Nothing beats shopping online for bargains except maybe buying from a company that has low prices, great service and free exchanges. It couldn’t get any easier or inexpensive as it did with Costume Discounters.com

Note from Frugal Dad: For fun, feel free to share what you (or the kids) will be dressed up as this Halloween. Are you planning a homemade Halloween costume, or will you give an online discounter a try? Or, if you don’t recognize Halloween, what are your plans? We’ll be attending our kids’ school Fall Festival.

Yesterday I placed my annual Valentine’s Day flower order from ProFlowers.com for 18 red roses for my wife.  I made the mistake a couple years ago of waiting to buy locally and was disappointed because it cost me about $50 for only a dozen roses, and I didn’t even get them in a vase.

Being the frugal husband I am, I typically only order from ProFlowers twice a year – Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.  I’ve yet to be disappointed in the quality of their flowers and their customer service.  The rest of the year I stop by our local grocer on the occasional Friday to pick up a small bouquet for Mrs. Frugal.  What can I say, I’m a hopeless romantic.  Yep, she would agree–hopeless!

Here are a few links to the deals over at ProFlowers, if you are interested:

Send Valentine’s Roses from $19.99 plus FREE vase! Expires 02-28-09

12 Red Roses + 6 FREE and FREE Upgraded Vase, $39.99! Expires 02-28-09

$20 OFF One Dozen Long Stemmed Roses with FREE Ruby Vase, $39.99! Expires 02-28-09

Save $10 on Sweetheart Tulips with FREE Ruby Vase, $29.99! Expires 02-28-09

Hard to believe I have been writing here at Frugal Dad for an entire year! In some ways it is hard to remember a time when I wasn’t writing, but in other ways I can easily remember being a fan of so many other blogs, but hesitating to start one myself.

I have been a great starter all my life.  But I haven’t been a great finisher.  This is the first idea I have started and stuck with for longer than a few months.  It is also the first quasi-business idea I have had any success with.  In the past my wife and I have started a number of at-home businesses including things like custom children’s books, Avon and web design.  All fell flat after a few months of draining our wallets because they lacked a key ingredient:  passion.

I am passionate about what I write about here at Frugal Dad, and I hope that comes through in the writing.  I try my best to lead a frugal lifestyle, and to adhere to the money principles I discuss here daily.  But, I am human. I make plenty of mistakes, and don’t mind sharing them along the way in the hopes that someone else will learn from them (and avoid them).

Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to attract nearly 5,000 subscribers in one year.  Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me during what at times has been a rough 2008 for me personally. I found the personal finance blogging community to be one of the more supportive groups around, and that includes both readers and fellow bloggers.

The fact that I have been able to monetize the site a bit has helped our finances by reducing debts faster than my single income could have alone, and we have beefed up our emergency fund.  Writing has become my side hustle, and one I thoroughly enjoy!

To celebrate my one-year blogging anniversary, I thought it might be fun to look back at a few of the more popular articles over the last twelve months.

• February 1, 2008 - Planning a Frugal Family Fun Night.  One month into blogging I shared a little post about how my family often spends our Friday nights.  Nothing elaborate, in fact I think it was popular because of its simplicity.  At the time this was the first article to get double digit comments from my new readers.
• February 4, 2008 - Goodbye Expanded Cable TV: What Will I Miss Most.  A sad day in the Frugal household.  Here I shared a few things I miss without cable television. I’m proud to say a year later we don’t miss any of the things I mentioned here as we have plenty of frugal alternatives.  The one-year-without-cable experiment will continue in 2009.
• March 3, 2008 - Square Foot Gardening, a How To.  I’d be willing to bet this is how many of you long-time subscribers found me.  I wrote up an article about a weekend project with the kids that was featured on Life Hacker, and then made the front page of the popular bookmarking site de.licio.us.  I had to immediately research what the word “viral” meant.  The article remains one of my top landing pages from search engines.  Fun stuff!
• March 27, 2008 - There Are No Financial Cinderellas.  I’m often told by visitors and new subscribers that this is my most inspiring post.  I still get fired up when I watch that commercial linked in the bottom of the article!
• April 11, 2008 - How to Teach Compounding Interest to Kids.  This remains my most popular “kids and money” article.  It was my attempt at taking a tough money concept and explaining it in terms my kids could understand.
• April 14, 2008 - Language of the Perpetual Poor.  I took a lot of heat for this one.  Many people thought it was an attack on poor people.  Quite the contrary.  It was an attempt to show how the language we use, and the actions we take on a daily basis, ultimately lead to a financial success or failure.  Commenters were right about one thing–I have never been poor.  But I sure have been broke!
• May 21, 2008 - How to Get Out of Credit Card Debt, and Stay Out.  My most popular “how to get out of debt” article, and the subject of an upcoming side project here at Frugal Dad (stay tuned!).
• June 16, 2008 - 75 Money Saving Tips to Survive a Down Economy.  I worked on this post for days, adding a tip here and there as I had time.  I wanted it to be the “mother of money-saving articles.”  The work paid off.  The article was mentioned on Smart Spending, a blog on MSN Money, and ultimately made the front page of MSN.  The traffic surge knocked out my site, but lead to a big boost in new subscribers.
• July 28, 2008 - In Memory of Randy Pausch:  Inspirational Videos to Watch When You Are In a Rut.  Probably sounds a little vain to admit that I bookmark some of my own posts, but this is one of a couple posts that I refer back to frequently.  I was deeply saddened by the death of Pausch, and still turn to his inspiring videos and others when I get down.
• August 6, 2008 - Note to Readers:  Family Emergency.  Little did I know at the time that this family medical emergency would play out for the next four months.  On August 4th, my mom was diagnosed with a giant cerebral aneurysm at 53 years young, and underwent a number of surgeries to treat the aneurysm.  The final procedure was on September 12th, and in the recovery process she suffered a stroke.  She remained hospitalized for 102 days, much of that time in neuro-ICU, returning home just two days before Christmas.  She is currently wheelchair-bound, but has regained the ability to talk, eat, and has movement on her left side.  Her fight has been both an inspiration and a sobering reminder of the importance (and in some ways, the insignificance) of the things I write about here every day.  The lesson learned for our family is to have a solid emergency fund, strong disability coverage and to become debt free as quickly as possible.  You never know what emergencies are lurking around the corner.
• October 28, 2008 - The Most Important Election In Our History, Not Really.  I think I speak for most people when I say that I’m glad to have the election news behind us for a couple years.  I’d like to think that a week after the election many people agreed with what I wrote in this article.  Life went on.  Since election night we have learned that Obama may not be as radical as some feared, and that McCain was more gracious than many gave him credit.  Sarah Palin wasn’t the demon the media made her out to be, and Joe Biden is still Joe Biden.  I hope at some point both parties will again find fiscal conservatism, but as the recent bailouts have proven, it is safe to say we are entering an era of unprecedented government spending.  That terrifies me much more than any one man (or woman) in the oval office!
• December 3, 2008 - Introducing the One Dollar Give Project.  It is a shame that I waited nearly a full year to join forces with other bloggers for a great cause.  Some of reason for delay was that I figured I had little to offer, in terms of financial support or blogging clout, and a lot of it had to do with what was happening at home as we “circled the wagons” to support my mom.  As things smoothed out, and continue to smooth out in 2009, I plan to make this a higher priority throughout the year because I think blogging provides a great platform for spreading news of the great work by others.

Over the next few days I plan to share more of my goals for 2009 (blogging, financial, and personal). I encourage you to join me this week by taking some time to think about your goals for the coming year, and get them down on paper (or in my case, online).  Thanks again to all of my readers, advertisers, and fellow bloggers who have helped Frugal Dad become the success it is today.  Without you, I would have thrown in the towel long ago.

You may have noticed a lighter-than-normal posting rate here at Frugal Dad over the last couple days.  My mom returned home from the hospital on Tuesday, some 102 days after her surgery in early September.  What a long three months it was for her!

We are so happy to have Mom home, but there were many preparations to make (a few very last-minute), so I haven’t had much time to write.  I’ve also been busy finishing my Christmas shopping and planning for a homecoming meal for my mom and extended family.

I’ve got some exciting things planned for the blog in 2009.  Next Monday is my one-year anniversary here at Frugal Dad, and I have some exciting things planned to celebrate.  In fact, I’m dedicating all of next week’s posts to celebrating the past year, and for laying out my plans for 2009.  I know many of us are in a lull between Christmas and the New Year, but I hope you will check out the posts.

OK, back to my family.  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I look forward to celebrating the New Year with you next week.