This question is BOUND to come up:
What do you want for Christmas?*
I know it’s only the start November, but I am seeing a lot of sparkly red, silver and green decorations going up in stores.
(*Apologies to everyone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. I don’t really celebrate Christmas either, being a godless heathen, but I do like the holiday spirit in general, and it makes me happy each year to see everyone around us all smiley, sparkly and full of good cheer.)
Seeing as I already pretty much have everything I could really want or need…
- My health
- Shelter
- Transportation (Having a car with heating in winter is a luxury for me, after years of taking the bus)
- Great food (Cooked by BF! He’s been making my lunches for me <3)
- A happy family doing well for themselves
- A loving BF who is doing well
- Steady employment until the end of this year
- Savings in the bank to weather most financial storms
- Long vacation in the works coming up
- No debt
Then this is what my wishlist for 2010 would look like:
No, you aren’t reading incorrectly, and there isn’t a broken image!
That’s the look of ‘nothing’!!!
Don’t get me wrong.
I want many pretty things, but I don’t really, REALLY want them that badly enough to pay for them and add the clutter to my life.
See, I’ve decided that I already bought I what I could’ve wanted for Christmas – my Apple iPod Touch 64GB and a cute case to go with it from Belkin.
(Case purchased: It’s pure snowy white and the blue is a bit darker than that)
I didn’t get a screen protector because I MacGuyvered my own version (Scroll to the end of this post for my cheap how-to).
So what’s left?
I’m thinking that the only other thing I REALLY want is that darn piano. I miss playing the piano and it’s something I really enjoy.
As mentioned before, I just don’t feel good buying it now, seeing as we’ll be moving and I don’t want to bring it back and forth, worried that it will get damaged in transit, so I have my solution:
Readers, when I get a job in Dallas Texas, sign the employment papers and work my first day after my move to the U.S., I will buy myself that piano, a hard carrying case, a stand and a damper pedal to go along with it.
You heard it here first.
I’ve already gone so long without my own portable piano, what’s a little while longer? Maybe the price will drop or I can buy it used. 🙂
As for the rest of the pretty things I want?
I’m already going to shell out about $7000 – $10,000 (okay, let’s just say $10,000 because we all know I can’t resist cute things, tasty food and foreign CANDY) on my trip to Asia in 2011, so I don’t feel like I should really buy anything else (read: I don’t want anything bad enough to willingly fork over money for them.)
(Note: Can I also say how grateful I am to have come so far financially & emotionally?
2 years ago if you had told me: “Hey FB, you will be able to buy that $3000 piano (including accessories) that you want without any financial hardship or extra debt and not having to worry about the cost of it being a huge burden”, I would have scoffed at you.
Never ever would I have imagined this becoming a reality.)
So, what do you want for Christmas?
FOOTNOTE: How to ghettofab out your devices with cheap and clear protective covers
If you are not willing to shell out $20 for a single piece of plastic, look into buying a roll of those clear transparent paper-like film covers that people use to cover book fronts to protect them for $15/huge roll.
It was free for me, as BF had already bought the roll for his other devices.
Sure, the plastic won’t really stand up to keys or a rock being rubbed really hard against the screen like some of the other armor-like plastics out there, but I go pretty easy on my devices.
I just want to protect them from everyday scratches, keys lightly hitting the screen (if ever) and it’s only $15 for a huge roll that you can cut out and customize. It’s ghetto FABULOUS, and you can replace it as many times as you want when the cover starts to wear down (if ever).
It isn’t as clear or as beautiful as the other covers for $20, but it’s enough for me to be able to use it outside (somewhat, not very good in very bright sunlight), and the screen is bright enough to shine through any imperfections.
To keep the plastic film on, I got a Belkin rubber case to hold in the sides and protect the back (that already got scratched up a bit in the 2 days I’ve had it). It won’t work as well if you have it on a cellphone or something without an edge or a frame to hold in the plastic so you aren’t constantly peeling it off by accident.
Hey, at least it isn’t plastic wrap I’m using. 😛
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
I want one of those stainless steel BPA-free water bottles. To most people this doesn't seem like much but I'll have to order them from another continent and I think the cost of shipping will bend me over. Damn you American companies that only produce cool things. I am determined to ditch the water bottle habit though and I think of them as an investment.
My recent post The Impromptu Guide
I live in Canada right across the border and I feel the same way!! So don\’t fret 😛
Haha! I thought it was a broken image 🙂
This Christmas, I would like… a long long eternal holiday. Don't know how I am going to fund myself… who cares! I want to be exploring the world.
Where would you like to go?
There is a piano app for free on the iPhone and iTouch. It is not perfect but give you a few keys to tinkle!
I downloaded it. Made me lust after the real thing though 🙂
OK, this is really boring but… a pair of cushy warm slippers and a deBuyer carbon steel frying pan. 🙂
Why not a cast iron skillet? 🙂 I\’d like to add that to my list but it is FREAKING HEAVY and I can\’t lift it to even use it.
Yknow, what I REALLY want: STUDY DAYS at work. I should really research on that and see if I can get some approved. I am exhausted like heck and I don't have enough vacation days to cover it!
Is your work paying for it? In that case, I think they should totally cut you slack and let you study at least an hour or two in the mornings or on your downtime.
You're moving to Dallas? Yee Haw! (I used to live in Austin – and loved it!). Just wait til a summer of cicadas – when anywhere you step or drive ::crunch::
All I want for Christmas – I would love if someone pitched in money to pay off a CC. Wait, they have that sort of things for Weddings, right? why can't I do it for my Christmas wish list? And I want German language CDs and an electric stapler (cuz we can't get them at work anymore – budget restraints).
My recent post The Kardashian Sisters Launch Their Own Prepaid Credit Card
*LAUGH* That\’s a good wish. 🙂 I hope you find a ton of money unexpectedly to clear your CC.
German language CDs are great, you should really look at Pimsleur. I HIGHLY recommend them and credit them to teaching me French.
(seriously? you\’re going Office Space on me with that electric stapler wish. Just kidding)
Thanks for the tip on the German language CDs. I will pass the info onto my husband. I figure I spend 2.5 hrs commuting each day, I might as well do something constructive on the freeway (instead of yelling at cars cuz their drivers can't drive). 😉
If you move to TX, you can visit New Orleans. I want the same thing for the holidays: rien. We already have a piano.
My recent post Ready for Gift Giving Young Male Edition
I will definitely drop by all the cities around the area. It\’ll be a new adventure for me.
(Lucky.)
My parents and I don't do christmas presents anymore instead around christmas we eat and talk and watch movies. It keeps things simple and we don't go mad like other families. So you're moving to Dallas? Are you going to become an American citizen and have dual citizenship or is it a temporary thing? I wasn't born in the U.S. but I got naturalized as a citizen when I was 17 and I love living here, I haven't been to Dallas but I hear Texas is quite nice. 🙂
I am going to have dual citizenship if I can help it. If I can\’t, I\’d rather keep my U.S. citizenship than Canadian, just because there is a larger market for business in the U.S. versus Canada.
You are so lucky to have become a naturalized citizen!!
Thanks, but I really got lucky, I was born in Russia, I grew up in the U.S., I'm half-Russian and through a series of events we ended up in the U.S. The U.S. does allow dual citizenship, but I didn't keep my Russian citizenship. I was a minor so when my mom was naturalized, I too got naturalized.
At the time there was some guideline where If the parent became a citizen then the child became one as well, so because of that guideline I got really lucky. My mom was the one who took the citizenship test but its pretty easy, anyone can pass that test. I looked through her study guides when she was studying for it and they were easy. You should have no problem with it.
First they want to make sure you speak English and you already do so you don't have to worry about that. Just read up about U.S. history and the legal system like simple stuff like the senate, what freedom from religion means,etc. Its easy peasy. Here's a link for it, dunno if you know about it, but I figured it couldn't hurt. 🙂
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.7…
Anyway I wish you the best 🙂
Thank you! I will give it my best shot, for sure. 🙂
I want ideas on what to buy for my parents 🙁 I rarely ever get it right, and it’s so frustrating because I DO have the means to buy them something really nice *huffs*
As for myself, just like you said: there are a few pretty things I’d like, but I don’t actually NEED them that much.
I have plenty of Etsy favourites, but none I want to shell over money for at the moment. Perhaps at all.
Have you tried just spying on your parents? Setting up a parents webcam to see what they need? *laugh*
Now there's an idea, although I'd probably just get mad at mom for letting the painter (who's redoing their living room) insult her over and over again 😛
*laugh*
I don't want anything for Christmas 🙂 I've got enough as it is, and we'll be going to the US around that time, so what more could I wish for?
My recent post Babystapjes naar Rijkdom – Dave Ramsey
Where are you going in the US? 🙂 I hope you have a good time!
I wish Santa could deliver success at my own personal business endeavors so I could make my full-time living from my websites and other projects instead of going to the office and working for The Man.
Guess I’ve got to work hard to make this Christmas wish come true on my own 🙂 Like you, I feel grateful for everything I have and know I do not truly need more material possessions. (Want them, naturally, but don’t need them).
*And as much as I want to visit Asia I fear the dent in my savings from spending on all the delicious food and cut things, too!
I hope Santa delivers success to you as well! You\’ll make it. It took someone I knew 10 years to become a big \”star\” in her business. She\’s such an inspiration to me.
(Oh gosh. Asia is going to be nasty for my budget)
I love the piano! I think it was one of my best purchases! I shelled out $6000 for mine last February, but I use it to teach piano, and so far I’ve earned $3000 from it already. Teaching kids is a wonderful thing! They say the cutest thing!
Piano is expensive at first, but as you play it, it’s brings so much enjoyment that money can’t buy! Can’t wait till you get one and be able to enjoy it again! 😀
OH!!
TEACHING PIANO. That\’s such a great idea 🙂 Thank you!
I want to go sledding/play in the snow with my husband and son this Christmas. And ride the Christmas train at Stanley Park. And have a baking party with my mom and sisters.
Totally attainable and within budget.
R
PS. Love this blog. And that you are Canadian. And that you are a minimalist but like nice things – we can be both, right?
Oh that sounds really nice. A baking party sounds even better. Wish I had sisters.
Yes I am Canadian and I am minimalist but I love nice things 🙂 Who says we\’re all a bunch of potato sack wearing grumps? 😛
All I want for the holidays are a few movies and Peace on Earth the last one I think will take a miracle to perform but, as they say this is the seasons for miracles so I am optimistic. I already have some money saved with a bit more coming my way, slowly saving for my daughters education, I have my health along with the health of my family, a roof over our heads, food from the local co-op, and plenty of clothes (truthfully probably too many but, am hoping to cloth a small village sometime soon lol). Other than that it is just more "stuff" and after moving a bunch I have been secretly hoping for a small bomb to drop on our place just to rid us of some of it lol.
Which movies? 🙂
Maybe you could just grab huge boxes and start tossing things in, moving them out the door as you\’re done, then driving and dumping it all off.
The movies I want are Ferngully and Avatar love them both. Dumping stuff off is not a bad idea hoping to eventually aka before we move again to sort through my clothes and get rid of what I dont like or havent worn in forever.
I have Avatar. I liked that and Ferngully as well, especially the part where they all started rocking together in that huge circle. Kind of neat.
I\’d definitely start the decluttering now rather than later. It makes it easier in the long run!
Well, there are a few things I want, but nothing that translates well into a Christmas gift. And we're trying not to buy new stuff until we figure out if we're moving. So, it looks like my husband and I will continue what has over the past few years become quite the tradition: no Christmas presents. None. Not to us, not from us. (Unless, you count bringing food to share — but we do that anyhow.)
It's worked out well so far, except for my mom trying to sneak us gifts we REALLY don't want (hopefully she's gotten the message by now). Everyone else seems to understand, though, and they seem happy with the arrangement. We are rather minimalist, after all, as well as being eco-minded and vegan. So, we are VERY hard to shop for. And we'd rather spend the time with family and each other instead of in malls. As a result, I think we're in a better mood throughout December than many people we encounter.
We even decided to get rid of most of our Christmas decorations a few months ago, including the tree. We just kept a couple strands of light which we may or may not put up. We decided that we'd rather go out and enjoy looking at others' decorations than stress over putting them up and taking them down ourselves — especially since we have to put the tree somewhere kitty safe where we rarely even see it. I prefer edible decorations anyhow 😉
Yes, we do the no present thing too.
My parents luckily, are far too cheap to buy us presents, but they really appreciate it when we come back for the holidays, eat and cook with them 🙂
It\’s far better I think, than stuff. They have too much anyway.
All I want for Christmas is my favorite Canadian blogger to get a new job and move to my city.
Wait, did you just say you're moving to Dallas? SANTA DOES EXIST!
I must have missed it, but since when are you moving to Dallas? I've lived here for three years now, so when you get here we should have a blogger party! And maybe if I'm lucky I can convince you to play piano in one of my songs!
Oh, and I really want a guitar stand for my guitar that is sitting on the floor right now. That's about it.
My recent post The Kardashian Card Fights Drug Use
*LAUGH*
Yes I am moving to Dallas 🙂 Soon. I hope by end of next year, and we\’re ramping up our savings and plans to shift down there.
I\’d love to meet up 🙂 We could definitely make a blogger party of it and try to find other PF\’ers to join in on the fun. I haven\’t practiced the piano in a long long while, so you might think a cat is stuck inside…