Frugal Friday: Remembering Others While We Shop

Black Friday is almost upon us, and I'm sure that many of you are ready to hit the stores! I would be joining you if we weren't away from home. But you can bet that I'll be out trying to snag a few bargains on Saturday! I just have to be on guard. Not only is it easy to overspend when you're bargain-hunting, I've also found that it's easy to lose the focus of giving. I can get wrapped up in the stuff ! I'm even willing to bet that there are others besides me who are tempted to pick up a few goodies for themselves while shopping.

To keep myself from getting stuff-itis, I like to try to do a few things to keep giving at the center of my shopping.

• Intentionally take along coins or small bills for the Salvation Army kettles. I love to use these kettles as a tangible way to teach our daughter the importance of being generous.
• Watch for free or almost-free items that can be given to Toys for Tots, a needy family, the food pantry, or other charitable organizations at Christmastime.
• Be kind to sales clerks. These fine folks take the brunt of people's grumpiness. It's not their fault that I didn't get enough sleep or that I'm tired of bumping into other people. A kind word and a smile must surely make their jobs more enjoyable during crazy shopping days.
• Tip... and tip well. Okay... This one may not fall into the frugal category, but it's important enough for me to add it. Like sales clerks, waiters and waitresses have some interesting customers to wait on during the Christmas shopping season. Hopefully as we're trying to save money, shorting servers on tips isn't one of the corners we cut.

What do you do to keep giving at the forefront of your Christmas shopping? Do you have any tips to pass along?

For more frugal living ideas, stop by Frugal Friday hosted by Life As MOM.