Saving at Christmas

It is that time of year again. The Christmas season approaches. This year is especially difficult because of the hard economic times to come. It sure would not be good to have $3,000 in Christmas credit card debt for the Spring. So for Christmas shopping (No politically correct Holiday Shopping here – I go with the traditional Christmas Shopping!) this year I thought it would be good to see if I could help you be more modest in your spending. After all the Federal Government is doing all our spending for us now, so we need to conserve.

Here is a twist. Turn your kid into a spy with the 4 GB USB MP9 Digital pocket video recorder Ballpoint Pen with built-in pin-hole camera. When I was young I always wanted the spy camera. This is it. You can now expose Acorn operations for what they are except of course in the State of Maryland. It is only $50. What a deal. This is a fully functional ball point pen as well. It can record up to 3 hours of video.

Another good camera gift is the USB 4x28 Binoculars with built-In Digital Camera/Camcorder. This is a $14.00 device sold on line that should keep any young person entertained for hours. Or go for small object viewing with the PC Link USB Digital Microscope w/Metal Base. It is a bargain at $34.00 on line.

Because analog TV is no longer broadcast, how about an emergency 8.5” HDTV for $130? This has a built in antenna. There is a 15” portable unit for a similar price without an antenna. I have seen some old rabbit ear antennas that do pick up the HDTV broadcasts for TVs with the new HDTV/ATSC Tuner.

Then there are used PCs for the young kids. You can get a good refurbished used XP system for around $200. I have bought a Dell with XP professional for around $100 on line. Some flat panel monitors are now under $100. Young kids can use these for games, school work and more.

Good gifts for kids are always cell phones. If your children are already are on a plan then the monthly cost could remain about the same and a new phone might cost under $50. Of just get them unlimited text messaging and give the children another hour of unrestricted phone access. There are lots of cheaper iPhone like units out there that look cool and provide new features. To be safe, talk to your kids about phone use and restrict and regulate their phone access so no bad stuff happens.

Shopping on line and looked for gifts under $25 at an electronic retailer revealed all kinds of good stuff that would make a nerd happy like a 100 pack of CDs, external all in one card reader, thumb drives and graphics cards. This is sort of like buying the woman of the home toilet bowl cleaner for Christmas. Gifts to excite a Nerd would put most gift givers in the dog house. Once you get up around $100 there are digital picture frames, Blue Ray disc players, 20 inch flat panel monitors, and more.

There is ultimate Nerd stocking stuffer that costs as little as $1.00. I am talking Cable Cuffs here, the hand cuffs for all cables. Untangle those messy PC cables or bundle up all those power cables with cable cuffs. They come in small ($1.00), medium ($2.00 to $3.00), and large sizes ($5.00) and are sold at your local home improvement store. Nerds love them because they cuff cables but cannot be used in any kind of provocative way. So Nerds feel safe. Please take my word for it. I must have spent $50.00 on them already and I still do not have enough. My cables are well organized. Then there are the 6-Piece Newell Rubbermaid Quick Grip Clamp Set - 2 Micro Bar Clamps, 2 HANDI-CLAMPS & 2 Spring Clamps for $17.00. Not necessarily a Nerd tool, but clamps are always good! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!