Our Thanksgiving Haul – What We Bought for $2,500 in 1 Day

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Yes, you read that right.

We dropped a couple of grands on “stuff” this Thanksgiving.

In all honesty, I think most of those purchases were unnecessary. But Mr. FAF insisted we needed them, so I gave in.

I gave my reasons, he insisted on buying, and I told him it was up to him.

So what exactly did we spend so much money on?

Related: The Costs of Marital Conflict

1. iPad & iPad case- $400

I know some parents out there might be judging me for saying this.

But I let our baby watch ABC songs on YouTube so that she won’t refuse to eat at dinner.

I try giving her toys at the same time to keep her eating, but boy, it just takes forever.

We have an old phone for that solely purpose.

But Mr. FAF has been saying that it’s too small for our baby, and that she needs an iPad.

I still think it’s totally unnecessary.

She just needs to see something colorful with music in front of her. I don’t think she can tell between an iPad and an old phone.

But I let it slide. He might have other intended uses for it that I don’t know about.

He bought an iPad for $370 and an iPad case for $25.99.

Related: Our 7 Expectations For Our Son

2. Apple monitor – $426.33

You might see a common theme here. Mr. FAF seems obsessed with Apple products.

Me? I don’t really care much about gadgets.

I’m happy with a $100 phone and a regular monitor as long as they are functional. Mr. FAF works from home every once in a while and needs two huge monitors for him to run code since that’s what he has at work.

He bought an LG curved screen monitor for $379.99 and a protection plan for $46.34.

3. Macbook Air – $1,000

Three years ago I wrote about why I held on to a broken $500 Toshiba. Then I bought a $1,000 Samsung laptop – an angry purchase. I have loved every second of using that laptop. It’s so pretty, light, portable, and super fast despite having served me for three years.

Even since I started learning how to code, Mr. FAF has been convincing me to switch to a Macbook since it’s more powerful and better for programming.

I kept telling him my Samsung computer still works fine, and that I don’t need a new laptop.

But one thing I’ve noticed about YouTube online tutorials for coding is that all the instructors seem to use Macbooks.

I always have to adjust the code on my PC to make it run on the command line, which led to hours of searching and frustration.

Eventually, I gave in, reasoning that I can also use the new laptop for blogging, and that I can give the Samsung to my sister (she happily accepted my offer).

Related: My Angry Purchase – A $1,000 Samsung Laptop

4. Posture corrector – $17.99

I had never even heard of this product before Mr. FAF bought it. I guess Amazon has everything for everyone. Mr. FAF’s boss told him he needs to sit with his back straight to look more confident. Mr. FAF’s parents had bought that up before, but somehow it had never registered until the boss said so.

On that very same day, Mr. FAF went home and bought a posture corrector. He has been wearing it almost every day for the past two weeks. I’m really curious how long he’s going to do that for.

5. Sweaters – $36

I got a sore throat, followed by a cold, and was sick for almost 10 days right before Thanksgiving. I think it’s partly because I didn’t keep my neck warm enough.

I bought a turtleneck pullover for $20.09 and a turtleneck tunic sweater for $39.99 on Amazon. They looked really nice on the website. However, when the items arrived, I was disappointed at both the designs and material. They looked nothing like the photos shown on Amazon.

I have actually bought a couple of clothing items on Amazon. But I am not too impressed with the material. The clothes get wrinkly and fade really fast. Maybe it’s because I bought cheaper clothes. But the clothes I get from a physical store have much better quality at the same or similar prices. I ended up getting two similar sweaters at Kohl’s for $36 in total.

6. Scarf – $18.20

I got a nice scarf from H&M for $18.20 to keep myself from getting sick again. I have two other scarves I bought from Amazon, but one is too thick and doesn’t fit inside my jacket. The other one is flimsy and doesn’t keep my neck warm.

I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to clothes or accessories, I just need to drag myself to the store to try them on first.

What we wanted but didn’t get

I didn’t have much on my Thanksgiving wish list. But Mr. FAF has a long list of things he wanted to buy on Black Friday. Below are a few of them:

— iPhone: Mr. FAF insists that I need a new iPhone for extra security. I told him I don’t think it’s worth the money. I used my Amazon Fire phone for 4 years and was totally happy with it until it died. He then told me Costco was having a deal where you can trade in your old iPhone for a new one but will be locked into a more expensive phone plan with T-Mobile. He did his research, called his friends, and decided it wasn’t worth it. No iPhone was purchased in the process.

— 65 inch TV: We already have two big TVs at home that we rarely use. But Mr. FAF said they are not big enough (?!) and bought one online. He also looked into cable packages but fortunately hasn’t bought any yet.

— Cutting board: Mr. FAF bought two huge cutting boards from Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s such a pain to use and wash them. I think he realized that too and wants to buy a smaller wooden cutting board.

— Photocopier that can print color photos: Mr. FAF wants to print out some of our family photos to keep around the house.

Conclusion

I’m not sure if $2,000 is a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I do think we went a bit overboard this Thanksgiving. Christmas is coming, and there will be even more deals. I’m not sure what else Mr. FAF plans to purchase. I want to live a minimalist lifestyle not bound by stuff and material if they are not necessary.

I have to admit that half of the $2,000 was spent on a laptop for me, and I can’t complain about it. After all, Mr. FAF wanted to get something new and nice for me. I will take it as a kind gestures and compromise with him on the rest of the purchases. I think (or hope?) that those purchases, though necessary, will improve our life quality one way or the other.

What about you? Did you get your favorite item this Thanksgiving?

Related:

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