NOT (!!!) My Annual Personal List of This Week's Best Deals (And Why I'm Not Doing It This Year)

graphic via Adria Adams

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends here in the states! Every year for the past seven years, I have scoured the internet and Black Friday ad flyers for the best deals and/or coupon codes and recorded them. If any of the agencies I work with give me notice of secret coupon codes, I record those as well. Then I compile a list of favorites, and share them with all of you.

This year, I decided not to do it. And that makes me a little sad, because it's become sort of a tradition. It has just been so busy around here for work (even more than normal for this time of year), my kids have been sick (again), my daughter has had Nutcracker tech week, and it kept getting pushed to the bottom of my list. Then last night around 11:30 PM when I was sitting down to work on it, I saw the graphic above, by Adria Adams (who can also be found here).  It kind of felt like a sign.

Now don't get me wrong - I love a good deal. I love shopping at big stores and tiny shops. I love supporting small businesses with my dollars (Etsy is my shopping haven this week!). A lot of people feel that we shouldn't spend money at all this time of year to make a statement, and I 100% respect that, but I honestly think we should do the opposite. I think we should spend money (if we can and want to), but be intentional on where we spend it. I also think we can show support in ways that don't require money (one of the best parts of social media!), and that's why I think the graphic above is so badass.

Maybe I'll be back with the annual list next year. For now, I'm just going to try to enjoy this week with my family and friends. I hope you are able to do the same. I'll be back next week with lots of goodness. See you then! Happy Thanksgiving!