Vol. 60: Fa-la-la-ing on a budget

Author

Allison Punch
November 29, 2022

Historically, November and December have wreaked havoc on my budget. It’s a perfect cocktail for my credit card: I love gift giving, I love a good sale, and I impulse shop when I’m stressed or sad. As much as I enjoy twinkle lights and dark-chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe’s, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are often fraught with lots of emotions - long work hours, complicated family dynamics, grief, and the intense pressure that comes with “the most wonderful time of the year.” My solution to this has always been to shop.

My wife is a Capricorn who has always been both hardworking and skilled at watching her money stack up. She says no to herself more than she says yes. I’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to argue that I do say no to myself often, it’s just that I have a lot more “yeses” because I have a lot more “add to cart” than she does. Since my 30th birthday in August, I’ve paid off my credit card debt and have crafted a budget - both for our household and my personal spending - that feels achievable while giving me room for joy: yoga membership, nuuly subscription, therapy, mutual aid, dining out with friends, etc. I haven’t yet been perfect with my budget, but I’m proud of all the strides I’ve made and I’m working on it. 

Enter: The past two weeks-plus of hundreds of emails, targeted ads, gift guides galore, and sales up to 80% for items I really want but do not need.

I’m not trying to shit on sales and marketing. For many small businesses, holiday sales are essential for their survival in the new year. Influencers are small businesses, too, and sponsored posts and affiliate links are reliable, needed income. Our economy is a mess, inflation is high, layoffs are abundant, and for many, Black Friday offers a needed opportunity to buy gifts for themselves or their loved ones that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford.

I’m not hating on Black Friday (can you still call it Black Friday when it went on for over a month!?!), but I'm STRUGGLING to keep my credit card in my wallet where it belongs.

Part of why I feature small businesses in this newsletter is because I love shopping, and shopping small is a tiny, easy way to live out our values and reinvest in our communities and in historically underserved communities. I’m not ever going to argue that shopping small is going to solve the world’s problems, but it sure as hell is going to do more to help than giant companies that try to sell facial recognition software to ICE and force delivery drivers to pee in cups to maintain unmanageable schedules. Budgets and time constraints are very real this time of year. I’m trying to add nuance and not judge. That said, if you have the means, please consider shopping small when possible.

I shared on IG that I was hesitant to add to the noise, but when I held a poll, the majority of you voted in favor of a newsletter gift guide. I'm including recommendations for giving Tuesday, book and experience-based gifts, and an aggregated list of many of small businesses I’ve featured previously. If you struggle with self control and spending as much as I do and this is where you need to leave, trust me - I understand. But if you have room in your budget and shop from this list - please let me know what you buy so I know it was worth it!

Community Care

It’s Giving Tuesday! Before we get into the small business gift guide, I wanted to remind folks that Giving Tuesday is also a very important initiative for nonprofits. Please consider giving $10 or whatever is in your budget.

Books to gift

Non-physical items & experiences to gift

  • I’m absolutely obsessed with our recent family session with the GOAT of DC portrait/product/event photography, Mariah Miranda. Reach out to a local photographer about potentially gifting a session - whether that’s a headshot session for your favorite creative or freelancer, a session for you friend who’s a new parent, or a pet session for your favorite dog mom. (If you’re local might I suggest a gift card from Black-owned Sip & Develop!!!)

  • Tickets or gift card to a local theater or music venue. Tickets for a specific event may require scheduling and remove some of the surprise, but it also extends the celebration. Keep an eye out because at least in DC, many theaters offer discount programs for people in their 20s.

  • ​Digital media, whether a NYT Cooking subscription, subscription to The Atlantic so they can keep up with I Have Notes, a Patreon or Substack subscriptions for their favorite creators or writers. I love being part of The Stacks Pack and The Kitchenista Diaries membership gives me so many great recipes.

  • Memberships to local museums: These often come with discounted or free entry and are a great way to support local art or archival work! My Grandma gave me a subscription to the Smithsonian magazine that came with a Smithsonian membership every year and I really miss that 10% discount at the NMAAHC cafeteria.

  • Audiobook bundles from Libro.FM support your favorite local bookstore (and me if you use the affiliate link) while being the perfect gift for minimalists, runners, commuters, or just someone who is hard to shop for. Currently 10% off for a limited

AllisonReadsDC Small Business Corner Gift Guide

I've always prioritized featuring BIPOC-owned, woman-owned and/or LGBTQ-owned small businesses. Because BUDGETING I’m including a $ = Items under $25, $$ = items $25 - $50, $$$ = items $50 - 100, $$$$ = items $100+. An asterisk * indicates I saw a sale at the time of newsletter curation. 

Bookstores & Bookish Lifestyle

  • Yu & Me Books is the first female Asian American-owned bookstore in New York City. $

  • The Stacks Podcast has tons of gorgeous, bookish merch. $$

  • *Home decor, wearables and more from Simply Literary Co (the mugs look absolutely gorgeous). $/$$

  • ​Loyalty Books is my local bookstore - it’s queer & Black woman owned with truly impeccable curation. $

Experiences

  • BOOKED Trips curates community trips around books by women of color. $$$$

Food & Culinary Accessories

  • This hasn’t been featured before but as an Ann Arborite, I’d be sinning to not include Zingerman’s. I recently found out my FIL and I share a love of peanut brittle so I’ll be getting him some! $$$$

  • *Yun Hai: Recommended in last week’s takeover from Lauren, a Taiwanese-American owned business with artisanal soy sauces, dry goods & more. $

  • *Calabash is a DC-based Black/indigenous-owned tea shop that I love. I’ve given their gift baskets often before! $/$$

Home Decor & Candles

  • Georgina Leung: visual artist based in London with gorgeous prints recommended by Lauren. $$

  • From Tree to Sea: All gorgeous planters, mugs and more by Jamaican-Chinese ceramicist Lauren Stryborn are currently sold out but in Jenay’s takeover she recommends signing up for the newsletter for future drops! $$$

  • Candles inspired by books & pop culture from VA-based Isle and Wild. $

  • Argentina-based Martina Palacios makes gorgeous handmade ceramics. $$

  • Queer-owned StudioDrizou has fun home decor including rainbow floating shelves! $$

  • Lita+Ro is an amazing Black/queer-owned candle company in DC. You can buy candles from their website directly but I also have given their Loyalty bookstore collab candle to everyone ever. $

  • *For luxury scents and a deep wallet, Boy Smells is forever one of my faves. I just bought their Italian Kush perfume for myself last month. $$$

  • DC-based, Black-owned Grounded ships plants nationwide. $$/$$$

Personal Care

  • Use code ALLISONREADSDC for $10 off your order of $80+ at LGBTQ-owned inclusive sex toy shop Wet For Her to get something special - whether for some self-love or to enjoy with a partner.

  • Mysa Fragrance Haus has luxurious scents, body care and their Saint Valentine candle smells amazing. $ - $$$

Wearables (Jewelry/Clothes)

  • Bright & joyful athleisure from Neon Warwick (size XS - 2XL) was recommended by Leonor. $$$

  • QueerlyDesigns features many LGBTQ pride shirts. $$

  • *Affordable & beautiful jewelry from Black-owned Oma the Label $$/$$$tom

  • … and Filosophy $$/$$$ 

  • *Fun, comfortable athleisure from Grind Like a Doll, now up to size 3X $$$

  • TheTriniGee has tons of gorgeous, cozy crewnecks including seasonal designs (as well as home decor and other items!) $$$

Miscellaneous

  • Bokuno Shop, recommended by Lauren, sells beautiful handmade dolls with a variety of skin tones

  • Made with Bravery, recommended by Jenay, is a marketplace where you can support Ukranian makers with a wide variety of items and price points. $ - $$$$

Subject line credit to Bae. All typos and missed links my own.