Thrifty Thursday: Not Getting Off the Saving Track

I was trying to write a note this week about saving some money and I don't have anything to say except that I have been totally out of touch because we are working on buying our new house.  I don't know what I have done recently to save a little money but I know that I have to continue planning and make sure that I stay on track during this stressful time. 

How do you do it??  When things get busy, how do you make sure that you stay on track with saving money and not going over budget?

I have had a tough time sticking to a menu and making up things at the last minute before dinner.  When you are busy all day and then come home, it is the last thing that I want to think about to get in the kitchen and make dinner.  Especially since I have a five year old who isn't really interested in eating that much so we end up lowering what we are going to eat most nights to what is interesting to him so that he will eat it too. 

Do you have picky eaters at your house??  Any ideas on what works for you?

I am working to sell as many things as I can through Craigslist and eBay before the move to get rid of things and make a little money.  It takes a lot of work to do all of those things especially when you are already busy.  I have lots of baby stuff to get rid of and other things around the house.  We are hoping to take a big batch to Salvation Army before the end of the year on the things that haven't sold to get a nice tax write off too.

Any eBay or Craigslist tips?  Any ideas on hot things that I should be looking for to sell?

I am also looking forward to the holiday season.  We have Thanksgiving coming which we are going to my sister in law's house so we are out of most of the work but I will probably be bringing some sort of food with us.  The great news is that I have the stress off of me for that.  I am going to most likely have guests for Christmas so I am sure that things will be a little crazy.  I try hard to make good decisions and not go crazy with holiday shopping but I think that with all of the house things going on that this might take a back shelf and I am worried.

What do you do to make sure you stay on track for the holidays?  Do you set a budget for the holiday or just a list of the people you need to buy for??

Any tips to get me to stay on track will be greatly appreciated!!  Hoping that buying lots of things for the house and the busy schedule isn't going to throw me off track so comment and give me great ideas on what to do to stay on track.