Christmas spending cutbacks?
Find a Conversation
Christmas spending cutbacks?
| Thu, 11-11-2004 - 11:37pm |
With all the upcoming holidays, certainly there must be one or two items that we can cut back on.........AND STILL ENJOY THE SEASON! Can you think of anything that you can eliminate or skimp on that really won't make a big difference to the enjoyment of the holiday but may make a difference in your effort to eliminate debt? For instance, are you going to not buy any more decorations this year and reuse and enjoy the old ones? Will you put a few less light strands on the tree? Can you skip a course at dinner with the family? Will you just buy gifts for certain people and drop a few people off the card list? Maybe not buy a whole new outfit for the office party?
What ideas do you have?
Littlesbigs

All my best,
Danni
For family members I've been collecting picture frames over the course of the year at yard sales. When I see frames for sale, I tell the owners that I will take any of them that they are willing to part with for fifty cents. By November I have a hefty trove of them. I have prints made of some of my favorite pics of the boys, and these make great little gifts for grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. (If you haven't been collecting at yard sales, you can get frames at the dollar store.)
For social gatherings with friends, I have planted the thought well in advance that we should do exchanges of gifts with the limitation that all items must either be used or home made. This has gone over very well--I suspect others feel the same way we do about overspending at Christmas.
We will have very few decorations this year because this is our first year in a real house, and I don't have enough for the full house. Next year, however, we'll have plenty because my plan is to go out a few days after Christmas and buy lights etc. at deep discounts. For this year, my children and I have been collecting pine cones and branches in the woods to put around the house to add a festive air. We keep our eyes open for bright berries to use too.
We are very fortunate in that I have a small freelance income that we do not include in our budget, so we will actually have a few hundred dollars we *can* spend at Christmas, but I hope to come in *well* under that number and send the rest to debt (or savings, or a new stove! LOL).
Blessings to all,
Heather
Edited 11/15/2004 12:10 am ET ET by iwannabsahm