It is the gifts that can be a problem. As someone who is obsessed with personal finance and saving money I hate to spend a lot of money on gifts (unless I know the time will be used all the time). Below are some of the ways I keep gift costs in check.
- Limits - My sister and I set a $50 limit on gifts for each other. We do this for our birthdays as well. $50 is enough money to buy something nice, but keeps both of us from breaking the bank.
- Work - My office has a secret santa every year. The limit is $20, I almost always spend a little bit over, but it is not that bad. The one thing I hate about office gift giving is that it isn't something you can back out of easily. I would prefer if we did a dirty santa/white elephant game. I think those are easier to decide not to participate in and still fun to watch!
- Extended Family - My family-in-law and my cousins have all moved to the dirty santa plan. We have various rounds that you can choose to either participate or not participate in. My cousins and I keep in cheap, $1 and a $10 round. The gift giving here is more for the fun then the actual gift! My family-in-law has a couple more rounds, but they are all voluntary!
- Parents - With my parents I worry less about money and more about finding them gifts they will actually use. This is harder than it sounds!
- Husband - This has been different every year, but we sit down together and decide on a limit or items that we really want. We make it a conversation, so that each year doesn't become about upping what we did the year before. The best Christmas gift for me is to be able to spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas day with him.
How do you keep costs down?
picture by bobsfever
4 comments:
It's hard to keep costs down. We have a budget on a lot of people, but like you, it's hard for me to find a good present for my mom.
I also often get excited when I think I find a gift that a person would love and it can tend me to spend more than I should. As much as I love this season I look forward to January and a fresh new start at budgeting with gifts!
I save a little bit of money from each paycheck all year round. Then we set a solid budget. We have a small family (no siblings or young children close to us), so it's not too terribly difficult. This year our budget is $600:
-$240 For myself & my husband ($120/each)
-$75 Dinner out (me & the hubby)
-$50 Stockings ($25/each)
-$50 Cards + stamps for extended family & friends
-$90 Parents ($30/each)
-$18 Work Secret Santa (budget is $15, I went a bit over)
-$25 My Best Friend
-$15 Our puppy
-$5 Family puppy
$32 left over for miscellaneous expenses
We concentrate on buying minimal/meaningful gifts (only stuff people will use/want). I'm about 1/2 way done shopping. I'll probably blog about my holidays findings in a few weeks!
I try to buy Christmas gifts throughout the year - usually around a sale. I set out a gift budget for the year, including birthdays, shower/wedding/baby gifts if I know it's happening that year, and Christmas, plus a bit of a buffer.
When I buy an item on sale, instead of paying full price a few weeks before Christmas it usually allows me enough savings to add a couple of other small gifts to that person's present.
Post a Comment