cash, and very little of that. from what i have read. most people will be doing the same thing this year and that has retailers worried.
a phone call, a christmas card or email will be the extent of my "MERRY CHRISTMAS." all my family understand that once i retired i am on a tight budget. there will be no gifts coming from me like it they used to be in past christmases. i have been offered plane tickets and turned them down. will be spending my holiday close to home with friends and family members in the same predicament. we will share a meal and enjoy each other company. the children of the family will be taken care of but not as elaborate as before. if you are in the midst of unemployment and possibility of losing your house this is not the time to go further in debt.
i am able to live taking care of the basics, roof over my head, food in the cupboards and gas in the car..thank GOD, i am more fortunate then some.
Cash. Gifts well chosen and within my budget. Modest gifts, but ones I know the person really wants and wouldn't or hasn't splurged on themself.
I haven't used credit cards for years, but lived within my means. It's so liberating!
Most pf tje gifts I give I have made over the past year........each was made for a special person and carefully wrapped. My only expence now is the postage to mail them. I love to do handmade gifts and my family and friends love recieving them........each one knowes they are special.
posted by nubee
over 2 years ago
I am not giving gifts this year and everyone knows it. My extended family shows it's love by gifts and not words or deeds and I think it's time that stopped. It's pretty superficial. It was becoming a competition to see who could give my parents the nicest gift, and who could be really "clever" and "talented". Also, I refuse to go into debt for the whole following year just because I have to use credit cards. When others in the family expect things from you when you don't have a job and they are making 100K a year, I think my spirit of giving is pretty much gone. Sorry - don't mean to sound scroogey, but boomerinvegas summed it up pretty well! Take care of the basics!
I do the Christmas Club thing and stay within that amount. I don't buy for many - my kids and the grands and three special friends. Nothing expensive. The kids get one special toy and some clothes I buy through the year on clearance. Then I fill in with dollar store items.
I used to budget with a Christmas Club. Now I use a couple of credit cards to shop on line but do mostly manage to pay them off in a couple of months.
My family is cutting way back on our gift exchange this year. We are all buying for the kids(two greatgrandkids) but cutting back on that. Then each adult is to bring just one generic present priced under a specified amount. One granddaughter says she has a fun way to exchange these. We are still doing our stockings for everyone. Each person gets one small stocking stuffer and a couple of small treats for each other person's stocking. We have a lot of fun with those.
The above will take place in central Ohio where my daughter who I live with and I will drive from Georgia for Christmas. The rest of my children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren are all there. My daughter and I will exchange gifts with each other as usual in Georgia but have agreed to cut back also.
For all the rest of my family and friends I will do cards with notes or letters enclosed. I ordered a book of Christmas stamps on line from the USPS for that. The postage to have the stamps sent to me is only one dollar. I bought the cards on sale after Christmas last year.
Cash only and debit card if I buy anything online. My family does a name exchange for adults with a price limit, so each only has to buy one gift. The kids get gifts from everybody that can afford it. Mine will be limited. My medical expenses this year ran close to 30% of my income, so there's not a great deal left.
Everything went on credit card, but I have the cash to pay it off, so no problem. My family is small--2 daughters and their spouses and 3 grandsons, and everything was at least 50% off when I bought it, so I haven't spent that much. The big expense is shipping since everyone lives out of state. I'm using Priority Mail to ship the heavy stuff--home made jams, pickles, summer sausage, and applesauce-- and UPS for the rest, but I think I'm looking at about $50 at least, but oh well.
No gifts this year. We skipped that last year too and it really made us focus more on the true spirit of the season. We just had a potluck of all the family favorites, called everyone who couldn't be there, went to Christmas Eve service together, and went through old photo albums. We exchanged hugs instead of gifts, and it was our best Christmas ever.
