Comments on: Feeling Fantastic About Your Frugal Festivities

By: The Honest Dollar | In Defense of Personal Finance Bloggers

The Honest Dollar | In Defense of Personal Finance Bloggers — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:08:54 +0000

[...] all fun. Sometimes, we splurge just like everyone else. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of having a different perspective than the spend, spend, spend mentality of Americans [...]

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:10:54 +0000

Steven Landsburg, an economist, wrote a great article for Slate recently which every personal finance blogger should read. It's called What I Love About Scrooge. My mother-in-law, who recently got a new job where she gets paid quite a bit more than she ever has been before, just gave my wife (and me, to some extent) something like $300 in gifts this Christmas. It's really quite frustrating to me since her net worth is considerably lower than ours, despite her being more than 20 years older. I have fortunately convinced everybody in my family to not give us gifts, but I've had no luck so far with my wife's parents.

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:02:55 +0000

You get alliteration points for that title.

Also, this post reminded me of something I saw on one lady’s blog a long time ago: Christmas for $100.

Here’s the relevant post: http://sandratayler.livejournal.com/118845.html#cutid1

By: RacerX

RacerX — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:35:17 +0000

For the first time ever, we have stayed to our Christmas budget by going all cash. It will make tomorrow easier to enjoy to know that we won’t be paying for those gift for the next 4 years!

@Fab Broke-Cooking up a storm and having friends over IS a gift! Just one that we sometimes forget to value!

By: Fabulously Broke

Fabulously Broke — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 19:35:33 +0000

I totally agree. I’d rather have a whole bunch of friends over, watching TV, cooking up a storm and having a good time rather than doing the huge present thing.

I am NOT a fan of the present giving thing. It just makes people spend more.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 19:18:04 +0000

I totally feel like Scrooge this year because my family expects me to drive and/or fly halfway across the country to visit with them. And still buy presents. I bought the presents, with free shipping online, but I still feel a bit detached from it all. I don’t think it can be the same as when you’re a kid. The magic is different, but we all spend the money to try to make it the same as when we were kids. We get too caught up in it, then hungover after New Year’s when we realize how much we actually wasted.

By: Fiscal Musings

Fiscal Musings — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 19:01:10 +0000

It’s one thing to go into debt yourself, but quite another to go into debt for someone else. While I think giving is great, making sure some kid has the latest gaming system isn’t high on my list. There are plenty of more meaningful ways to give that don’t cost nearly as much.

By: Wooly Woman

Wooly Woman — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:21:16 +0000

Christmas is not worth getting into debt for, but I see the pressure that is put on us starting right after Hallowe’en. This year though I was happy to see some talk on tv, usually news shows, about spending less, or giving to charities instead of buying gifts. I hope this trend continues so people can make smart decisions about their spending all year round.

By: mrsmicah

mrsmicah — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:31:54 +0000

My parents did something like that, but they didn’t tell us the set amount. We just knew that if we asked for something expensive, it had to be within that general price range or we wouldn’t get it. (something around $100-125…they were generous). Plus a few stocking stuffers and candy.

By: Aaron Stroud

Aaron Stroud — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 10:59:10 +0000

One simple way to avoid disappointing your kids is to have a set amount you spend on each. When you stick to this amount, there is no room for disappointment because your kids knew in advance how much would be spent on them.

Growing up, I often requested the full amount in cash so I could buy something more expensive. Although my mother would prefer to pick out gifts, they’d usually give me the cash, but my mom would still pick out some very inexpensive trinkets to include with the money.