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Saving A Few For The Holidays
I have heard more than one mom at the bus stop or at a birthday party say that their family has completely downgraded Christmas this year. Either names have been drawn or the decision has been made to bypass gifts for grown-ups. It seems that everywhere people are trying to save some money this holiday season.
We have cut back on certain things already this year. We cancelled all of our magazine subscriptions, cancelled the cleaning lady (as a working mom, this was a Godsend, but to save $140 a month, I can make time to clean), started clipping coupons. We have gone to a cash basis purchasing plan and no longer use our credit cards.
And this year, we decided not to do Christmas cards. It was just an expense I wasn’t willing to make. Yes, I love doing them and receiving them from family and friends. Each year I keep a few of my favorites and scrapbook them. But I would just rather spend the $100 I would spend on photo Christmas cards on my kids for Christmas, or on the angel tree gifts at church, or on the family that my workplace has adopted.
I have also been more cautious about the presents I am buying my kids. In the past, I would make a list, Google the item and order it from the first site that came up. Now, I am doing my research and hopefully I will save significant amounts of money on the gifts I want to buy my kids by making sure I get the best price I can. I do a lot of Internet shopping, and I have a feeling there are more deals to come our way.
So what do you think about foregoing the Christmas cards? How is your family saving money this holiday season?
Amy Williamson
Amy is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Wednesday.
She lives in Holly Springs with her two daughters, a four-year old aspiring High School Musical character and a two-year old who believes every day should start at 5 a.m. Amy and her husband met while attending Virginia Tech and relocated here two years ago from Virginia to escape the traffic and intermittent snow. Amy works in finance and her husband is a real estate agent. Amy enjoys playing bassoon for the Holly Springs Community Band and can often be found in her garage practicing and scaring off the neighborhood cats.
Comments
We are reducing the number of gifts we buy our kids and my husband and I aren't buying each other anything.
We've also gone to cash only, using our credit cards sparingly, if at all.
I'm not sure I'm ready to give up our Christmas cards, but that is a wonderful idea.
I think it's fine , but prepared to get alot of inquiries as to whether or not everything is okay with you. HAHA> I simply mailed mine out three weeks later than normal one year and people thought the sky was falling. LOL>
I gave up sending Christmas cards years ago. It was not an economic decision...it was sheer laziness. I do cherish the cards and pictures I receive from others. But remember, I am also a really good e-mail correspondent, so I send notes and pictures frequently throughout the year and most of the people I would send cards to read my blog.
I recently wrote about how we are doing a "virtual" gift exchange among the adults in our family. I think it's going to be fun and hilarious. I have heard about groups who normally have a party with a "Yankee swap" requiring guests to only bring gifts they have received to "re-gift."
I love that people are no longer trying to keep up appearances and are openly talking about saving and cutting back.
Di, I've never heard the phrase "Yankee swap." Funny.