Thursday, December 15, 2016

How Did You Pay For Christmas This Year?


  


Only two days ago I read This Short Article regarding household credit card debt in the United States.  I was shocked to find the average at a whopping $16,061 per household.  That's nearly 27.9% of the 2016 median household income of $57,616!  We must keep in mind that amount does not include any other debts such as  mortgage, auto, student loans, etc.  I find this mind-blowing, especially since the cost of living in the United States has increased approximately 30% in the past 15 years, while household incomes fall short with an increase of only 28%.  How does a family cope with that kind of financial stress during an expensive Christmas season?

Anyone who has regularly read my blog knows that I've seen some excessively lean financial times during my life.   With 5 children, we have a larger than average sized family, so it would be very easy to face financial disaster in January if we weren't disciplined with our spending and gift giving during the Christmas season.  That is why, when the children were only babies, we chose to bless each of them with only 3 gifts each Christmas - 1 homemade, 1 book, 1 store bought - a tradition we continue to this day.  During the leanest years we could only afford $5 or less per child for our entire Christmas budget.  How did we do it?

 "CASH ONLY" Christmas

1.  We DO NOT use credit cards, or any other type of loan, for gifts.

2.  Christmas is on Dec. 25th each and every year.  This date never changes, allowing us an entire year to PLAN and SHOP or CREATE for Christmas gift giving.

3.  Homemade / Handmade gifts have included a wide variety of items:  Christmas ornaments, homemade cookies or candies, crocheted hats, scarfs & wool socks, crocheted afghans, Christmas stockings & other Christmas "trimmings",  aprons, shirts, stationary, jams & jellies, qt. jars of Mom's pasta sauce aka "the sauce", zucchini or banana bread and/or muffins, quilts, neckerchiefs aka wild rags, calendars, handkerchiefs, cocoa mix,  ... Many of our homemade / handmade gifts are created with left over scraps or a surplus of pantry items.  I rarely purchase new supplies for "crafting".

4.  A book as a gift.  30 years ago my finances were so lean, I borrowed the Christmas gift books from the local library on Dec. 23rd, wrapped them and made sure the children read the books before their due dates so I would avoid the 5 cents late fine.  Although our household income has improved substantially since that Christmas 30 years ago, last year I hit a gold mine at our local thrift store - 7 "new" books with topics suited for each person,  for less than $8.00.

5.  ONE store bought gift.  When the children were little, I tried very, very hard to get them a toy, game, puzzle, etc..  Unfortunately, some years did dictate underwear and socks.  (My young in's were actually very happy to have underwear or socks that actually fit and didn't have any holes in them, until they went back to school and had to listen to all their mates brag about all the new toys they had received.)  Our store bought gifts have been as small as a matchbox car or a pair of socks to as luxurious as heated towel warmers and heated shaving cream dispensers.  The BUDGET and NEED have always dictated our store bought gift purchases.  During our financially leanest years, I became a master at finding excellent treasures at thrift stores throughout the year, or picking up a nice toy, game or puzzle deeply discounted in the after Christmas sales.  Now days, most of our children are grown, so I've been known to send them gift cards for local activities such as bowling, movies, plays, put-put golf, go carts, arcades, symphonies, ballets, dining out, etc..  "Trip Advisor.com" is a terrific resource for finding local attractions if your loved ones live in another city or state.  This is also a very budget friendly option as one can often purchase gift cards for as little as $5 each.  One year, it was painfully obvious that our children didn't need anything and all their wants were above our budget.  So, we donated a goat to Heifer International in each of our children's names and wrapped a little farm animal goat for each child to open. 

6.  Gifts for extended family, close friends, teachers, pastors, etc..  Now, here is an area that can quickly destroy a gift budget - especially if one is generous by nature.  Homemade / Handmade gifts are generally very budget friendly.  However, my personal favorite budget friendly gift for extended family and friends:  a donation to a loved one's favorite charity in the loved one's name (a donation can cost as little as $1 or be as generous as $1,000,000 or more), the amount donated will always align with ANY budget.

7.  Gift Wrap ... another expense for those who are working with a small budget.  I, of course, save and re-use gift bags.  However, my favorite gift wrap is FREE packing paper.  I iron it, fold it and store it away on my gift wrap shelf.  Depending on my supply, I also pick up ribbon throughout the year from our local thrift shop for about twenty-five cents per roll.  Most of the time very little has been removed from the rolls and often I find it brand new and  inside the original cellophane wrapping. 

8.  Hostess gifts, did we forget about these?  Two of my favorite hostess gifts costs less than seventy-five cents each.  I fill small Christmas themed boxes, containers, or coffee mugs, always found at the thrift store, with hard candies or mixed nuts purchased on sale throughout the year.  I keep a few at the end of my kitchen counter to give to departing guests or to grab as I go out the door when going for a visit to someone's home during the Christmas season.  A lovely homemade gift is an inspiring Christmas prayer handwritten or printed in an elegant font on paper (plain, fancy or embellished) - roll the paper up like a scroll and tie it with ribbon.

I hope some of these tips and techniques that I've used for decades will help inspire you to be creative when looking for ways to stay on budget or reduce your expenses this Christmas season.   And .... If you are one of the few who have already finished your Christmas list, then you are ready to write out next year's list and begin planning a "CASH ONLY" Christmas 2017!


14 comments:

  1. Great post Mrs. B :) We always do homemade gifts for friends and family along with some carefully purchased and budgeted for store bought gifts...many of those coming from the thrift stores or yard sales. Books are something that I love to give and have found many great ones that are very appreciated by the recipients. Another thing we have done as we and our children have gotten older is giving the gift of an experience. Our grandchildren love an indoor play space called Bonkerz and it is a huge treat to get to go there. ONe of their gifts this year is to go to Bonkerz to play. My husband and I gave each other a much needed night away at a hotel shortly after my beloved uncle died a few weeks ago. I had won tickets to see Olivia Newton John in concert, so we just stayed up near the venue at a nice hotel that upgraded our room and provided and really nice complimentary breakfast. That was our gift to each other.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, Debbie ... we too like to give "experience" gifts. For instance, one of our grown sons and his wife tend to for-go "date nights" in an effort to save enough money to come home once per year. Thus, we enjoy gifting them with gift cards & gift certificates for various activity venues specific to their city, providing them with a few, very important, "date nights" each year. On the flip side, one of our other sons loved receiving a gift card for fuel. He saved it and used it to drive home for a visit. We, of course, are blessed beyond measure that our sons make consistent efforts to visit home regularly - we ABSOLUTELY LOVE having them as often as possible.
    Praying you and your wonderful family enjoy a very BLESSED Christmas,

    Mrs.B

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely loved this post. It was truly frugal and practical! We've been cash only for some time. I wasn't able to save much for Christmas this year because of my husband's unemployment, but I do have a little. The gifts will match what I have to spend. Not finished yet, but I was thrilled to find two like new sweaters at the thrift store for my husband for about $10 total. Score! I also got two Bath and Body gift certificates through Swagbucks.
    Blessings,
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laura,
      I too get so very excited when I find GREAT deals at our local thrift store. Just recently we found 4 business outfits (skirts, slacks & jackets) that fit our petite daughter perfectly - AND all items still had the original price tags on them! Not only are thee of the sets interchangeable but she paid less than $20 for all 4 outfits combined! We purchased them so she can intern as a Page for our district's state senator during during Montana's 2017 legislative session.
      Yes, there are many times that I stop in the thrift store and find nothing of use or need. But other times we hit the jackpot. It's just a matter of being patient and consistent about periodically stopping in. We try to go at least once per month.
      Blessings,
      Mrs.B

      Delete
  4. I love the idea of borrowing library books during a lean Christmas..reading them to the children and then returning them before the due date. That is a brilliant idea! Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merry Christmas to you too, Georgene,

      Another "free" Christmas gift an acquaintance shared with me: Her family volunteers to serve Christmas dinner at a shelter every year. When the family returns home, they take a decorative piece of paper out of a wrapped gift box entitled "All the Gifts Jesus Gave Me Throughout The Year". On this paper each family member takes turns writing blessings God has bestowed upon them throughout the entire year. The blessings most often reflect many things a homeless or impoverished person may not have - Things most people take for granted; like a home, daily meals, a loving family, clean clothes, transportation, employment, health (both physical and mental), vacation(s), educational opportunities, a relationship with and hope in Jesus Christ, etc.
      I've always loved how this mom has the family open a gift box (to: The "Smith" Family from: Jesus) before writing these blessings down. From my perspective it really sends and impactful message that most of our average and ordinary daily lives are filled with an abundance of blessings and gifts. I think it also keeps the focus on the gift of Jesus - the REAL meaning of Christmas.

      Blessings,
      Mrs.B

      Delete
    2. Why wouldn't you borrow books from the library all year long, since it's free and fun entertainment?? I've read so many great books to my daughter from the library year round. Plus that's a great place to find holiday books for all the holidays, even ground hogs day.

      Delete
    3. Hello Annon,

      Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I'll be happy to answer your library question ...

      ... Our family does borrow books from the library throughout the entire year. Although we occasionally purchase movies, we most often choose to borrow them from the library vs. renting them from a store - kiosks are not available near our town.

      One Christmas I borrowed library books and wrapped them as Christmas gifts for our young children because we did not have any money or other resources at that time. I wanted our children to have Christmas gifts to open on Christmas morning and by returning the books before their due date, this was a cost free option to bless our children on Christmas.

      Because I always wanted our children to be strong readers, a book has always been one of our children's 3 Christmas gifts. Often times these books are found at resale shops. Other times they are purchased on sale through out the year. 4 of our 5 children, plus 2 daughters-in-law, are prolific readers and are the sorts who literally keep their books for years / decades and re-read them numerous times before passing them on - often to another sibling. Not only do our adult children have large book collections in their homes, they also regularly borrow books from their local libraries.

      One may also want to note that we live in a VERY tiny town on the Montana prairie. Our local library is very, very small. Inter-Library loan is available to us, but we often find ourselves waiting months and months for the loans to make their way out to our community. Folks who live in, or closer to, metropolitan areas have far more library options than we currently do.

      Praying you have an abundant 2017,
      Mrs.B

      Delete
  5. Mrs. B,

    Your suggestions are GOLDEN!! We put a huge smile on our oldest daughter's face when she opened her gift of a certificate of 2 tickets to a play of her choice at a theater in her area.

    I also took your advice and we have made donations in our extended family member's names to non-profit organizations that they support. It truly is a great gift to the person or people who want or need nothing.

    Thank you so much for sharing your tips and ideas. They are such a blessing to me when I can not figure out what to get that person!

    With much love,
    Mrs. A

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh My, Mrs.A! With my phone being out of order, I didn't know you had decided on an "activity" gift for her this year. I am so glad you were able to come up with a gift idea that she will enjoy.

      Love & Hugs,
      Mrs.B

      Delete
  6. Gosh, that article is sad. I knew consumer debt was bad in the previous decade but I thought it was better now, but apparently not.
    We don't have credit debt but we do use 2 credit cards for our spending. We are pretty disciplined and do earn cash back. Even still, we could do much better and plan to go back to mostly all cash come 2017. It is just so easy to swipe a card at point of purchase......
    Very good article, Mrs. B

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Mrs. Rhonda,
      So glad you were able to stop by during this busy Christmas season.
      Yes, the state of our nation's economy is very sad. Our government publishes very skewed numbers and figures in their efforts to boast an economic recovery. The most common aspect of this is the lack of information they reveal. Such as revealing that unemployment applicants are down, therefore, publishing that unemployment is down ... however, if the WHOLE truth is that our national labor participation rate is only 62% so, while less than 6% of the labor force is collecting unemployment insurance, we have another 32% that no longer qualify for unemployment benefits and continue to be unemployed. Another skewed tactic the government publishes is, for instance, boasting the number of new jobs created during the month of November while failing to mention that 57% of those jobs were only part-time jobs paying out an annual income that is below poverty. They also fail to report the monthly public assistance numbers (food stamps, etc.), most recent numbers are at 48%.
      JOBS, JOBS, JOBS ... he has promised to bring middle America good-paying jobs and that's the reason Donald Trump was elected President.
      I pray you and your lovely family enjoy the Merriest of Christmas' and an abundantly Blessed New Year,
      Mrs.B

      Delete
  7. Oh I wish I had seen this post sooner. My husband and I try to give each of our daughters one present they want and one that's unexpected but that can just get too expensive. One thing we did do this year is shop Dollar Tree for stocking stuffers. Oh how I love that store! This year we are hosting our oldest daughter's friend for Christmas. She doesn't have the money to go home for Christmas so we have "adopted" her for Christmas.
    Anyway, next year if the Lord wills, we plan to be more frugal.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Regina,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. Yes, the dollar stores are terrific places to shop for stocking stuffers, gifts for teachers and such, and even small hostess gifts.
    I think it is wonderful you and your family are able to "adopt" your daughter's friend this Christmas. What a beautiful way to spread the love, generosity and hospitality of the Christmas season.
    Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas,
    Mrs.B

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking time to read my blog and leave a comment. I try my best to respond to each one. God Bless You, Mrs.B