Are You Spending Less This Christmas?
by Connie Brooks
With the current economic downturn, I was wondering, are you going to spend less on gifts this Christmas?
My family and I are going to stick to our regular budget. We’ve had the same budget for the last four years, and it’s working well for us.
We know how much we need to save before Christmas, and we don’t end up in debt after Christmas – even though we have a large number of family members that we have to buy for. So, the economy can do what it will, but we are sticking to our plan.
How about you guys? Has the economy had an impact on your Christmas spending? Are you putting more or less on credit than usual? Tell me about it in the comments section – I’d love to know!
The articles below were my very favorite articles of the week. They all made me smile, or made me think, so I saved them to share with you. I hope you enjoy them!
Holiday Cheer:
- My favorite article of the week was from Clever Dude. It’s a short little video of the Cartoon Network float. If you haven’t seen it, definitely check it out!
- Frugal Dad showcases the One Dollar Give Project – I definitely support this one. A dollar really does make a difference when enough people give.
- My Two Dollars has 5 Golden Rules To Follow During The Holiday Season. Personal homemade gifts, and rethinking the amount of stuff you buy your children. There is some very down-to-earth advice here.
Keeping it Real:
- Donna at the Smart Spending Blog turned 51, and wrote a beautiful article about age, maturity and life. Happy Birthday Donna!
- Money Crashers talks about Protecting You and Your Family From Financial Ruin In A Recession. Having enough insurance, and working to eliminate your debt are discussed. Excellent article.
- Prime Time Money discusses Collecting Aluminum Cans for Cash. It’s good for the environment, and your wallet. What could be greener than that?
- Get Rich Slowly gives us 10 Essential Steps to Take Before You’re Laid Off. Yep. No one likes to think of that as a possibility, but it’s always better to be prepared.
- No Credit Needed really put some thought into his article: 10 Steps To Escaping The Paycheck To Paycheck Cycle. I love this blog. If you’ve never been there, definitely check it out!
- Taking Charge talks about digitizing your child’s allowance with Paypal. Wow! What a thought!
- SquawkFox wonders: “Are you being overcharged at the grocery register?“. I know that I am frequently overcharged. Especially if an item is on sale and it won’t ring up that way.
- Blunt Money gives several great tips on How to recognize a scam. This is a must read article. A few of them are common sense, but the rest….it’s good to be on the lookout.
Freebies, Deals and Giveaways:
- One of our readers, Randy @ Fiscal Zen left a comment about a great new site: DealLinker.com. They compile some of the best deals from all the top sites and list them all in one place. Thanks Randy!
- My Dollar Plan highlights VistaPrint’s Holiday Card Deals. Get your holiday cards for free, or up to 50% off depending on the item.< /li>
- Money Saving Methods had several great deals this week! Including: Up to $12 Free Lip Product – Bath and Body Works, and a Chance to win a $5 Chevron Gas Card.
- Finance for a Freelance Life has 3 New Year’s Worksheets that you can download for free. These are budgeting and freelance spreadsheets and they are invaluable if you don’t have something like it.
- The Happy Rock tells us how to Free Christian Audio Book Each Month (MP3 Format). This was really neat! I am definitely doing it. Thanks HR!
- The Sun’s Financial Diary takes a look at Amazon’s subscription service. It looks like this might be a way to save some money as long as Amazon has the lowest price.
Carnivals:
We participated in several carnivals this week. Thanks to everyone who took the time to host them!
- Carnival of Personal Finance, Cyber Monday 2008 Edition @ Mighty Bargain Hunter.
- 154th Festival of Frugality @ Living Almost Large
- 87th edition of carnival of money stories! @ The Financial Wellness Project.
- Carnival of Money Hawks- 2nd Edition @ Good Financial
- Carnival of Financial Planning – December 06 2008 Edition @ The Skilled Investor.
- Rich Life Carnival #22 @ Rich Life Carnival
That’s it for this weekend’s link roundup. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
You’re officially invited to grab our RSS feed and check out our forums! We’d love to see you there. Thank you for visiting Ask Mr. Credit Card’s Blog!
December 7th, 2008 at 02:57
We are definitely sticking to a budget this year, whereas in prior years we were more free with our spending. Thanks for including me in your roundup list!
December 7th, 2008 at 15:36
We’re not spending any less than in prior years. But we always try and spend very little during Christmas. We don’t want our family buying us any gifts, and we don’t like giving them more junk to have lying around their house. The true meaning of Christmas gets lost in all this consumerism, and I for one, and over it. Shopping, the mall, black friday: it all bores the h@ll out of me, to be honest. I’m looking forward to the Holidays because I love my family and want to spend some time with them. Yes, I do enjoy giving to the kids in our family, but that’s about it.
December 9th, 2008 at 03:17
I’m from Australian and have spoken to quite a few families about their spending plans over the Christmas holidays. A couple have said that they will not make any changes to their spending habits, however the majority have said they will make cut backs. In particular, they said they will be making lunches for trips out instead of buying takeaway. They will also be trying to take the kids to local parks and beaches instead of indoor paid entertainment.
Overall I think people will not cut back so much on spending on Christmas presents, instead their day to day expenses will reduce, mostly on food and entertainment.