Good Old Christmas... Stress? (How Many People Do You Give Gifts To & How Much Do You Plan to Spend?)

I like nice things (especially electronic gadgets) but I try to keep it simple to what I really need. I’m always of the thought that we don’t bring anything but our heart and soul with us when we meet our maker so that usually puts things into perspective

I've said it before, and I will keep on saying it, to young people especially.... DAVE RAMSEY Financial Peace University.

This is a good part of why I've cut back on my Christmas gift-giving as well. Most of my family wanted to stop buying/giving things none of us really needed.

This is awesome, Ghoti. Praise God for you and your wife's generous heart.

I do have my favorite charities/things like Angel Trees that I like to participate in at Christmas, but I didn't include that in my Christmas giving allowance (I consider that a separate category, but that's just me -- I realize everyone has their own system though, and that's just fine.)

The sooner you start this program the better off you will be. My dad and brother are financial peace university counselors. Learned a lot from them.

The cost is not the issue. What everyone needs is subjective. The important thing is that it gives you great value and not something that is not useful to you or becomes clutter since you only bought it for other reasons aside from providing value for you. Reasons like to impress or to keep up with the joneses or because it is on sale.

There are some things Mr. Ramsey teaches that I don't agree with, such as never owning credit cards.

I have to travel to see friends and family, which is almost impossible to do without a credit card. My parents just taught me to never charge anything unless I could actually pay for it in cash. Now if a credit card becomes too tempting, by all means, I agree that abstinence from plastic might be best.

But I have a no fee cashback card that I use for all the regular expenses that I have to pay anyway, and I get back several hundred dollars a year for doing nothing more than paying for everyday things.

I'm certainly not trying to challenge Mr. Ramsey's wisdom, I'm just saying, I always try to take things with a block of salt because what works for one person might not work for another.

We have always kept credit cards, and use them all the time. That advice he gives is aimed at people who have no "brakes" or common sense to the use of Credit Cards.

Great advice!

Exactly, don’t rack up more than what you can pay off the balance each month. I mainly use it to get the cash back!

If I may say, Ghoti, you remind me of another poster we had here in the same age range who used to give advice and talk to us... young people -- about financial matters and various areas of life wisdom.

It's interesting to have a voice like that back in the forums.

Hope you enjoy your stay!

I agree. Credit cards makes my life much easier. I am living minimally but I still use credit cards for the points, the miles, the cash back and other perks. I only use it like cash and I pay everything at the end of the month. I don't swipe if I don't have a budget for it.

Most of us older people eventually get wiser with age.

I agree, but it's funny to see how age can be relative.

I understand when older people pat me on the head, talk down to me, and tell me I'm a baby.

But it was even cuter to see our family friend -- who lived past 100 -- be able to tell the 90-year-olds that they were just toddlers!

And the younger generation thinks they know it all 😂 I wish I listened to elderly advice more when I was young!

Be nice to us -- we'll be the ones changing your diapers.

(Don't worry, I'm already priming my nieces and nephews for changing mine!)

To be fair to what Mr Ramsey says and teaches, he is completely anti-credit card not only because credit cards are designed for overspending and create debt, but because the emotional impact of spending with a credit card is less than the emotional impact of spending cash so it's way easier to overspend. It's statistically factual that people (on the whole) spend more when using credit cards than when using cash. And though I'm good about writing down my budget and my spending, I can say that I'm sure even me with the good money management skills would be much better about my grocery spending and sticking to my list if I were paying in cash rather than knowing I could just swipe a card to get whatever I want (and my grocery budget is one of the categories that I'm more frequently over budget).

I've also noticed the marketing influence me where the CC company will offer bonus cash back on something like eating out at a certain restaurant this month and next thing you know I feel like I need to go eat at that restaurant because I can get that bonus. (Coupons can also have the same effect on me).

None of this has stopped me from using my credit card for pretty much everything, but I do know there's no room in the Ramsey plan for credit cards regardless of previous financial responsibility. He will say that you can use a debit card for everything you use a credit card for (true up to a point, I believe the dollar car rental company got on board with that recently to make it simple to rent a car with a debit card, but I ithink that both car rentals and hotel stays lock up a whole lot of the money in your bank account if you use your debit card), but I've also heard some card fraud experts say that you should use a credit card rather than a debit card because while they officially have the same fraud protection, no one is that interested in restoring money to your bank account once it's gone, while you can dispute the charges before you pay them with a credit card.

Best simple basic financial advice: track your money so you know how much you have, and don't spend money that you don't have. Period. Even if you think your financial situation is going to change for the better soon and you'll be able to pay back what you need to spend now.

Good topic...
Number of people/families that I shop for is ~7-8: 3 kids + Mom + In-laws... Plus on my kids behalf I will buy a single gift for 2-3 families for them to gift their mothers side of the family for the annual Christmas eve dinner...

But not all of these are created equal... I do tend to over spend on my kids to ensure they enjoyed the magic of Christmas morning. This year I hope to rein myself in - as they are all young adults and no longer living at home - but will be home for Christmas...

Myself and my FIVE siblings were raised by a widowed mother - who we learned years later had shopped for x-mas year round and stuffed her closest(s) and under her bed full of all Santa's presents to ensure we experienced the magnificence of Christmas morning...

I think I am 90% done with my shopping (praying) - I've done two days of online shopping and I have bought all three of my kids an equal number of items from eight different vendors (inspirational blankets, personalized body pillows, personalized shirts, inspirational bracelets, individual Alexa's, and slippers) ... I suspect that I will end up buying gift cards for their stockings, and a few nostalgic/classic videos...

What's the lower limit? What happens if we don't meet it?

I work at a fast food factory for less than $9 an hour. Of course I'm in southwest TN where the cost of living is remarkably low. Can I get a prorated plan with a lower deductible?

All I'll say about that is... ebay is an awesome place for off-lease ThinkPads.

Every time the topic of Christmas gifts comes up, I'm reminded of an old Arlo&Janis comic. Janis picks up the coffee pot, and it's covered in a cozy that looks like a rooster.

Arlo says, "That reminds me... this Christmas can we agree that we both have enough stuff?"

I am reminded of that every time I try to think of what I can get for somebody who already has too much stuff, and when I get presents I don't need, that I will have to figure out something to do with them without offending the person who gave me them. TOO MUCH STUFF!

That's one reason I mostly give comestibles. They are consumed. They don't take up space three years later and they taste real good. Chocolate, pickled stuff, sourdough bread, it is all eaten and enjoyed and then gone.

The more I read this, the more I feel like I have known you before under another nick... Have you ever talked to a user named Isaac or Lynx on a different forum?