Bah humbug or determind?

[mommyof3princess27]

Is it sad that I am in the mind set that I dont wanna spend $$ on presents and Id rather just put it towards my debt! I managed to pay off victorias secret, Macys store and dell all of which had between $200-$250 on it so not remarkable but a great start! I have recieved cash gifts from grandparents and instead of running out to buy 'the it thing' for the kids, I finished my BEF and paid the 3 bills off. My mom said I shouldnt even owe VS $200 but u live and learn and we def. are learning. I personally think its a good start and now I want to get serious! I love this feeling of saying I dont owe YOU anything and I dont owe YOU anything and btw..YOU are next lol!!


We are planning DISNEY in 2012 and I wanna go debt free and Id rather get there debt free then have 10 bratz dolls laying in my childs bedroom! Im not saying they arent taken care of but I am not getting excessive gifts for them

 

[gator75]

All i have to say is good for you. I don't think its sad at all to want to be debt free. we are and you have alot more freedom with no debt then with debt. You are also going about it the right way. You should always pay off your smallest debts first then move on from there. This is what i say about paying off debt. How do you eat an elephant? one bite at a time

 

[hffmnheidi]

You could 'make' up coupons for their Disney vacation as stocking stuffers and they can change them in to you for the cash at the time. Coupons for 5/10/20 dollars on vacation and can only be redeemed at Disney...might get them and you excited for vacation and it forces you to put some cash back for those coupons when you do have it. Just keep remembering how much in coupons you have out.

You could do these coupons for Easter/Birthday/Halloween.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The only thing I would do is cut bck on my kids, not cut out.

Otherwise, not buying gifts in this circumstance is not scroogy at all. You have to take care of your family first.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Good for you for taking control and realizing that debt is a "bleeding wound".
We always do Disney debt free. The package is paid off in advance and we only use cash when we are there. No cc ever although we do have them for emergencies. My kids know that when the money runs out that is it and they are careful with the "wants". It is an amazing feeling knowing on your way back home that cc debt is not one of your souvenirs. That being said gift giving is tricky. You can control what you spend on your own family but what if someone gives your kids gifts and they also have kids? Do you reciprocate with gifts to their kids? I don't think I could receive from someone and not return but that is just me. You must do what is right for you and your family.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

This is where gift giving becomes a snowball. No, I would not feel obligated to reciprocate with gifts to givers' kids. As an aside, when we host holiday parties I always add "no gifts please!" to the invites.

Good for you for taking control and realizing that debt is a "bleeding wound".
We always do Disney debt free. The package is paid off in advance and we only use cash when we are there. No cc ever although we do have them for emergencies. My kids know that when the money runs out that is it and they are careful with the "wants". It is an amazing feeling knowing on your way back home that cc debt is not one of your souvenirs. That being said gift giving is tricky. You can control what you spend on your own family but what if someone gives your kids gifts and they also have kids? Do you reciprocate with gifts to their kids? I don't think I could receive from someone and not return but that is just me. You must do what is right for you and your family.

 

[QVCshopper]

I could spend tons more on my kids than I did. I spent about $100 on big gifts and $20 on stockings. But, they are getting plenty. So, give them something, but there's no need to go crazy.

Save, save, save and pay off your bills. Check out the no-buy thread; it's great!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

That being said gift giving is tricky. You can control what you spend on your own family but what if someone gives your kids gifts and they also have kids? Do you reciprocate with gifts to their kids? I don't think I could receive from someone and not return but that is just me. You must do what is right for you and your family.

For us, it was awkward at first, but we've always asked extended family not to buy for our kids (rather to drop by with doughnuts or cookies or something and spend some time with us), but inevitably, someone does buy gifts. It was uncomfortable the first year, but we got over it and found that as the years have gone by, they gifts are fewer and fewer, and we couldnt' be happier.

 

[momxx5]

I can imagine paying off those bill are a great feeling and one that you want to continue. You mentioned the learning process....well you can make giving a learning process too.

Instead of giving tons of gifts, maybe keep giving to the kids to a more managable amount.

If parents or grandparents send money for gift to be purchased for the kids, then I think there is some obligation there. If the money was given just for y'all or no specific thing then paying down your debt is a great thing.

My mom had to do things different for her nephews because she sent money....she is unable to shop, lives out of the country and shipping costs are crazy. She found out that the money was used for other things and the kids were not getting gifts from her. So she now addresses cards to each child giving them the money to "shop" with. Of course this works because they are older.
So just saying, if gift are expected to be given, then make sure you at least get them something small.

As far as Santa or yourself giving gifts, keeping things to a minimum works. No one ever said that kids need a set number (excessive) amounts of gifts.

Under regular circumstances, at our home Santa gets each child one gift and then a few things in their stockings. A board game or movie is included for the whole family.
It works and everyone has been happy. So there is no need to buy 10 Bratz dolls, maybe one doll, a few outfits and a book/movie/board game.

Good luck on your debt reductions. You are taking great steps.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Oh they have plenty! I am not taking anything from them. As far as extended family, DH has a sister who has 2 kids and brother who has 4 kids and it just gets to be too much cuz they always try to out do each other and it bothers me. I got them something small and a family gift.... I used the money my gma gave me on the deposit for a disney trip and debt. She bought them a couple things so they wont go without. Thanks for ur advice!