If you get a great deal....

[la79al]

Say you are in a gift exchange with a $25 limit. If you decide to get the person something that usually costs $25 (something from their list) but you get a great deal on it, say BF for $10-15, do you then get something else to add to it to get to $25 or do you just go with the 'traditionally it is $25' route and just get that one thing?

 

[paysensmom]

I say that you deserve to keep your money if you found a deal

 

[java]

I spend the $25
edit to add if it's family- if it's work- then I just go with what I got at a discount

 

[worm761]

The $25 limit means that is the MOST you can spend on the gift. Not that you have to spend that much. If the gift is on their list then you are good. Who cares what you paid for it.

 

[Kdouglas]

I say that you deserve to keep your money if you found a deal

I agree. Kudos for being so frugal

 

[Marionnette]

Say you are in a gift exchange with a $25 limit. If you decide to get the person something that usually costs $25 (something from their list) but you get a great deal on it, say BF for $10-15, do you then get something else to add to it to get to $25 or do you just go with the 'traditionally it is $25' route and just get that one thing?

I'll disagree with the majority here. If a gift exchange specifies that the gifts are supposed to be in the range of $25, then you're supposed to spend $25 (or as close to it as possible). It doesn't mean try to find a $25 MSRP item at clearance or as a loss-leader. If you're not willing to spend the full $25, then just decline to participate in the exchange.

 

[LJSquishy]

If you happen to find a great sale on the item, just go with it and don't feel the need to include an additional item to actually spend $25 unless you truly want to.

Sometimes I have chosen to include another smaller gift to accompany the main gift, but only if it goes well with it (and I probably wouldn't do that for a work gift). It can be really fun to include an extra smaller gift if you find a special smaller item that goes with it, but it is not necessary to do so. I have done it both ways before. You don't have to spend $25, just purchase a gift with a value of $25. I try to watch for great deals on items like you do and I think it's awesome if you get a bargain! I got my niece one of the Disney princess dolls that rang up at $8.98 at Target several months ago instead of $29.99 or somewhere around that...I am not going to go buy her $20 more in gifts to spend the full $30 budget I had.

 

[angierae]

I would just go with what you spent. Reason being, if you get a $25 item for $15, and then buy another $10 item, when opening gifts in the exchange, it is going to look like you spent $35 and others in the exchange might feel like you broke the rules and their gift isn't as good as yours.

Heck, I LOVE finding deals when I am shopping for gifts. I buy our daughter X amount WORTH of gifts, but if I find a really good deal, I'm not going to buy her even more stuff. The point of deal-finding for me is to spend LESS money, not buy MORE stuff.

 

[Angie789]

I'll disagree with the majority here. If a gift exchange specifies that the gifts are supposed to be in the range of $25, then you're supposed to spend $25 (or as close to it as possible). It doesn't mean try to find a $25 MSRP item at clearance or as a loss-leader. If you're not willing to spend the full $25, then just decline to participate in the exchange.

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Let's say two stores are selling the same item - Store A is selling it for $25. Store B has it on sale for $15. According to your logic, it would be A-OK to buy the item at Store A but somehow "cheating" on the gift exchange to buy it at Store B? It's the same gift! Who cares?

OP, get a deal and use the extra $$$ to share Christmas joy somewhere else. Smart shopping is not cheating.

 

[Lucille1963]

Spend the whole $25 or whatever the budget is, or at least close to it. I'm in a couple of different groups that exchange gifts with a budget limit and I'll admit that it gets a bit competitive to see who can get the most awesome things limited to that budget.

 

[wiigirl]

I say that you deserve to keep your money if you found a deal

Thats what I would do....

 

[Earstou]

For me it really depends on the situation.

Sometimes I keep the savings, other times I actually spend the $25.

For example, if I'm buying for my nieces and nephews, I try to make the presents all look like they are in the same price range. I don't want hurt feelings because Sally got two movies (because they were on sale) while Johnny only got one movie (full price).
But for adult family members, sometimes if I hit a great sale, I will spend the full amount. My sister wanted rubber stamps one Christmas and she was so excited to open a box overflowing with stamps, because I hit a half-price sale. It was really fun for me to watch her go thru all the stamps.

For work or other groups, I'd keep the savings.

 

[katied718]

I also waffle on this predicament. I just posted yesterday on this board about a one-day deal on Disney Princess stuff-50% off. I bought my niece something off her wish list for $28-I got it for $14. Our budget is $20-$25/kid. I think I'm going to keep the savings-we are on a tight budget this year.

I think sometimes it takes a lot of time & effort to scope out the best deals. It's my work that is being rewarded. I could just as easily purchase it at full price-but I'm trying to save money, so I put forth the effort & keep my eyes peeled for deals.

 

[pigletto]

The only person I have a gift limit for is my sister because I pulled her name in the draw. The limit is frustrating because I know her tastes so well I find a million little things for her
So for her, if I find a great deal, I find some more things

 

[robsmom]

I think it depends a bit on what I really believe the true value is. Price and Value are such a subjective thing. There are many items that might retail for $25 but are readily available pre-holiday for $15. For example, I love Kohl's but most of the actual prices on their things are totally inflated before the sales. In these cases I would never count the full price as what I spent. I would feel that everyone know's it is not worth the $25. There are probably only a few rare situations in which I really get an exceptional deal that is not normally available and I might not spend the limit. What I normally do is buy the $40 priced item that I can get for the $25 limit.

 

[BeachLove]

IF I get a great deal on something and only spend $10 of a $25 limit. I'll buy something extra for them. Then I'd tell them about my fabulous deals lol

 

[dsny1mom]

Any gift exchange I have ever heard of stipulates how much you *spend* NOT the value of the item. So unless the gift exchange states the gift should have a value of whatever price, I would spend the stated amount.

dsny1mom

 

[ilovemk76]

Say you are in a gift exchange with a $25 limit. If you decide to get the person something that usually costs $25 (something from their list) but you get a great deal on it, say BF for $10-15, do you then get something else to add to it to get to $25 or do you just go with the 'traditionally it is $25' route and just get that one thing?

I would add to it and get something else.

 

[dsneprincess]

I go with you get to keep the difference for your shopping suavy. You worked for the savings, keep it! (And your mouth closed...)

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I'd probably spend the $25. But depends on the item. Certain things go on sale all the time and I never spend MSRP on anything anyways.