… a whopping $715.
Keeping It Real Does that seem like a lot? How much did you spend? Did you create a budget and stick to it? Do tell.
The thing is, despite the name of this blog, The Hubs and I never really sat down and said, “We’re only going to spend this much on Christmas, and when it’s gone it’s gone.”
That is kind of how a budget works, after all.
Have I mentioned lately that this blog is chronicling a true-to-life work in progress? I’m just keeping it real here, people.
Budget-Schmudget Based on past Christmases, I sort of had an idea in my head that we would spend about $600. I didn’t write this figure down anywhere, and I didn’t keep a running tally as I spent along. I know, I know… what was I thinking? Like keeping track of how much I was spending as I went along wouldn’t be a good idea.
The Hubs and I didn’t even discuss the Christmas budget: since I do the majority of the Christmas shopping, it didn’t really seem necessary. (Again, I know, I know…) Because I’m writing about it this time around for all the internet to see should they so desire, I mentioned to him what the final figure was: no sense having him read it for the first time along with you all, after all. He kind of gasped.
I guess he thought it was a lot.
Did You Pay Cash? I did pay cash for everything (or debit card – whatever). Well, almost everything. I was too lazy to get up and get my debit card for a couple of online purchases so I did buy those using the credit card information the websites already had on file.
The Main Culprit… The biggest spending culprit was, by far, the Wii (and Wii Fit), which I actually purchased last summer. Well over half the total amount spent went to those and a game and accessories. We had all been wanting a Wii since last Christmas, when our financial situation was much more tenuous that it is now: Then, too, the tenants in our Vegas rental had just bailed, only we were not organized and working together on any kind of budget and we were still in a bit of panic mode, wondering how long we could keep up with two mortgages.
Looking Back Those tenants bailing on us in the Fall of 2008 was, really, a wakeup call for us as it highlighted our two very different reactions to a major financial shakeup: The Hubs thought we should go to the bank and see if we could renegotiate our loan (or something); I thought we just needed to crunch some numbers, cut out unnecessary spending, and hunker down and make do until we could rent it out again. Because I have always paid the bills and done the finances, I had a better understanding of where the money was going and where some corners could be cut. The Hubs just saw big neon lights flashing, “Tenants Bailed! Tenants Bailed!” and kind of panicked.
We did hunker down and cut corners: kids’ activities; ordering out; impromptu trips… This mindful spending paved the way for me to discover Dave Ramsey a few months later in the Spring of 2009. I really don’t know if The Hubs would have so readily jumped on board if we had not had that wake-up call. Then about the same time we decided to start our debt snowball, our property manager procured new tenants. Only instead of going back to our usual way of doing things and putting that rent check toward activities and pizza and who knows what else, we had a plan to get out of debt. Hence the start of this blog.
Looking Ahead Our latest tenants bailed last month. We’ve come a long way since that time over one year ago when we weren’t even sure if we could support two mortgages. But we could be doing so much better. I have been contemplating making the move to cash. *gasp* Yes, cash. As in, no debit cards. It seems to be the missing step we need to take to really get a grip on more mindful spending. Especially with our grocery budget, if I’m to be honest.
Jars? Envelopes? Anyone out there wanna give their input based on personal experience using cash for variable spending?
On the Horizon The New Year presents new challenges as The Hubs is getting ready to deploy. (More on that later.) But I’m sure you can relate: if we wait for everything to be nice and pretty and straightforward before we implement any changes, we’ll be waiting forever. Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans, and all that. Maybe that’s not the right quote for this situation… but you get what I mean.
What Did Your Christmas Total Include? This post started out as being about Chistmas spending and morphed into something akin to New Year’s resolutions and reflecting on the Ghosts of Christmas’ Past… To return to my main point of how much we spent on Christmas this year — the $715 went to my immediate family, my parents, MIL, sisters, and the name exchange that my side of the family does each year: each of our kids gets one present for one of their cousins. I also lumped teachers’ and bus drivers’ gifts in there, though I only spent a nominal amount on mostly homemade gifts for them.
How did you fare this Christmas? Did you stick to your budget? (Did you even have one?) Did you spend more or less than last year? Do tell!
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I haven’t actually added up all the receipts, but I think we came in around $750. DH and I don’t buy for each other, just the 2 kids (stuff from us and from Santa), 4 draw name gifts among the adults (2 on each side of the family), 7 little cousins/neices/nephews, 2 teachers, 1 bus driver, plus there are 4 birthdays in Dec/Jan so those are all bought as part of Christmas shopping. I find the filling the stockings for older kids is a killer on the budget. Bulky inexpensive toys fill the space with they are little, but start filling them with CDs, DVDs, makeup etc and they can add up to more than the stuff not in the sock. Friends gave our kids beautiful BIG christmas socks years ago and I’ve been cursing those things ever since. They are just too big, but the kids love them and don’t want to replace them with smaller ones. I shop all through the year as I find sales, but it still seems to add up to more than I think it needs to. I certainly spent far less when they were younger. The toys were big and bulky and less looked like more. Our kids have been well trained not to ask for the moon (no Wi or Playstation here), but a couple of toys, a couple of clothing items, a book and a movie each and you’re way over $100 each easily and then there are those darn socks to fill….. On the upside I usually work it so that they get virtually all their clothing as gifts from us or grandparents so we have virtually nothing in our clothing budget for them besides coats and shoes.
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I wish we lived closer….so many points in your post have been rattling around in my head, and I would love to sit down for a cup of coffee (at home of course!) and brainstorm with ya.
I have debated the cash system too. Not quite there yet though.
Still working on my Christmas tally….I know we spent about $600 in cash though. I had saved up all year from my extra “sales” of junk in our house.
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And guess I should have said- Cash only. a outfit for both kids. I made a pair of jammie pants for them both. some toys, I made a blanket and pillow for each of the build a bears, some art stuff, a microscope. And most our christmas dinner we finally got was stuff we had in the cabinet and a friend provided the rest. No credit cards, because we cut them all up. We dont buy gifts for other family etc, because cant afford them. Plus…Not much family left lol. This next year.. I HOPE to start buying presents here and there so it doesnt hit me all at once.
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jolyn Reply:
December 29th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I am glad that my family draws names! I know of some who buy gifts for everyone in their families, and that would just be out of control! Last year we actually skipped the name exchange for the kids, but we picked it up again this year: it’s just kind of sad not to get more gifts for the kids.
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We spent right over 200 for 2 kids. I hit about 40 with the birthday party just a few days before. SO this holiday..about 240-250 for everything. And that was a pretty good one to them
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Thanks for keeping it real! We only have 2 kids, so we did spend considerably less, however I hope to budget for more in 2010. I LOVE buying presents for my children, and I want to feel that freedom to do so.
Regarding cash: GO FOR IT! We went to all cash in September, and I can’t even tell you the difference it has made for us. I learned that I spend ALL of the cash if it is in the envelope, whether I need to or not, so I cut back on the amount that I put in. Found out that I can cut more out of our budget than we thought! PLUS, we have been able to be more generous with our giving because we are cutting in other areas. It has been so eye-opening for us. MY DH is a spender, so it was hard to get him on board, but now he is a HUGE proponent of using cash. He loves it! He gets to spend cold, hard cash now!
I did a little post about our journey (kinda). Mostly as it regards to groceries. http://kelleighratzlaff.com/2009/12/a-grocery-budget-update-and-shoppin-safeway-again/
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jolyn Reply:
December 29th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Kelleigh,
That’s my fear with cash: it seems to burn a hole in my pocket. That’s why I wondered about jars. They would force me to be mindful about how much I take out to go to the grocery store, etc… My DH, too, might be hard to get on board. But I am thinking about starting it while he is gone to see how I do, then maybe it will be easier for him to join when he returns.
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