Archive for Holiday Spending
Timeless Holiday Gift Ideas for Teens
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This great article comes from a recent San Francisco Police Credit Union “Teen Onscene,” the quarterly newsletter for their teen members.
Giving gifts for the holiday season can be fun, but are you looking to do it for less? Don’t feel embarrassed or stressed if you don’t have the money. It IS possible to join in the gift-giving festivities without spending a lot — or any — money.
Make it: Are you crafty? Just a little? Make a custom CD mix or a photo collage for your friends. For family, what parent wouldn’t treasure a personalized video or a calendar using family photos?
Do it: With some notepaper and a pen you could take care of your entire gift list in one sitting. How? Coupons! For your services. One hour of garage cleaning. Three hours of babysitting. Dog-walking. Homework help. Whatever you can do, someone else probably needs it. That makes your gifts of service extremely valuable and appreciated.
Group it: Forget individual gifts for your sports teams, clubs, or even your siblings. Group the effort instead. Decide to have a party or informal get-together. Pick names so there’s only one gift to purchase. Or skip the gifts completely and make a group donation to a favorite charity.
I really like that last idea because it shifts focus from from getting to giving and reaches out to others.
If you have any ideas along these lines, I’d love to hear them.
Happy Holidays!
The Big Picture on Holiday Spending
Posted by: | CommentsI’m abandoning my Kiplinger Financial Quiz project because there’s so much to talk about when it comes to the Holidays… and here we are in the middle of November! 
I happened upon a website that offered a free Holiday Expense Spreadsheet. I really liked it because it considers many expenses that so often get overlooked when we consider what we need to spend this time of year. So, the big picture is not only the gifts (there’s a separate Gift Giving Worksheet you can access from the above link), but items such as a tree, decorations, all the food — not just the Holiday meal — and special entertainment, clothing and charitable donations. This worksheet also considers sources of available money and a plan for meeting any shortfall!
I wish you the best with this and hope you will let me know how it works out for you. In the meantime, I’m getting to work on mine right now.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
