One BIG Gift Idea

I must admit, that I am starting to run out of ideas of frugality for Christmas. Thankfully, my husband reminded me of one of the main things that we do here that I haven't posted about.

Right now, I would like you to think about how much money you spend on your significant other for Christmas and how much they spend on you. Have the dollar amount in your head? Ok, now think about how much each of you spend on birthday presents for each other and add that on. Now add Valentine's Day, Mother and Father's Day and anniversary gifts. Have a grand total? Does it surprise you?

When we did this several years ago it totally surprised us how much we spent. We decided then and there that it had to stop. There were so many other things that we wanted to get that we couldn't get because of all of the taken presents that need to be given. So we tried something new.

We decided to buy one big gift each year for us that would encompass all of the gift giving holidays and we would decide on the gift together. Sometimes, it's something for the home, sometimes more for one person than the other, sometimes it's something that we both really want. For example; one year we bought new bookshelves and an entertainment stand, another year we bought a new monitor for the computer, another year a video camera and another year a recumbent stationary bicycle to be able to workout on at home. We still get something small for Christmas to open with the family. And it truly is something small that we want or need; pj's, movies, chocolates, you know, something SMALL.

Take a chance to think about it and the amount of money and stress it can save you.

Enjoy your day!