Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Holidays on a Budget

I have found this great new website called "Living On A Dime". It has some great ideas on organizing yourself for the Holidays, and how to buy Christmas presents and just enjoy the whole holiday season when you don't have much money to spend.

If you're like me, I come from a fairly large family, especially with all the nieces and nephews, and many of my family member are very blessed financially. I really struggle this time of year because even though we draw names, I usually spend much more than we have because I don't want to look poor or not be involved in the gift exchange. This website gave me much hope for this holiday season. Not only is it going to help me be organized, but it has given me great ideas for decorating and gift buying on a budget.

So as of November 1st...LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!!!

2 comments:

Jane said...

thrifty living should be a habit for all! I am sickened at the over spending in this country!!! Wake up people (not you Gina, you ARE awake and living!), it's not about the stuff, but rather Who provides the stuff for us. Oh I can't wait to get to heaven!

Figueras Life said...

i agree w/jane-jane. maybe it's b/c she has such a lovely name :-)
seriously, when the boys were smaller, actually til about 2 years ago, mike & i wouldn't buy our kids christmas gifts. to be honest, so many of our relatives are into to the spending, we just didn't see the point of the boys having that many toys, most of which they'd either break or completely forget about. we'd wait til after christmas & then see if something they really wanted was on sale (just so they wouldn't feel too left out)

it was not easy for them to understand all the time & it was never easy for us to say no to our sons. now that they're teenagers, they know that Christmas is not about the gifts they're receiving or giving, but rather the Gift God gave us in His Son & that's what we remember; it's Baby Jesus birthday celebration, so we give Him gifts, not each other. they've also learned not to expect anything & take it for granted, but rather be grateful that our family's blessed to buy some of the things they want. we forget that we already are rich - we've been blessed to live in this country when the majority of the world is starving & living in extreme poverty. we get so caught up in having & having more, overlooking that most of us already are experiencing a life of abundance - even having a dollar left over to buy bubble gum!