How much to spend?

How much to spend on Christmas Gifts this year?

Aside from what to get everybody, how much to spend is another issue that I find myself wrestling with at holiday times. This year money is a little tighter than in years past for my wife and I. We have recently purchased a new home and that has proved very taxing on the wallet. As a result we have a little less “extra” money this year (like there is such a thing as extra money) for Christmas gifts for friends and family.

We are going to try to keep it between twenty and forty dollars per person this year ( I wasn’t kidding when I said money was tight this year). Believe it or not, we have been doing rather well with our barging hunting. We have been hitting stores like The Christmas Christmas_Tree Shoppe to find really awesome bargains. It’s amazing how far twenty bucks can go at that place. Other places that we’ve visited are Kohl’s and TJ Max. They are great for bargains and you never know what you’ll find there. Other avenues that my wife and I have been going are getting books for people. Sure books can be somewhat pricey, but if you just get them one or two, you can usually keep the price tag in the forty dollar neighborhood.

These are just a few ideas that we’ve had. I look foreword to hearing about what’s been working for you!

~Matt

What am I going to get everybody this year?

The holidays are upon us, and in today’s America that means we jump straight from Halloween to Christmas. Thanksgiving gets lost in the shuffle somewhere along the way. I think this is because Thanksgiving is the least profitable holiday for the retailers. This is why I am making an effort this year to get my Christmas shopping out of the way as early as possible.

What to get everybody and not break the bank is my major concern. This year I’m going to do the bulk of my shopping online. It’s faster and, lets face it, people turn into the biggest assholes on the planet when they are Christmas shopping. A sweet little old lady would claw you eyes out if you stand between her and the thing she’s trying to buy for her grand son.

iPod’s are a can’t miss. Everybody loves them, and everybody loves to get them as gifts. Fuji FinePix digital cameras are the bomb. You can’t go wrong with them. The new Spider Man 3 DVD is a must have for the youngsters. The Xbox 360 wireless blue controller would make and gamer super happy. Something that I would love to have is a portable folding speaker system fro my iPod. Also, a Nintendo Wii would make Santa everybody’s favorite.

These are a few ideas that I’ve been kicking around that I wanted to share with everybody. I’ll post again very soon to let you know how my shopping’s going.

Talk to ya soon,

~Matt