Are you going to have a debt-free Christmas?

bobbadog

My Christmas is all paid for from cash made on second job. Am a happy bunny x

EagerLearner

pandaonmyshoulder wrote:

Eager Learner you might want to take your wellies to Thailand, just had an e-mail from my brother in Koh Samui and it's raining and it's forcaster heavy rain/storm for the next week or two.:sad:

NoooOOOo - we're arriving on 17th and going to Koh Samui on 24th! Fingers crossed...

OneSpike

We're not debt-free either, but as we crispy crispy snip snipped all the ccs a few weeks ago we've done everything out of our budget. We've also used Freecycle and the PayPal balance, and have done well - total outlay £50 I think. I make candles and jam, chutney etc to give as gifts as well, mainly because I love doing it but it has the nice knock-on of providing low-cost gifts - I won't say free as I do have the odd moment buying candle-making kit on eBay

My parents are bringing the turkey, and we'll be spending about £20 on beef and gammon, but all that will come out of the monthly food budget. We have lots of champers and white wine from DH's cousin's vineyard in France so only need to buy some red (one box will do it I think) plus veg etc and some nibbles for our NYE friends-round do. Having seven to cook for for a week though will stretch my old-style DFW ingenuity!

Serialdieter

Hi

I won't be debt free for a few years yet, but this is the first year in ???? that not one single penny will go on a credit card. All bought and paid for.

Jx

lottery_dreams

Hi everyone,
I balanced out Christmas present spending by selling some of my own things on ebay. I bought nice things both from ebay and from the shops after deciding what I could afford and finding the best prices. In some ways selling my things (things I quite like but can live without) made me more careful with the spending as I really wanted to get something to show for the money.
Love
lotto

Melusine

I'm a carer for my disabled son, livign on benefits and struggling. But Christmas will not add to my debts. I've saved up and I've refused to go mad on buying. With all they've got, my family don't need vast quantities of stuff.
My daughter's birthday is Christmas Day, so she'll get a birthday present, but she and her husband do not get a Christmas present from me, as I buy for their three (still quite young) children instead. I allowed £15 per child and £15 for her birthday, and that is enough, since they will also get presents from Mum and Dad, Uncles and Aunts, other grandparents, great grandparents.... and with a little thought, you can buy really nice presents for that age group without spending a lot. Besides, if they are not taught to expect, they don't.
I have two sons living at home, and I allowed £30 for each for their main present - and an extra tenner for stocking fillers.
Plus each member of the family will be given a voucher telling them they donated a small amount to a charity project (including the children, they are never too young to learn it's about giving as well as receiving.)
For food and drink, I saved a little each week, but I don't buy a great deal extra - we're not a rich eating family, son number one doesn't like the traditional Christmas fare such as mince pies and Christmas pud, son number two has Prader Willi syndrome, so doesn't have much anyway, and between them, Asda, Lidl's and my local farmer's market keep my bills down.
Some people might think I am stingy, but we have a good Christmas, full of laughter, no-one feels hard done by and come January, we sleep nights.