Trying to do gift budget what about collections at work?

Yorkielass

As the title says trying to sort out our budget and have got to the more complicated things like gifts.

I know what budgets OH and I set each other for things and roughly what we've spent on people/occasions this year so I've worked out a monthly figure (and how much extra we'll need a month to cover this Christmas as we've only started looking at this now :mad:)

Anyway I've realised I've not thought about work related gifts - I've just started a new job and I think it's a lot more relaxed about leaving collections than the place before last when the envelope was bought round and you were stood over while you got your purse out .

So my question is do you factor in collections for people leaving/off sick/having babies to your gift budgets, do you cover them as extras or do you not contribute?

I know it varies on the person etc but any thoughts would be welcome
Thanks Yorkielass

sophiesmum_2

I just put them under miscellaneous and have a small budget for small unforeseen stuff.I don't count these types of things in with my xmas and birthday budgets as you don't know when they will crop up. You basically know who you will be buying gifts for,and what you will spend on them, so you can plan for those but works stuff you never can tell.

lynzpower

At one time I had a stack of 50ps in my desk drawer ( i think i pinched it out of a months clothing budget I didnt use) and popped 50p in the envelope everytime it got sent round. ( or if I didnt like the person, chuck in some coppers instead)

tallgirld

I dont budget for it at all!!! My attitude is if there is a collection going around and I have a spare change in me purse then I will chuck it in. If I aint then OH WELL!!

skint_spice

We are expected to put in about a fiver for these and then take the person out for lunch which is usually another £10-15, it's costing me a fortune and it's been going on so long I'd feel bad saying no! I don't include it in my pressie budget or I'd be going to the bank a couple of times a month at the mo I just try to squeeze it from elsewhere.

LookingAhead

I don't budget for it at all.

If I like the person I will put in something if I have it but if I don't like/know them I'll sign the card and that's it. Luckily they just leave the card & envelope on your desk and wait for you to pass it on to the next person - phew!

If I am honest I find most of them a pain in the ar5e. I will happily contribute towards things when I know the person but when it is Joe Bloggs that you've met once (if you're lucky) by the water cooler and the collection goes around gazillions of people who are equally as ambiguous about the person, I find it really annoying as they really do add up when they come around that frequently.

When I leave my job I will tell colleagues (just like I did at my last place) NOT to do anything. To which they will probably say "Well we weren't going to anyway...but we were going to pay someone to ensure you get off the premises..."

:rotfl:

AndyBlue1975

I find this a really simple subject, even with birthday collections.

If i know of them, interact with them, and get on with them, then i gladly contribute.

If i know of the, but don't interact, or don't like them, then it's tough.

Today, there was a collection going round.

A summary of the conversation:

PAM: "Andrew, do you want to put in to Jamie's collection andd sign his leaving card?"
(Inside i was saying to myself, joy of joys, the man with the silver trail behind him is leaving!)

ME: "I don't know him that welll, & i don't like him."

PAM: "Why don't you like him? He's lovely."

ME: "Tsk, tsk, Pam. You would say that, as he sleazy charm and flashness works on you women. We can't all like the same people, so if you don't mind, i will decline."

Another person answered quite humourly & bluntly:

"I don't know him, so NO!"

Be storng fellow forum habitants.
When collections come round, be individual, and not a sheep!

pippo

In my last 2 jobs it seems I've been the last to leave - so no present for me:mad:
But I now think what ever you do don't be the one who takes on the collection and has to put in for those who don't have any cash on them at the time the envelope goes round.
1. You have to put the money in & hope you get it back
2. You have to 'make up the extra' for wrapping paper etc
3. You have to waste hours deciding what to get & then putting more money in 'cos what the collection can afford seems so naff!!
Pippo
PS I'm not really bitter & twisted but I'm getting there!

skint_spice

as a bloke you can do this be deemed eccentric/humorous or even just a little odd but try it as a female you will be proclaimed a !!!!! and they will make life difficult for you.

tifnstav

i feel the same - blokes can make out its a laugh that they are tight, like if they avoid a round in a pub.
we women unfortunately label each other as witches if we aren't lovey dovey to everyone. in our office of 26 people you can, on average, expect to do a birthday collection once a fortnight. luckily, we've evolved to limiting it to "special birthdays" - 21st, 30th, 60th and having a baby. as we're mostly past our milestones for now we can hopefully avoid the "birthday lurker" as i call her - the woman with the envelope.
i always keep a bit of change in my drawer just in case though.

Yorkielass

Ooh my thread's in the email :D

Thanks for everyone's responses, glad I'm not the only one who hates the collection envelopes. At my new job they seem to leave them on reception - so I guess it'll just be the receptionist who knows who has hasn't put in and they work shifts anyway