Am I Being Stingy?

Penny-Pincher!!

Afternoon All

Its my sisters anniversary next weekend and we're going down for a couple of days (glad to see another 4 walls except mine being bedbound at the moment :rolleyes: )

We havent got alot of money as Ive had to stop working die to my illnesses and OH my FT carer. My family have always been generous with their pressies and we have too (but have always had the money in the past or put on credit cards)Also parents, sister etc are quite well off-so money isnt an issue to them.

I always get the kids something too and just wanted to ask if Ive been too stingy with our pressies. Ive got the following:

Sister-BNWT Boyds Sister Bear-Ebay £6.00 Inc P&P
BIL-4 foot kite with light things on it (likes gadgets)-Ebay £6.00 Inc P&P
Joint-£20 Argos Voucher-£15.00 from Nectar points and topped up
Joint-Folk Art Plaque-£4.00 Ebay Inc P&P
Nephew-BN Metal Detector-Ebay £7.00 Inc P&P
Nephew-Teliscope-Free with Horrid Science Subscription
Niece-Disney Puzzle-Ebay £3.00 Inc P&P
Niece-BN Metal Detector-Ebay £7.00 Inc P&P
Everyone-Made HM rich fruit cake and decorated-cost nothing as I had all ingredients

In total Ive spent £38.00. I usually spend about £100 each and feel guilty. All the presents are of very good quality-the difference being, this time last year I would have paid full price.

Ive wrapped all pressies in posh wrapping paper or posh boxes that I have acquired cheaply of free

What do you reckon?

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

NEWBIE_SHOPPAHOLIC

I don't think your being stingy, surely your relations know of your situation, and would appreciate the fact that you have gone to so much trouble to find gifts you think they would like.

I know there are alot of very ungrateful people out there (alot of them are young), but surely on this occassion, with family being involved it really is the thought that counts, your home made cake sounds a wonderful addition anyway!

Don't worry! anyone worth their salt would appreciate any gift however big or small.

Hope all goes well for you.

tru

Hello Penny-Pincher, nice to see you back

Not stingy at all, I reckon you've done well. Gold star for you

nightsong

Reckon you've done brilliantly :beer:

Presumably those gifts are all tailored to people's tastes and interests, and they are not going to know how much you paid, are they? I'm sure everyone understands that your circumstances have changed at the moment, anyway.

Good on you! It really is the thought that counts, and something like a delicious homemade cake is so much nicer than anything bought in a shop.

IMHO, we all spend ridiculously too much on presents in general, and a move towards simpler and cheaper gift-giving is long overdue.

Nile

Hello Penny_Pincher


It sounds to me like you've been very generous with your money and time.;)

I know that it's lovely to give presents and receive them but.........

.....we were struggling to buy adult family members birthday and Christmas presents every year. It's not that we struggled to afford them, it was deciding what to buy.

We eventually broached the subject last year and they were finding it equally as difficult. To everyone's relief, we agreed to continue buying presents for just the youngsters......and the adults get a card only.

Would this option be useful for your family? It might be worth asking your family for their views, you might have the same reaction that we did.;)

elona

The presents sound fantastic to me and I think you have done brilliantly.
There is no need for them to know what the presents actually cost and they should all enjoy them a lot.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hey

Thank you for the replies. I think its more that I know what I spent and have always assumed that more expensive gifts are better..but that was before I became addicted to this site

My family do know of our situation and have been great. Mum has bought uniform for DS for Sept and sister has bought a ton of clothes for DS that will last for months(she sells wholesale). They have just said if we need anything-just ask, but I never have or will. As long as DS gets what she needs and would do this with or without help, but they have been fab.

Mum has just called actually and asked if I would like a 6.5ltr slow cooker :eek: Still in box and never used-shes had it 2 years..probably an expensive one. Mine I have is quite small and cant cook a chicken or biggish joint in it, so Im very happy Also sister has had a massive clear out of her huge wardrobe and has 3 black bags of clothes for me :eek: Said if I dont want or dont like anything to stick them on ebay and buy something i want She was going to put them out for charity collection but asked me first. She only buys designer (as I always did a year ago). I did have tons of clothes but have sold aload on ebay as Ive gone from a size 30 to size 12/14 in past year. Its gonna be like Xmas

I feel like a right chav!..LOL.

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

System

I think you spent too much on them before to be honest, you dont have to spent a lot to be thoughtful and caring. If they think your stingy then i think they are being very mean and selfish.

Thats my slant on it anyway.

Sheel

elona wrote:

The presents sound fantastic to me and I think you have done brilliantly.

I totally agree and well done on losing all that weight , that's fantastic :T

fgaughan

Nile wrote:

....we were struggling to buy adult family members birthday and Christmas presents every year. It's not that we struggled to afford them, it was deciding what to buy.

We eventually broached the subject last year and they were finding it equally as difficult. To everyone's relief, we agreed to continue buying presents for just the youngsters......and the adults get a card only.

Would this option be useful for your family? It might be worth asking your family for their views, you might have the same reaction that we did.;)

Thats excatly what we have done
Although we a better off now (i have started work but still loads to pay off) we can afford to buy presents.
knowing the rest of family not well off i wouldnt want to put pressure on them to buy adults presents if we have started to buy them, so we have stuck to the original agreement

Savvy_Sue

Congratulations, I agree with Judi, if you want to know the meaning of 'stingy' you should know I aim to spend £5-£10 each on any presents for my nephews and neice, brothers and sisters, bit more on parents maybe but only if I know it's something they want. And TBH I don't buy for my older brother AT ALL unless I see something (usually for the garden) and think "He'd like that, I'll get it."

I know I get more spent on my kids than that, but I can't help it. We have different income levels, and different priorities.

So I don't think I'd have bought anything for the kids for their parents' anniversary at all, maybe a family present. But like I said, I know I am stingy.

I'd feel proud of yourself for those bargains.

And have a super weekend! I love cast-off clothes from people with good taste! We used to get bags full from my cousins when we were teenagers and practically have a cat-fight over them 'cos auntie used to spend a lot of money on them!