Buying for Large Families
December 6th 2006 06:46
On a recent financial talk call-in show, a man told how his wife’s family had a tradition of spending $20 per person on Christmas. His wife came from a huge family (and her siblings had kids on top of that) and buying that many presents would be a certain budget buster. The host advised having both he and his wife talk to her family and explain their situation.
Honesty is always the best policy on something like this, and sometimes you can afford to buy something, but how do you maintain balance and avoid going broke?
--Buy gifts in bulk. If you see a bargain gift that might work for one or more members of your family, buy copies for each one. This is particularly true of kid’s presents: a good inexpensive toy can work for multiple children.
--Buy “Family” gifts. When I was a child, we often received a video from an Aunt of limited means and the tag would be made out to my mom, my dad, and “family.” This alleviated her feeling of having to cover everyone. Family DVDs are great to do this with. You could give a copy of the Incredibles to a family very inexpensively and it’d be something everyone would enjoy.
--Look for gifts that will truly add value to someone’s life or career. These presents may include books or inexpensive accessories you might see. One key is to go shopping at a store with reasonable price, not looking for a specific thing but for a specific present.
--Always take advantage of bargain hunting resources such as Ebay, Overstock, Amazon, your local discount stores, and even in some cases thrift stores. Remember that anything you buy will be given as a gift. Presents should be presentable. Do not buy any present off of Half.com or Amazon that is in a condition worse than “Very Good.”
--Remember, it’s the thought that counts. Find your family affordable and considerate presents that will be useful to them and most won’t care about the price tag.
Honesty is always the best policy on something like this, and sometimes you can afford to buy something, but how do you maintain balance and avoid going broke?
--Buy gifts in bulk. If you see a bargain gift that might work for one or more members of your family, buy copies for each one. This is particularly true of kid’s presents: a good inexpensive toy can work for multiple children.
--Buy “Family” gifts. When I was a child, we often received a video from an Aunt of limited means and the tag would be made out to my mom, my dad, and “family.” This alleviated her feeling of having to cover everyone. Family DVDs are great to do this with. You could give a copy of the Incredibles to a family very inexpensively and it’d be something everyone would enjoy.
--Look for gifts that will truly add value to someone’s life or career. These presents may include books or inexpensive accessories you might see. One key is to go shopping at a store with reasonable price, not looking for a specific thing but for a specific present.
--Always take advantage of bargain hunting resources such as Ebay, Overstock, Amazon, your local discount stores, and even in some cases thrift stores. Remember that anything you buy will be given as a gift. Presents should be presentable. Do not buy any present off of Half.com or Amazon that is in a condition worse than “Very Good.”
--Remember, it’s the thought that counts. Find your family affordable and considerate presents that will be useful to them and most won’t care about the price tag.
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