how do people afford christmas?

Don't buy big expensive stuff, keep it simple and cheap.

you save for chrissy throughout the year.

relly it's not that difficult

I'll bet most folks are cutting back. I know I am

Tell your wife that you are NOT trying to live to keep up with the Jones es'. Those days are over! Tell her the truth, you simply cannot afford things like this anymore unless you plan on a big refund from your taxes.

She's trying to live the lie of not letting on of being poor but if you're stressing on how to pay for this, then you are already poor.
Welcome to the New World Order. and welcome to 3rd world America
I predict the bleakest Christmas season ever!

keeping up with the Joneses' is a bad idea. Also, u may wanna sit down with the lady and explain some shit> otherwise you will hear an assload of shit over the next years and end up divorced> No shit, thats the real. Take care of this now before its too late. Its not what you bought for the kids that they remember, its what you did with them. If the wife doesnt understand that then you are with the wrong woman.. just sayin

People spend what they want to. I'm a strong believer in secret santa.

Pople run up their credit cards, then pay a lawyer to file bankruptcy instead of trying to pay them back. Then they blame banks for bailouts.

its crazy.
i think everything my ten year old asked for is over a hundred bucks a each. wife wants a new laptop basically, and some new earings or something. A jacket.

i was just tallying up SOME of the things and hit six hundred bucks and hadnt finished just on the ten years old. android, reader, some electric bike. ps3. some ds games for her ds.
son, electric ride around car (hes little) but that by itself is a couple hundred or more bucks. Add in the rest. i would have to spend like three k for christmas.

But all my daughters friends have androids and whatever supposedly.

she isnt the only kid.

i thought i did okay, but maybe im poor and just dont know it.

in my mind, i think we should be spending MAX maybe six to eight hundred on the entire holiday. I would LOVE to only spend like four or five hundred.

I dont see prices and requests allowing for six to eight hundred. more like three k or so..... im so screwed.

and people on welfare buy christmas gifts for FREE

How did the buying of a bunch of junk ever get confused with the birthday celebration of Jesus?

Most of us shop within our means. Christmas is so wonderful. Decorated trees, sparkly light festivals, singing, decorated gifts, festive clothing, secrets and anticipations, parties. There used to be tv shows and movies that matched our varied feelings also. Walking down a street lined with sparkly lights is divine. Practically speaking there is layaway, savings, 2nd jobs, or lowered expectations gift wise.

for chrissy

I feel for ya bro> reread my second to last sentence

Is your wife gonna help you pay for any of this stuff? if not, then wait until tax time to get a refund on your return and use that instead. I always do. helps to pay the bills etc.. what else can you do?

my wife mentioned layaway too. But i dont understand the point. so i can stress out over paying layaway later?

That is what she used to do. is put a ton of stuff on layaway because somehow this was supposed to be "easier" but i never really understood how. Then right before christmas tell me she needed me to pay off the layaway to get the stuff.

Cant believe i never had a heartattack. That is more stressful than running up a credit card i think. you dont come up with the money you dont have the stuff to give out for presents, and put it off until the end to deal with it which makes it more stressful.

me and my kids haven't had christmas in years, no tree, no presents, hardly n e thing to eat. Not out of choice, out of extreme poverty. welcome to my world.

my wife is a homemaker, stay at home mom. She hasnt worked out of the home in four years and only worked part time then. Hasnt held a fulltime job in near ten years..

I put $50/mo into savings. All Santa gifts and gifts from me to family come out of that fund. Oh, and Santa gifts for the kittahs, too.

To kid from me - $100
Niece - $50
Ex-husband's new kid - $25
Sister - $50
BIL - $50
Dad - $100
Kittahs - $25
Ex Mother-in-law - $25
Santa for kid - $100
Teacher - $25 (now that she has more than 1, they will likely get homemade goodies this year)
Boyfriend's daughter - $25

Friends get homemade goodies - $25 for ingredients. Boyfriend and I do not exchange gifts, but usually pool whatever cash we receive as gifts (and Visa gift cards) and go somewhere for a weekend sans kids.

You need to teach her a real lesson about money and how inflation and things like this all works.
Teach her,really. You're gonna have to sit her ass down and make her understand a few things.
it's not about looking good in front of other people. if it is to her then she's got a wrong idea.
You might have to tell the kids they might have to wait until you get your refund back from your taxes next yr but they won't have to wait too long if you file real early.

tell your wife , kids and friends that you have converted to a hindu , thus not observing xmas this year . next year you will have to think of something else .

Become an athiest

seriously though we have a hard time sticking too our budget. We don't want to dissappont nieces and nephews. They don't quite understand that times are tough. They are good kids but they are so out of touch even though they are old enough to understand today's reality.

I still try to donate frozen turkeys to the the village food bank organizers. With help from coworkers and clients we donate 100 at thanksgiving and X-Mas. And BTW I am an Athiest, but nobody pays attention to that

Xmass is mindless madness.. I quit some years ago haven't looked back.. have fun with your gifting and black Friday..ha

damn easy pop---you SAVE UP from 12/26 and do the best with what you seriously have put aside as with kids and good friends and your parents if still living,it GETS DONE.

as for the children i have 6 and they understood from a very young age that WE DO NOT have to have what so and so has and that one item that Santa would bring them had to be within reason as well-when they were screaming for that bs nintendO we simply told them Santa already had a limited number of them and they were going to others as they didn't need a nintendO--they made out all right Christmas morning and were always excited and happy with their games and toys.

why the hell to feel any guilt ? your kids have a family,their parents,friends and relatives etc and shouldn't be raised to think YOU are a living ATM machine for THEM.

back when the oldest wanted an allowance because ""everybody gets one"" he was told i'm NOT paying you to live here,it doesn't work that way etc and you better believe they learn to MANAGE THEIR MONEY damn fast by collecting bottles,cans ,small jobs for good neighbors etc.and PUTTING SOME ASIDE as well.

do what you have to do within reason,pay it off and start to save something each week in preparation for next year. ...and if your wife thinks it's just sooooo important that you keep up with the jones_es ? let her get out there and get some cash flow moving fast.

it all gets done by prior planning and putting aside,right down to the food,snacks and candy for those days.

same things were done in preparation for school,Easter clothes etc---different envelopes were kept and $$ was put into them weekly from nickling and diming it--it works and is livable.

LOL--they have Diwali which is as bad as Chanuukha---days of festivities and in America......GIFTS ! gifts ! gifts !!!!
know they have other holidays as well--
islamics too

you wouldnt like my world either. i actually do pretty well on income, but the expenses are out of this world. I usually dont even have a single dollar in my pocket but my monthly budget runs in the thousands and thousands. (im a landlord and work fulltime but pay near ever penny right back out).
i may make ten times your income, but at the end of the day i have no actual money, for me to actually keep really. i dont even have two bucks to buy a coffee most days it all goes to bills and supporting the family.

when something breaks i try to fix it myself, as i cant afford to hire most work out. or i wipe out my savings account to fix it and try to build it back up before something else breaks or a tenant skips on me. I have mortgages on the propertys and no assets at all but a ten year old pickup free and clear.

i bring my checking account down to pennys every so often. That is how much money i really DONT have. As the mortgages get paid down and off the budget will eventually improve. But i have been on a thirteen year mission from hell so far.
my basic mentality is just trying "to keep it afloat and not let it sink"

OP... what would Jesus buy? (taken from another thread)

They don't. They use credit cards and then face the consequences later. Half of the reasons why we are in the rut we are in.

i screwed up i guess. i should have planned better. This year especially.

That is actually some good advice on budgeting better. I never budgeted to that extent. Alot of others so far gave some good advice as well i hadnt thought of. And i am realizing it isn't just me that stresses over this apparently.
who would have thought you would have to plan a year ahead to buy gifts for a holiday though.

People think landlords are rolling in the money, but the truth is - only slumlords roll in the money. The rest take care of the property because they know their true profit is when they sell it. I get 20% more on my properties than similar houses in the area because word has gotten around that I take care of them. I actually have a wait list for my next one (which I'm in the process of purchasing now). 6 more years of mortgage payments and I will own one of them free and clear. That will be like getting a 25% raise. LOL! I get the 2nd one paid off and my house paid off in 10 years and I can retire. Looking forward to that day.