While many in this economy are struggling to stay afloat, I’ve had the opposite experience this year. Maybe it’s just me going against the grain, or maybe God has gifted me with good circumstances this year. Probably a little of both.
But right now my credit card sits at ZERO. Nada. Nothing. I didn’t spend a penny on it this Christmas, and I survived just fine. Sure, I cut out that $350 Kitchen Touch Screen I wanted to buy the BF’s parents this year, or some $100 electronic I would have found for the BF, but all in all, everybody was delighted with their gifts and I didn’t have to go into debt for them.
To be fair, a lot of my gifts were “experiences” this year. The BF’s mom I’m taking out to the Melting Pot for a $67 4 course “Ladies Night Out” and the rest of the girls and I are going shopping in Palm Springs (Outlets)for a weekend come February, so that probably adds about another $300 to the total (rooms and gas), but I’ve also got a $224 “Rebate” coming back to my USAA Amex in the form of a credit in January. Since that account is at zero though, it actually really will be a credit!
This is a big first for me. Done in part with my Christmas Fund. I was funding $100 a month until June when I had to raid it to pay for new tires for my car. I didn’t start feeding it again until September, when I raided it in November for the new dog I got as an early Christmas present for the boyfriend, wiping it out a second time. I did continue to fund it in November and December though, which gave me the $200 I needed to get presents with CASH and not CREDIT.
I will resume funding my Gift budget in January (when it again gets raided for the BF’s birthday). The point though is that I’m using it as intended. When I deplete it, I refill, and I plan ahead to use it exactly for what it’s intended for. I’m still in the beginner stages of embracing this concept, but I can tell you that not having a bill left over from Christmas is a GREAT feeling!