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As this holiday shopping season is nearing, how much do you plan to spend?

The holidays are fast approaching and with them, all the gift giving and celebrations.  Money will be spent, but it is a matter of how much and on what.  Whether what and how you buy are determined by your household financial situation or are a reflection of values (from buying local to possibly paying more for more sustainable products or foregoing products altogether and buying experiences for your loved ones), things likely change from year to year.  So, have you given it any thought?

More than I did last year (9.6%)

The same as I did last year (30.4%)

Less than I did last year (52.5%)

I'm not sure (7.6%)

As this holiday shopping season is nearing, how much do you plan to spend?
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398
  • rementer99 By rementer99
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    I do most of my shopping online. But with the cost of gas and heating oil, not to mention increases in food I know we are going to have to scale back this year. It's hard for me not to be generous with family, but I am going to have to keep myself in check. I can only hope our next president can do something to change this economy before its too late for too many.

  • cg8s222 By cg8s222
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    I have a daughter in grad school out of state, so the only ones getting gifts will be children, and some of those will be hand made.

  • dizzydi1971 By dizzydi1971
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    I'm trying to pay off all my credit card debt & don't want to fall back into old habits. Plus my nieces & nephews have too much & don't need anything else.

  • raven By raven
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    With the cost of gas and pretty much everything else going up, I will have less cash available for gifts this year. I plan on doing a lot of online shopping at sites that offer free (or low cost) shipping. This will help save my gas, help keep me from going over budget from impulse buys, and keep me out of those crowded stores!

  • Emysmommy16 By Emysmommy16
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    Now that I have gotten hooked on CVS Extra care bucks program and coupons I am spending way less and getting so much more! I have already started to put together gift baskets with my cheap (in price) stuff to give to my siblings!

  • jmsargent By jmsargent
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    My husband and I always try to spend the same amount every year. The goal is to be finished before Thanksgiving that way not to spend too much. It is too commercialized and the real meaning seems to be lost.

  • sarahschilling By sarahschilling
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    For the past several years, we've done gift exchanges on both sides of our family. That meant that we each bought one gender-neutral gift and played a game to figure out who got what. This year, we're going to bypass that because none of us really NEED anything. We're very blessed, so we're going to focus on the togetherness of the holidays. I'm going to try to convince my family to take the money we'd normally spend on gifts and donate it instead. It sounds very goody-goody, but it seems especially important this year.

  • sacomud By sacomud
    on Sep 17, 2008  

    My kids have hit their teens and they don't want quantity as much as they want quality... you know like one or two higher priced items. I'm very glad that they don't demand an unreasonable list of "give mees". Cost will always be an issue in our one income home so we have to set limits.

  • HoneyB12 By HoneyB12
    on Sep 18, 2008  

    Frankly, just gassing up the car is a financial strain. It would irrational to sink the same amount I did last year into silly gifts. I'll splurge for my godson-he's 7. I wish "swap" would work-it just never seems to.

  • fillygirl By fillygirl
    on Sep 18, 2008  

    I am making gifts also, everything has gone up except my salary, so I am making jelly and knitting mittens. I wish I could spend more, but heating the house will be expensive.