A season of saving

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"]It seems I have yet to start a thread in this place so... I'll start with what I was browsing through this morning. An article on how many Americans are cutting back on their holiday spending this year, even if the current economic situation isn't hitting them too hard. If you're curious about it, the article can be found [URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28075751/"][U]here[/U][/URL]. Now since it might be interesting to see how this has impacted people's lives, I'll get the ball rolling.

For myself, my holiday spending this year won't be cut back for reasons I'm not going to go into here. But if you put that aside, I've always been a bit reserved with my spending since I invested in purchasing a home a few years ago. Now the current crisis didn't bother me any since buying well within your means and not being stupid enough to get a variable mortgage rate does wonders.

However, I do know people who in spite of the current economic slump, are still spending just as recklessly now, if not more, than they did last year. It feels like a desperate attempt to pretend nothing is wrong when I hear them talking about the items they have bought and trips they are planning on taking this holiday season.

In addition to that I've even read an article in the newspaper by someone saying they were tentatively predicting the recession could be over as soon as June of next year. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't believe that for a moment. So I intend to keep holding back on my spending. What about the rest of you? Has it made a huge difference this season or not?[/FONT]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Well living where I do in California, most people wouldn't know a recession if it danced naked in front of them looped in strands of holly and mistletoe. There's been no perceptible decline in sales from what I've read recently, and the holiday business is booming right along.

That isn't to say that some people are exercising fiscal responsibility in their family's finances. My family's taken the money we were going to spend on gifts to put towards helping another family adopt a child from the Phillipines. My sister and I pooled our money to sponsor a four year old girl from Cebu for the duration of her elementary education. And I only asked for books and a new battery for my watch. My brother asked [predictably] for a Wii, and my sister asked for a baby sister.

I personally have no "recession" to bug me with, since I pay minimal taxes regardless, get paid in cash anyway, and live beneath my means purposely so I don't care if I have to live hand to mouth or not. This year I made many of you OBites bookmarks [cheap, green], easy to mail out. And I spent a fixed sum on other friends to their benefit, but not the detriment of my wallet. To me it's a matter of being satisfied with less regardless. I think the word is self denial.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms]I think this year my family isn't exchanging gifts. Which I like, because I was the one who proposed the idea.

It doesn't bother me at all because 1) Christmas isn't supposed to be about gifts anyway and 2) if I want something my parents will get it for me. Not to sound incredibly spoiled, but if I want something reasonable, like a nice winter coat, my mom will gladly get me a high-quality coat for a lot of money. At the same time I know not to ask for another one anytime soon and have been raised to live sensibly and manage money well. In general I think it works out a lot better than buying mediocre/cheap items of value throughout the year and getting a pile of presents December 25.

The recession doesn't affect me because I'm in college right now, so in general I have no extra money and the only presents I'll buy will be for a secret santa with my home friends and one for my roommate. [/font]

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]My family has already been cutting back since my parents retired just over a year and a half ago. It's something that as we've all gotten older, just happened naturally. I don't like asking my parents for anything when I don't need it. ^^

I don't do as much for friends either since I'm a college student now. I always knew it would be expensive, but sometimes I still get surprised by just how much it really is.

In general the recession hasn't affected me or my family too bad. It has some, but not enough to be a serious problem. So yes we're spending less this year, but it's more than just the current economic issues. It's a combination of things. [/FONT]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

I'm on disability, so naturally the increase in prices and current economic troubles have forced me to cut back. It's nothing new since the constant increase in living costs is always more than any increase in what little money I do get.

Ironically, many stores this year are having extensive pre-Christmas sales this year in an attempt to draw consumers out to do shopping. As a result, I've had an easier time this year than I normally do.

It is nice since it made my holiday shopping much easier this year, but it does trouble me to see those kind of clearance sales now instead of after the holiday season is over with.

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='Raiha][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Well living where I do in California, most people wouldn't know a recession if it danced naked in front of them looped in strands of holly and mistletoe. [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]Welcome to Utah![I] *is shot*[/I] I wish I was kidding though. They're busy patting themselves on the back here and declaring how our state is pretty much unaffected. Uh... yeah. People around here need to take their heads out of the sand and look around. Anyway...

College already made me a careful spender, but with all the turmoil, I've been even more careful the past couple of months. I may currently have the comfort of having work, but I know perfectly well the moment I finish college I'll be job hunting. So though I enjoy doing stuff on the holiday for my family and friends, I don't want to finish school and find myself with no place to go. So yeah, it has definitely affected how I spend and not just for the holiday.