Gifts

[deadbroke99]

I will be filing ch 13 in the next few months. I have not talked to an attorney yet. How does the trustee look at Christmas gifts? I am planning on spending around 1,000 this year as I have two kids and a husband. My family and husband's family also to buy for. I have stopped paying all credit cards this month and just paying for mortgage, food and other bills. Does it look bad to go buy gifts and not pay credit cards? I have not used any credit cards in over a month and don't plan on using them ever again. I am just using money from my paycheck.

[NowImDownInIt]

While not exactly prudent in the circumstances, I say go for it. You aren't using a credit card so that won't be held over your head. I'm pretty certain that you can't get in trouble for purchasing Christmas presents with cash.

[deadbroke99]

I can't exactly not buy my kids Christmas gifts right? I am hoping the trustee is not a scrooge. Actually, 1,000 is way down from most years. Last year it was more like $3,000 and yes most of that was on credit cards. I am trying to start fresh and pay cash for everything. I am just hoping trustee won't say you should have used that 1,000 to pay on credit cards since you didn't pay anything in December.

[NowImDownInIt]

No one would expect that. I do want you to think hard about this though. Next year when you are in your 13 there is NO WAY you will be able to afford even $500 for Christmas. It's really tough. I have a two year old and I admit that even this year in the midst of being laid-off and still attempting to keep current on my plan I overspent on him. (He's my one big weakness) Getting used to paying everything with cash is a very smart idea. Again I will say that I am pretty certain that it won't be a problem. You don't have to itemize everything you spent money on in the past months. As an example... the day that I filed, I spent nearly $500 on a new cell phone (ick, I hate myself for admitting that, but I guess that was old Heather) and I bought a couch earlier that week. All with cash, of course. All of that was a non-issue.

-NIDII

[deadbroke99]

Thanks, I agree with you. It's going to be life changing. I am hoping to start saving right after filing into a Christmas Club for next year.

[NowImDownInIt]

Saving is very difficult to do in a chapter 13 as the trustee wants to take ALL of your disposable income that you would normally spend or put into a savings account. If you look at some of my previous posts you can see where I've found areas to save in. Sometimes as much as $900 a month... (but then I wiped it out when I got laid off, so I guess either way it's a good thing to have) Here is one of my threads..

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=29515

There are a few others, but that one is the most detailed.

[krielly]

We now draw names on my side of the family. My DH's family doesn't buy for eachother anymore (other than the little ones).

Makes life SOOOOOOO much easier. Wow, $1000 is a lot to me for a xmas budget, say nothing about $3000. Holy crap

We've been in our 13 since October 2005. Having a credit card free xmas (several now) is definitely a good feeling!!!!!!!!! (especially come January, when NO cc statements come in the mail).

Good luck w/your 13.

K

[deadbroke99]

Thanks, I know in the future that I am going to have to downgrade some. I will bring up the idea about drawing names. We do that at work. Thanks for everyone's ideas and advice!

[krielly]

You know, I would bet that a lot of your family members (on both sides) will be relieved when you bring up the subject. I think a lot of people would prefer it to be that way, but no one dares to bring it up.

Just remind them that xmas is about getting together and enjoying one another. It shouldn't have to be stressful.............

[woeisme]

I am in a CH 13 and my Christmas budget is about the same as the OP, $1000. I saved the money all year long, so it is possible to do even in a CH 13. I don't spend $ on clothes or a lot of other normal "budget" items during the year, or at least very little, so being a scrooge all year long allows me to be more generous at Christmas time. (For example, $300 of the money is going towards my son, but he got very few things when school started, so really needs new shoes and clothes). The budget for my husband and I is $250 each, but again I don't feel extravagant since we're both wearing worn out clothes and shoes, gloves with holes in them, etc. Maybe we should spend more during the year instead of only at Christmas-time, but the sales are the best this time of year, so we get more bang for the buck this way. But outside of necessities for us, we've pared down our spending on the rest of our families a lot. Pretty much the only others we're buying for is my Mom, and my 4 adult stepkids, and they're just getting 1 gift each this year.

[Over our heads]

Actually, yes you can not buy your children presents, I know a lot of parents who don't. Their kids get over spoiled by family, and they really don't miss anything. I spent less than 400$ this year for 4 kids, my husband, 6 families, 2 teachers, a bus driver and the aide. The kids will have one present under the tree from DH and I, and one gift from santa. We spent less than 50$ on each kid. I spent 14$ and bought 2 large skeins of kitchen yarn, and handmade sponges and dishcloths. I got a large box of mason jars for free, spent 3$ on lids, and just a bit over a dollar for christmasy fabric for the top. I have made candy out the wazzoo, and have been stocking up for months when things were on sale. I bought 99 cent canvas grocery bags to pack it all in.

I crocheted purses for my neices, and pillows for my nephews. Amazingly enough, this is the first year in 10+ that I have given anything to my brothers for christmas, and we spent less money than ever. We used to draw names, but we all came to the consensus that the kids have more fun playing with their cousins, and we get more enjoyment out of visiting together than we ever did exchanging gifts.

Instead of spending 1000$ this year, just because you can, spend 500$, and save the other 500$ for christmas next year, or for an emergancy.

I myself never realized what a stress christmas was on me, until I cut back so much this year. Sure our tree will look a bit bare underneath, but I really thought about what we were buying, and I bought what the kids said they wanted most.

Really think about the gifts you have given previously. How much of it did they actually play with or use, barring clothing, for more than a few months? How many of the total gifts that they got last year, have you given away, thrown away, or broke? If you have a tiny family, I know that it is a bit different, but we do have a decent size family, and the kids actually got tired of opening gifts last year.

That is just some food for thought.

[liz417]

You know, I would bet that a lot of your family members (on both sides) will be relieved when you bring up the subject. I think a lot of people would prefer it to be that way, but no one dares to bring it up.

Just remind them that xmas is about getting together and enjoying one another. It shouldn't have to be stressful.............

You are sooooo right about this...I was stressing this Xmas because we will be filing BK at the begining of the year and we have been on a cash-only basis since May. I didn't know how we were going to tell relatives that we just couldn't afford it this year (because we are saving every penny for attorney, but no one knows that we are filing BK). Anyway, my husband FINALLY said something to his sister and the "word" spread, everyone was relieved to not exchange gifts. I think my husband used the excuse of the "uncertainy of the economy" and we would all agreed to buy something "small" for the children. What a relief! You never know what people/family are going through financially

[deadbroke99]

My family likes to keep up with the "Jones's" so to speak. I think that is where I learned many of my bad spending habits. Everyone was always so impressed with everything we had but no idea we were in debt up to our eyeballs to keep it that way. Such a sad waste of time!

[deadbroke99]

[QUOTE=Over our heads;223523]Actually, yes you can not buy your children presents, I know a lot of parents who don't.

This may be ok for your family but not mine.

[DebtSlave]

I am willing to bet all will be relieved if you pare down your spending this year. To me 1000 is way over the top.

I only buy for those under 20 years old in my family. (6)
And as I look at my budget for Xmas it should be less than 400.00 cash.
And that allows for a very nice meal for 8 people.
And a new sweater and slacks for me.
And a few little trinkets.

All indicators are that the year 2009 will be actually worse than what we are experiencing now.