Comments on: How Blogging Changed Me

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:42:57 +0000

I hope to have my daughters college paid for by the time she is 18. I have her pick one gift she wants each year for the holidays (our family celebrates several religions), and I have trained the grandparents and other relatives, that they are to send checks/paypal and a card (or just a card if they want). We tell her how big the budget is for the gift (she can spend up to 90% of the money sent). Based on what she chooses, we buy the gift, and the rest goes to her college fund. We have a giant drawing of a thermometer (5 feet tall), that has $100,000 at the top, and each holiday and birthday, extra money goes into that fund and we mark the thermometer. When she is old enough to hold a part time job, the money she saves will go toward that goal.

The result of this is that she chooses something she really wants, and she usually allots 90% to the college savings fund.

Each year she and I send a picture and thank you card of her with the gift and the thermometer to all the people who contributed.

She is learning to budget, save, build a support network and be grateful all at once.

This has given us all a family ritual that is deeply meaningful and exciting to everyone. And because we never reveal how much any family member sent, everyone gets to participate without the more well off participants getting more attention. So one relative might send $5, and another $100, but they all get the picture and thank you card equally. I don’t want my daughter to value the relatives that are richer, I want her to value people who care.

My husband is still paying off $80,000 in student loans for his under graduate and graduate degree, and I never finished college because I refused to take student loans and couldn’t afford it otherwise.

My daughter will be able to go to any school she can get into, and graduate debt free.

And best of all my husband and I won’t have to mortgage our house/retirement to send her to college.

By: Calvin R

Calvin R — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:32:11 +0000

I don’t have a personal problem with this. At the level of poverty in my childhood, I only aspired to one gift to/from each loved one. Looking around me at that time of year bothers me, though. I see poor people “limiting” themselves to $100 spending per child while utility bills go unpaid. I could go on at length, but that’s enough example for today.

By: Shay

Shay — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:41:58 +0000

I just want to say to Drama Momma…We were given a digital photo frame for christmas….This was one of the most touching gifts given to us by our kids, why?

because I am the type of parent that runs around with a camera constantly…taking snaps of my kids when they least expect it or when they are doing their most mundane task like their homework….for me I love displaying pictures of my kids around the place, and sharing them with loved ones, the gift of a digital photo frame for us gives me more photo’s that I can look at then I can possible in purchasing and album,photo frames the time and cost involved in printing the photo’s and finding the time to put them into albums or track down the perfect photo frame. Instead of one precious memory in one frame I have hundreads in one frame.

That is the point of a digital photo frame.

By: (Blog) Carnivals and Festivals, Oh My » Finance and Fat

(Blog) Carnivals and Festivals, Oh My » Finance and Fat — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:51:18 +0000

[...] a frugal lifestyle, but I guess you never know. I enjoyed this post from beingfrugal.net on having a frugal Christmas this year. I can really relate, resisting the urge to shop has never been easy for me, but I’m holding [...]

By: Rob in Madrid

Rob in Madrid — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:08:00 +0000

Your not the only one who is facing a frugal christmas!

http://tinyurl.com/35wtlb

unfortunalty it’s alot tougher when it’s forced on you than if you choose it.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:47:58 +0000

You could consider giving gifts to charity in their name like through Heiffer international or Samaritan’s Purse. I have a friend who thinks that having a frugal Christmas is just getting things for her own family and not getting anything for anyone else. I’m just not sure that is in the spirit of Christmas.

By: windfield

windfield — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 05:04:11 +0000

You’re article is very inspiring. We must always remember that Christmas is a season of love. Love can be greatly expressed with the quality time we spend with our love ones. Money can’t buy time! This is also a season to remember that God loves us so much that He gave his only Son to die for our sins! Merry Christmas to all!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:20:56 +0000

Right there with you! My mom and I did NOT go overboard this year…we only got what was actually NEEDED or VALUABLE this year for Christmas…I’m very excited about it actually. The kids will LOVE what they are getting and it’s something they will play with for years to come!

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:30:42 +0000

Plonkee is right – sometimes it can be really difficult thinking of the perfect gift that the person will appreciate, but it is sooo worth it – good luck!!

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:24:34 +0000

I like the one gift idea. Takes off the pressure and even frees up your budget a bit (since you might be willing to spend a little more than you otherwise would’ve). :)