Will You Spend More on Gifts This Year? (this article is da'bomb)

[Deja Q]

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=1366292

It's a bomb all right:

Will You Spend More on Gifts This Year?

Dec. 2, 2005 — We're officially one week into the holiday shopping season, and the economic news is looking very positive. With gas prices falling and home sales remaining strong, there are several indicators that the economy will end the year on a high note.

Have your finances improved this year? Are you planning to spend more on holiday gifts than you have been able to budget the last few years? Is the positive economic news adding to your own shopping confidence? If not, how will you budget for all the gifts you plan to purchase?

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If you are willing to share your holiday shopping plans with us, please fill out the form below and you may be contacted by an ABC News producer in the next few days to be interviewed for a broadcast or Internet report.


Feel free to comment! This article is the most idiotic spin I've read in quite some time.

[LSparkle]

1. This just plain hurts ... My finances are SO much worse this year

yet "the economy is doing better". Maybe on Wall Street but not on Main Street ... I don't plan to buy ANY gifts this year (homemade, crafty things only).

[HockeyMom]

3. My utility bills

are eating up about half of my income.

[Kahuna]

2. I will. I was so broke last year, I spent zero on gifts last year...

Anything will be an improvement.

[BamaGirl]

4. The economic cheerleaders are delusional

We've made about $15k less this year. Factor in...utility bills up, insurance up, groceries thru the damned roof, and we are hurting bad. Who is doing better financially!? I want to meet these people! If it wasn't for my parents, there would be no Christmas for my kids this year. I'm not buying a damned thing.

[NV Whino]

5. I stopped doing Christmas several years ago

Any extra money I may have :rofl: will be donated to sites like DU and TruthOut.

[datadiva]

6. No, we've all decided

to skip gifts this year and just enjoy each others company at a big family dinner. We have never done this before and there are quite a few of us. It should be intersting to say the least. Who knows, it may catch on. I have never been as down financially as the last year.

[rucky]

9. We're doing a secret santa.

one gift


and of course all the kids, but they're easy to please.

[lizerdbits]

12. That's almost what my family is doing

My parents are giving my sister/brother in law and I a few things and of course my 3 month old nephew will get some cute sleepers but they are all tired of shopping. I love to bake so I always just bake something for everyone. I'd rather stand in my kitchen than sit in traffic or stand in a line. As for financial reasons- my sister is now at home with a baby so there's one less paycheck for them, my parents are retired so they aren't splurging, and I make about the same as last year with higher utility costs. Every time I hear how great the average person is supposedly doing I just laugh.

[Pam-Moby]

7. Our income this tight this year.

With the high heat cost. $300.00 is it for our xmas for this year.

[AX10]

8. My cousin got hit by the ATM tax.

He had to pay out $7,500 this past year in federal taxes. All is NOT well.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

10. I'm buying small cans of gasoline this xmas.... they should be well

appreciated.

[newscott]

11. I've never earned as much as I have this year, but guess what

I have less to spend.

- My real estate taxes went through the roof. Prop. 2.5, yeah right.
- Fuel costs took a huge chunk out of me.
- Never get a pet.
- I picked the wrong year to get back into car payments for the first time in over 10 years.

[pitohui]

13. my finances are worse but i'll prob. spend more

hear me out, because i was an evacuee for a period of time i want to be more generous w. the gifts to friends and families who helped me out

we normally try to keep a limit on what we spend on ea. other but i'm sneaking over the limit because there is a thank you involved

does that make sense?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

14. No doubt I will spend more

on Christmas this year as my family has expanded with one fiancee for my son and a new grandchild via my daughter.

Teaching won't make you rich, but you usually get a raise and we did, so I will.

I don't buy much during the year but I make up for it at Christmas. My one rule is no credit cards: EVER.

I am inclined to blame credit cards even more than Bushco for this country's problems.

[bammertheblue]

15. Nobody's getting bought presents this year....

my fiancee will get something, because he already bought me something, but other than that...my family and friends are all in MN and I am in VA and I can't afford shipping on things. They're all getting personal letters- I think that's a nicer present than some tacky picture frame which is usually my standby gift.
That said, it kind of hurts not to be able to afford to buy your mom something nice for "the day" :(
(Which is what my mom calls it, because she's not a christian, but got used to celebrating the day from when my brother and i were little). It's like Festivus, for the rest of us!

[MercutioATC]

16. This year was a little better than last year...I'll spend about the same.

...but I did spend a lot last year (the guitar for my son was the big purchase last year...this year he's getting a computer).

[AnnieBW]

17. My Year Was Pretty Good

We finally got out of Chapter 13, I paid off two loans, and I got a promotion. However, I just bought a new car, so there goes some of that money. I'm not spending too much this year because I don't have that many people to buy for anymore. I don't have kids, my parents and aunt are tough to buy for, and my cousin usually gets a gift card from Target or (shudder) Wal-Mart from us. My husband and I don't give each other gifts, but spend the money on getting one big thing after Christmas.