How Our Family Teaches Financial Restraint During the Holidays

Don't Borrow Money for Christmas, Share Memories

We have a large family. I have three sisters and one brother and together they 11 children. When my nieces and nephews were in their twos and threes, it was really hard to resist spending lots of money on cute toys. I knew the kids would love them and they were educational, too. It was especially fun to see my nephew choose the $2 rubber ball to play with instead of the $50 talking telephone his parents bought him. At that time, we were all working at jobs that paid well. There was nothing to prevent us from have a wild consumer free for all.

Nothing except hard earned common sense. With 26 people each buying a gift for everyone, the pile underneath the tree hid the tree. It would take close to four hours to unwrap the whole mess. The cute little youngsters turned into "give me" beasts. They'd grab a package, rip through the paper, toss the gift and run up for the next one-all the joy was in the opening. The parents were embarrassed because they didn't know who bought what. Despite a pile of gifts, my niece walked around the house with the pretty pink glitter bag one of the toys came in. The boys climbed into the boxes or begged to help burn the wrappings. Many times the toys were broken the first evening by being stepped on. After one year like this all of the adults in the family put a halt to these kinds of Christmases.

Buy Saving Bonds

My solution has been to buy each of my nieces and nephews a savings bond every Christmas. They didn't really remember they got a gift from me until they were 12. For a while, during a downturn in the economy and the parents wanted help with clothing, I heard "we don't want no stinking savings bonds". I ignored it. I knew about the time these children reached eighteen, they'd want a car, to go to Europe or Hawaii for graduation, or need help with trade school or college. Whatever the case, the interest on bonds purchased in amounts less than I would have spent anyway will build up. At eighteen when they get them, they will learn how savings can add up over time.

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