rocket finance

We break even at Christmas

This is the most wonderful time of year for our family – and the most difficult financially. We have so many unplanned expenses that sometimes all we can do is throw money at the problem and hope we can take care of it in January. Every year we attempt to purchase things early or budget, but there are too many last minute things of which to keep track. Furthermore, we (my wife) tend to be generous both in the number of people to whom we give and the value of the gift. I have no problem with gifts, I only have to buy for my wife and my only friends are pf bloggers. . . and they know better than to expect a gift.

Anyway, even though our spending sometimes gets out of control this time of year, we always seem to break even. It is difficult to plan and budget for potential Christmas gifts, yet things generally work out.

I wish that we would come out ahead. I would like to take the typically generous gift of money from my parents and put it in the bank, but it is usually spent before we get it. I would like to take the gift cards that we recieve and turn them into cash for the waterbill. Even though I grumble and complain throughout the beginning of December, I am usually glad that we chose to be generous. The joy of gift giving makes up for the tension – and the gifts always seem to be reciprocated at just the right amount.