Q: I don’t mean to be a Scrooge, but my family is out of control with gift-giving. How can I get them to cut back without crushing the holiday spirit?
A: You could take a page from what many of us do at work: Ask your family to toss names into a big bowl, set a price limit, and have each family member pull out a name and buy a present for the person they picked.
Or, see if you can agree to set a dollar limit on the price of each gift—a $25 cap if you have a big family, for instance, or a cap as high as $50 if your family is small and there are fewer gifts to buy. If there are lots of kids in your extended family, you might also agree that you’ll buy only for the children.
One final suggestion: send holiday letters saying that in lieu of presents, you’d prefer that family members make donations to a worthy charity.
So you want to spend less?
Stick with cash. A study from the University of Maryland and New York University found that people who pay in cash spend 20% less than those who use credit cards.
Next: Do gift cards expire?
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