Picture this: It’s Christmas morning and you swap presents with your honey bunny. Surprise!
You get a $600 iPad and a terrible sinking feeling in your stomach because you only bought a $50 sweater.
Whether or not you could have spent more, you feel guilty.
Have you talked to your Holiday Honey about what you plan to spend on each other this season?
A simple conversation can save you sleepless nights, loads of guilt, and hundreds of dollars.
While you’re making dinner or out for a walk, ask your partner what they’d like for Christmas.
Then talk about what both of your holiday budget limitations are.
For example, you may have set aside $500 and have to buy gifts for 10 people while your honey may have $1,500 to spend on five people.
If your holiday budgets are significantly different, talk about it!
Does it make you uncomfortable? Is your partner OK if the value of their gift is much different from yours?
If you’re not cool with the budget disparity, pitch the idea of setting a limit like $100 per person.
If you can’t agree on a dollar value, consider putting money towards a joint gift like a weekend trip to the mountains.
Better yet, make a donation or volunteer together at your favourite charity.
Remember that in lean times couples often don’t exchange any gifts.
Rather, they’ll swap homemade cards or enjoy free festive activities like viewing holiday displays, watching local plays, having friends over for movies, or playing shinny hockey with neighbours.
The holidays are not about money. They are about spending time with people you love and celebrating the many blessings in your life.
As long as you and your partner are on the same page as to what you’ll spend on each other, there shouldn’t be any hurt or guilty feelings.
