Tis the season to spend money

In other years I’ve explained Christmas, and how wrong it all is (on Myspace and Facebook), but this year is about spending.

Last year I spent the grand total of $50 on myself and some of my friends (4), while this I spent $20 on 7 of my friends, so how did I do it? First lest look at the spending habits of Australians shall we.

In December 2008 we spent $21 billion just using out credit cards, and $22 billion in 2009.

The Galaxy (a company not the actual galaxy) undertook research for eBay, and it reviled that in 2009, 20 million unwanted gifts were exchanged each year, worth about $1 billion, and 53% of Australians receive at least one present, they do not use and throw away (and I’m happy to say I will not be in the 53% this year), as found out by the Australian Institute.

So now your asking how can save money, and save my presents from the bin? Well let’s take a look at the top 10 gifts for Christmas, in 2006.

1 Entertainment

2 Clothes

3 Toys

4 Confectioneries

5 Alcohols

6 Computer Games

7 Sports Equipment

8 Household Appliances

9 Audio/Video Equipment

10 Travel/Holidays

Last year I went for number 2, and I made some handmade Christmas hats, with my friends nicknames on them, not bad of $50 on 5 people, but this year I went for the number 1, and I created something simple and easy, I made Christmas CD’s, with the same music on all of them, for my friends, choosing Christmas music that some would know, and some would not, making sure there was something for all my friends on the CD.

CD’s also work well for Birthdays, its cheep, fun to put together, easy, and wont brake the bank, and anything is better then an item of clothing, that you only have a 50/50 chance of getting right.

So with Christmas only hours away, lets remember to put some thought into your gifts next year, its not as hard as it seems, or you could just leave it to the last minute, and hope for the best, like the 500 odd people trying to go shopping at Watergardens, just up the road.

Oh and Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year.

See you in 2012

Mad-Molly-The-Grim