Holidays Spending & Anxiety

[Amaris]

My family has pretty much agreed to abstain from gift giving at Christmas to focus on eating ourselves stupid. We do a couple of grab bags, and that is about it. The children might score a couple of extra presents.

See, now I'd be all up for that, because I can cook, and my Aunts and cousins can bake like nobody's business. I could bring potato salad, meatloaf, lasagna, things like that, and my Aunts and cousins could bake pies and cakes and cookies, and... <drool>

J.

 

[Kira Nerys]

I have a spend limit on average 25 dollars for family and no more .

 

[Gryffindorian]

I'm pleased to say that I've done pretty well this holiday season and stayed within my budget in terms of gift giving. That's not to say I spent as little money as I could. Here's the breakdown, give or take a few dollars.

Friends/Work-Related

Allocated Budget: $300
Actual Expense: $288

Family

Allocated Budget: $600
Actual Expense: $595

Total Spending: $883

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Christmas had to be dialed back last year, since I lost my job and all. This year, I think it's a little better. My wife has gotten plenty of things for the kids, bargain-shopping, and she did it without any extra money from me, so I don't have a problem with it.

Since my wife had the kids covered, I decided to make something nice for her, and she really liked it. Cost me all of about $15, too.

 

[Lindley]

I don't really have a rule. I lay out who I need to get gifts for and whether I need to get them one gift or several. If one, I pretty much pick the first thing that seems appropriate that I encounter, and scratch them off the list. If several, I keep looking until it feels like I've gotten enough. Typically this comes to 3 or 4 smaller things or one large thing.

I probably spent around $300 this year on gifts. I didn't really keep track.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Self-made or homemade gifts are some of the best. One of my work friends brought in this killer dessert yesterday. Oh. My. GOD!!! She made this treat called Pineapple Coconut Iced Dessert with walnuts, whipped cream, and fresh ingredients.

 

[kes7]

I simplified this Christmas. We had a difficult fall, with my husband super-sick for about a month, and some unwanted expenses that cropped up, so I spent about a third of what I normally do and focused on quality over quantity. I also skipped most of the decorating I normally do. We have a tree and the mantle is decorated, but other than that ... no lights, no wreaths, no bows, no extras. No overpriced family "holiday" portrait, no mall visits. We didn't overcommit ourselves socially like we normally do, either. Then, it snowed two feet and we got stuck at home for four days in the middle of what would normally be frantic "prep time." So I did all my Christmas shopping online in my PJs and had Amazon wrap most of it.

You know what? I kind of like it better this way. Quiet. Semi-reflective (at least as reflective as one can be with two small boys in the house). Perhaps if we keep expectations reasonable, our kids will grow up without the crazy sense of entitlement and materialism that seems to permeate this season and remember the real meaning of Christmas. (We can always hope.)

 

[StolenThunder]

Sixth year of being a student so money has become pretty scarce. I kept my spending to my SO, cards for everyone else, and then a few home-cooked things for those I'll see over the holidays.

 

[Holdfast]

Sixth year of being a student so money has become pretty scarce.

Don't worry, most likely, this time next year you'll have plenty of money but be bitching about working over Christmas.

Enjoy your last guaranteed year of freedom over Christmas for a while!

 

[StolenThunder]

Sixth year of being a student so money has become pretty scarce.

Enjoy your last guaranteed year of freedom over Christmas for a while!

If only! Finals in February, my home is the library now.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Sixth year of being a student so money has become pretty scarce.

Enjoy your last guaranteed year of freedom over Christmas for a while!

If only! Finals in February, my home is the library now.

I once knew that life. Once. [And it shows - someone]

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I follow a very simple rule of gift giving with my family. Gift cards all around, unless I am specifically told which gift to get. I'm tired of guessing. With cards, you can't lose, since they can buy what they want with them.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I have kept in budget as far as other people go.

I have spent about $275 on presents this year

It works out like this

Son 2 - model airplanes ($15), hanging clothes frame for his bedroom ($60), socks ($5)

Son 3 - Doona (duvet) cover set ($40), plush rhino ($25) (he collects rhinos) and boxer shorts ($10)

Mother - snow globe with photo of her cat inside ($12)

Sister 2 - Snow globe with picture of her dog inside ($12)

Brother - Box of chocolates

Best friend - tin plate robot (she collects tin plate toys)

Best friend - Highlander audio book $25 (with postage)

Sister 1 - two books ($45)

Son 1 - A BIG NOTHING as he hasn't bought anything for me, his brothers or his grandmother for the last decade.

I have also spent about $200 towards for dinner for me, my two yougest sons. amd mt two best friends.


I, somewhat guiltily must add, that I have spent $400 dollars on myself (Wii console + Wii Fit + Wii Sport).

 

[Holdfast]

Sixth year of being a student so money has become pretty scarce.

Enjoy your last guaranteed year of freedom over Christmas for a while!

If only! Finals in February, my home is the library now.

OK, well, I sure don't envy you that. Puts my being on call tonight and not being able to go out drinking into perspective. No trade.

Don't overstudy though. By now, you probably know most of it already. You just don't KNOW you know it. Stay frosty but don't try to memorise every last theoretical detail; just remember to prioritise risks in any scenario thrown at you and make sure your clinical exam skills require no real active thought and are pure motor memory.

 

[StolenThunder]

Don't overstudy though. By now, you probably know most of it already. You just don't KNOW you know it. Stay frosty but don't try to memorise every last theoretical detail; just remember to prioritise risks in any scenario thrown at you and make sure your clinical exam skills require no real active thought and are pure motor memory.

Yeah, I'm fairly happy with where I'm at. It's about doing well now - plus absolutely making sure I have the core stuff down, and the specialities I've not done in a while (e.g. psychiatry!). From January I hope really just to be testing myself with exam questions.

Clinically, Glasgow has a 50 station OSCE. Scary stuff. Just 2-3 months more hard work though. And then done with exams for, ooh - a year?

 

[Holdfast]

Don't overstudy though. By now, you probably know most of it already. You just don't KNOW you know it. Stay frosty but don't try to memorise every last theoretical detail; just remember to prioritise risks in any scenario thrown at you and make sure your clinical exam skills require no real active thought and are pure motor memory.

Yeah, I'm fairly happy with where I'm at. It's about doing well now - plus absolutely making sure I have the core stuff down, and the specialities I've not done in a while (e.g. psychiatry!). From January I hope really just to be testing myself with exam questions.

Clinically, Glasgow has a 50 station OSCE. Scary stuff. Just 2-3 months more hard work though. And then done with exams for, ooh - a year?

50 stations.

OMG.

I think I'd collapse.

We were lucky in Oxford as all the exams we did along the way at the end of each speciality counted as finals exemptions exams. So at the end we just had something like a 3 hour general medicine & surgery written paper and a 3 hour general medicine & surgery clinical exam and that was it. No paeds, psych, obs & gobs, etc, etc, etc. Made revising MUCH simpler.

I forget the details of the types of questions now, but I think that was it.

And as for your last sentence, don't even THINK about Royal College membership exams now. Concentrate on your current pain rather than anticipating your future torment.

PS. since you're doing loads of OSCEs, a quick mandatory shill for my good friend's recently published 3rd edition of his book on OSCEs. It's a pretty comprehensive text (I glanced through it while helping with the proof-reading). Don't worry, I don't get any kickbacks for recommending it. Well, except an occasional bottle of wine...

 

[StolenThunder]

We were lucky in Oxford as all the exams we did along the way at the end of each speciality counted as finals exemptions exams. So at the end we just had something like a 3 hour general medicine & surgery written paper and a 3 hour general medicine & surgery clinical exam and that was it. No paeds, psych, obs & gobs, etc, etc, etc. Made revising MUCH simpler.

Glasgow takes pretty much the opposite approach. No exams at all in the clinical years with two sink or swim papers and the OSCE at the end. Personally, I like it that way - but I'm not sure I speak for the majority just at the moment.

PS. since you're doing loads of OSCEs, a quick mandatory shill for my good friend's recently published 3rd edition of his book on OSCEs. It's a pretty comprehensive text (I glanced through it while helping with the proof-reading). Don't worry, I don't get any kickbacks for recommending it. Well, except an occasional bottle of wine...

I've seen that cover recently. A friend of mine must own it so I will take a look sometime.

 

[Holdfast]

We were lucky in Oxford as all the exams we did along the way at the end of each speciality counted as finals exemptions exams. So at the end we just had something like a 3 hour general medicine & surgery written paper and a 3 hour general medicine & surgery clinical exam and that was it. No paeds, psych, obs & gobs, etc, etc, etc. Made revising MUCH simpler.

Glasgow takes pretty much the opposite approach. No exams at all in the clinical years with two sink or swim papers and the OSCE at the end. Personally, I like it that way - but I'm not sure I speak for the majority just at the moment.

I'm one of life's natural last-minute crammers, so I actually appreciated being forced by the system to space the work out over the 3 years or I suspect I would have been totally overwhelmed by it all at the end. You must have better discipline than I (not hard, mind you!)

PS. since you're doing loads of OSCEs, a quick mandatory shill for my good friend's recently published 3rd edition of his book on OSCEs. It's a pretty comprehensive text (I glanced through it while helping with the proof-reading). Don't worry, I don't get any kickbacks for recommending it. Well, except an occasional bottle of wine...

I've seen that cover recently. A friend of mine must own it so I will take a look sometime.

The "psychedelic surf shop" cover's pretty distinctive/memorable, yes... I seem to remember having a couple of drinks while helping choose it!


(woah, we've dragged this thread pretty off-topic, huh? )

 

[StolenThunder]

Apparently so. Sorry Drone!