Comments on: Santa’s Workshop: A Kids and Money Lesson Even Adults Could Benefit From

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:09:04 +0000

I use my credit card for every purchase and pay off the balance in full every month. If an item is damaged/defective and the store won’t make it right then the credit card dispute department is wonderful. After several hundred dollars worth of kitchen purchases arrived broken and the store basically said too bad I was able to have the charges reversed and buy those items elsewhere. If I had not used my plastic it would have been a far more painful process to get my money back.

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Sunday Money Roundup – Food, Inc. Edition. | My Two Dollars — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:32:05 +0000

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By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:39:56 +0000

What a wonderful article! I just wanted to make a quick point about credit cards: many people who charge their purchases aren’t doing so because the funds are not there. My husband and I are both extremely frugal but use our credit card for almost every purchase that we make. We’ve never had a balance on our card at the end of the month and we never plan on having one. Our credit card company offers incentives for having a credit card (points that can be redeemed for gifts or cash) and just recently we cashed out our points for $300. We’ve never payed a dime to have the card.

By: Friday Linkfest: Christmas is Coming Edition

Friday Linkfest: Christmas is Coming Edition — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:03:01 +0000

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Heard of Stimulus Grants? Scams Abound — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:10:36 +0000

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By: kristine

kristine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:23:38 +0000

Our elementary school had this too, but is was called “Holiday Shop” so as not to exclude or alienate non-Christians. I am rather surprised to hear it called “Santa’s Workshop”. No Jews in your school?

The items run from 1 dollar to about 5, so it is not outrageous. It is mostly useless stuff, but more about the planning and giving than the actual item. The kids loved it, and it saved the parents extra trips out to take the child shopping for everyone.

We finish Christmas shopping in September, except for the one big thing our teens each want. Birthdays, too, are predictable, so I shop around the time of the person’s birthday, but for the next year, not the current year. The result is a stress-free holiday season, and never a last minute over-spend during the year. We have the luxury of spending time thinking of each gift, and saving to boot!

By: Diana

Diana — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:48:47 +0000

I start Christmas shopping in April, so by Ocotober they are wrapped and I get to enjoy the holiday season with no hole in the wallet and not only that, I have not been using a credit card for anything the past 6 years or so.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:06:55 +0000

I personally don’t want my kids going shopping while at school developing wish lists that they think they are going to be able to buy.

By: RLS

RLS — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:34:22 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea — I teach “life skills” math to struggling high school students and budgeting is an important part of the curriculum. However, I hadn’t really considered including a section on budgeting for Christmas. I might just have to change my lesson plans for the rest of the month . . .

And perhaps I should move the section on credit cards up a bit to calculate how much those expensive gifts cost with a few months of interest added on. This is a great idea overall, frugaldad. Thanks!

Where did the gifts in the program come from?

By: John DeFlumeri Jr

John DeFlumeri Jr — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:28 +0000

You are right to expose that we purchase differently than we want our children to do it. partly it’s because we want to be generous and don’t have enough money. We have other bills. The kids do not usually.