Hello. Glad you posted. My son is having his 30th birthday - tomorrow actually. Now this is a "special" birthday but this mom doesn't have a lot of money and there is really nothing I could buy my son that he can't buy for himself (well...okay, a yacht or something - but neither of us can get that!!).GMPG54 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2018 9:53 pm Hi ladies,
Belated Happy New Year,
LONGTIME lurker with a spending challenge question...
How do you deal with birthdays, holidays and unexpected occasions?
I'm attempting the buy nothing challenge from the minimalist but I have a bunch of birthdays and 2 baby showers and I don't have a crafty bone in my body!
Thanks in advance,wise frugalistas.
So...rather than spend money I don't have to spend - I got my son a nice birthday card. Then I cut out 30 squares from some old file folders. On each one I wrote a reason why my son is special or something that I (or people in general) appreciate about him. For example, he is good at fixing things, he is helpful, he has a wonderful sense of humor, etc. I punched a hole in each of these and attached them all through a metal ring that I had from an old set of keys.
I didn't spend a cent on this gift. I had the old file folders, the metal ring, the colored pens. Unfortunately, the weather will prevent me from getting this gift to my son on his birthday but he will be able to spend a nice day at home with his wife. They both work very hard and deserve a relaxing weekend. And she promised to save me a piece of her homemade Oreo cake!!
Another free or nearly free birthday gift I have heard of people giving is to print out a list of facts about the date they were born - like what was the #1 song, how much did a gallon of milk cost, who was President, how much did a gallon of gas cost, what was the most popular movie, etc. etc. For inspiration you can go to "my birthday facts dot com" - and there are many other websites as well.
This is something that can be printed and put into a certificate frame from the dollar store. If you don't have a printer at home, some libraries will let you print for a small fee - ours is .10 cents per page - up to ten pages.
I don't plan to spend much at all on any birthdays this year - other than .50 cents for the cards. My mom has been coveting a large wooden bowl that I have - it was in my garage when I bought my house - and I really have no place for it and it isn't convenient having it in my house. So...for her birthday in May - (or maybe for Mothers Day), I am going to clean up the bowl with some "wood refresher stuff" (also in the garage when I moved in), put some tissue paper in the bottom of it and add some free samples of different items that I've received - lotion, perfume, etc.
My daughter's birthday is also in May - she will get the same gift that I made for my son. I think for my daughter-in-law I will make the "on your birthday..." page and frame it.