$245 to spend???????????????

Question

Okay, so I have $75 right now. Each week, I get $10 from my parents as an allowance.

Last year at Christmas time, as a family, we "adotped" a family. This means buying them gifts. This year, I want to do it again. The only problem was my mom says that if she's doing it she "has to do it right". Last year we sent almost $600 on a family of 3 kids.

This year, i want to "adopt" another family. My mom said she isn't going to be able to spend that much seeing that she has 7 of her own kids to buy for. By Christmas time I will have $245 saved up. My mom said she will help pay a little too. So what are some ways to cut down on the prices? How much could I get for that $$$$?

Answer 1

You are an angel and you should be proud of what you're doing. You're using money that other kids would use for their own purpose, to help out other families. You should Be proud. Now about your situation, you should try and find out how much your mom is willing to contribute. Add $245 to that and try and find a way to earn the difference. Even if you don't have a total of $600 when you're done, you can still help a family out, even if that family isn't as big as last year.  

Answer 2

One way to do it would be to consider the alternatives, instead of adopting a family and spending a bunch of money on one family why not go somewhere like Wal-Mart where they have alot of cute toys for around ten dollars each buy about 23-24 and give them to toys for tots instead of helping one family you can help many.  Also check with your community business owners and see if they will donate to help underprivileged families at christmas, whether its food, toys, money, see if your church and school will do a canned food drive or toy drive.  These are ways that you can help many people even if you don't have alot of resources.

Answer 3

Holy h**l?!! Your parents spent $600 on a family with THREE kids? Wow...how old were the kids? The younger they are the easier it is to spend less. If the parents need gifts for their kids so bad then they would appreciate items that weren't so expensive.

Ok now on cutting down the prices:

Shop on "Black Friday" the day after Thanksgiving when items are SUPER cheap. I mean REALLY REALLY cheap.  This is the day when you'll get the best sales in the year. Its hard work and long lines but well worth it in the end.

Shop at Wal-Mart and Target.

Only buy things on sale.

Shop on www.amazon.com Items over $25 are free shipping and everthing is tax free in most states.

Ask family for help. Tell your grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles what you're doing so they can also donate.

Answer 4

Instead of buying, try making a gift for those you care for.  The entire family can get in on this if your mom states that this is the way to go for everyone.  It will be fun.  Try drawing names, then each one will be responsible for making one gift.  If you get started now, you'll have plenty of time to come up with good ideas and to do a good job.  Hand created gifts have so much more meaning than something bought from a store.  My nearest and dearest treasures though the years have been things made with loving hands.

Answer 5

You have a big heart!

I save money on Christmas gifts by buying throughout the year.  I know you don't have an entire year now but now you can find Summer clothes on sale.  You can also buy school supplies on sale right now, if you're buying for school age kids, and replenish their school supplies at Christmas time.

You can also adopt and a family and find out what big ticket item they'd like to have but can't afford, and buy a family Christmas gift with the entire $245.00.  Or you can give a gift of money for them to use it along with the little money they have to go toward a purchase they need.

You could do a Christmas dinner for a family by buying a turkey or ham, and all of the things that go along with that.  Sometimes families can't afford all of the extra items you see at the grocery store at Christmas, and it would be a sweet gift to buy that for someone.  Add some potatoes, stuffing fixings, pie stuff, etc. to that and perhaps a coat for each child.  You could probably do that for under 245.00

Answer 6

dont spend too much.

Answer 7

I would contact a local elementary school and tell them you want to help out a family with 2 children. You don't need the names, but you need the ages and s*x of each child. Tell them you would like the children to make a list of 3 things they would really like. Most children that live in a less than middle class family environment will not be too extravagant. Try to get at least 1 thing for each on their list. Then purchase board games and books, a pair of PJ's for each, an umbrella, and maybe something else toy like. Scooters and such are $25 to $30 a piece for a character one. Jot down what you bought for each child so the principal can give the list to parents (if you have wrapped them) so they know what you've bought and won't re-buy it.

We've done this before with a family of 3 children. Most poorer kids don't have basic stuff like Pj's, games and umbrella's. You would be surprised. We did not know the family we adopted and chose not to. I'm sure the parents were grateful and I didn't need a thanks. Do it that way.