The REAL Reason I Need to Grow My Savings Account

Guess how much I just spent on birthday presents for other people's children:Almost $80. That there total, my friends, is more than half of my weekly grocery budget. It is three times as much as I spend on kids' haircuts (for both kids). It would fill up the fuel tank in my car almost four times (whoop - diesel's sure come down!).

Am I the only one that thinks this is crazy?

But, you are all thinking, isn't *she* the one who is purchasing these presents? Doesn't that mean she ultimately has control of the amount she spends?

Yes and no. "Yes" in that I'm the one who helps my kids choose what they want to bestow upon their friends to say Many Happy Returns, and I'm the one who whips out the credit card. I'm the one who says they can go to the party, and I'm the one who faithfully RSVPs each time.

But what are my options? Tell my kids they can't attend because I'm cheap? That seems a bit harsh - they are already subject to my whim in every other area, and I say "no" ten times more than I say "yes" as it is.

Tell my kids they can attend but they can't bring a present? Yeah, that'll make them super popular.

Try to reduce how much I spend on each present? This option certainly has merit, but have you tried to find something for a child that is a) not a piece of crap and b) might actually be fun for under $15? Plus, I'm that mom - it has to be edu-ma-ca-tional - or at the very least, require the quickening of some brain cells. Ideally, it's a) a craft that b) requires creative energy and c) takes up very little space in terms of the end product.

So, I end up at the fancy kids store, doing my darnedest to find the cheapest items in the store that still meet all the above criteria.

Honestly, I'm not sure that I can do anything differently here. It's certainly not my kids' fault that they've been invited to five birthday parties between the two of them over the next three weekends. They love going and, while I get that often the entire class is invited, I still think the receipt of invitations demonstrates some level of success in terms of that oh-so-desirable skill, The Making of Friends.

Besides, their favourite food is macaroni and cheese "from the box" - this coincides nicely with the fact that if their social calendars remain full, my grocery budget will permit only KD by the Costco case.

Or am I just being cheap? I've been known to pinch pennies, and I still labour under the impression that I should be able to purchase a complete outfit for under $20 and any more is an attempted highway robbery. Virtually every purchase leads to sticker shock, so maybe it's just me. Maybe I just need to join the twenty-first century and say, hey, this is the price of modern living. What do you think? Understandably grumpy at this ongoing assault on my pocketbook? Or outdatedly curmudgeonly and confusing of "thrift" with "lack of generosity"?