Decision Making - Hackettstown,NJ

Well, change your way of thinking! Start planning stuff like this in a way to save money. Think of it as a fun challenge. If you are too preoccupied with feeling inadequate because of lack of money, you miss out on SO much. AND you may end up spending more money because you wait til the last minute to do something.

I promise you that if you make this a fun thing to see how creative you can be in not spending money, you'll feel a whole lot better.

You know what you can do?
Keep a box or a shopping bag stocked with stuff you see at an awesome price. Get it & throw it in the bag. When you need a gift-- go to the box/bag.
You can pick up a smattering of cards at the dollar store 2/$1 & keep them in there too.

ETA: Marda--the idea is picking things up at a GREAT deal--not junk. We have some idea of who we exchange gifts with over the year--coworkers, friends, family members, etc. gifts should be fairly generic with this plan--flower pots, seeds, candles, mugs, nuts, jewelry, sports team items, candy, gloves, scarves, etc.
I do think having something on hand that maybe adding a finishing touch, cute gift bag & a nice card is better than being caught empty handed, with no plan and possibly having to spend more because you don't have time to shop/wait for a bargain. Sorry it didn't work for you but it does work.
Oh-- you can buy great gift bag deals on clearance and keep those in there too.

You are a perfectionist and you want to find the perfect thing for the perfect price. No such thing. Go with Good Enough.

Good Enough fits in your budget, first.
Good Enough is a present that you want to generously give this person.
Good Enough knows that this is not the only thing this person will ever get and it's ok if it's just Good Enough for now.
Good Enough is not perfect. No one is.

I buy things ahead of time when I find them on sale, but I do buy them with specific purpose. If I see something my husband would like/need on sale in January I will buy it as a Fathers Day gift. I can return it if something better comes along. I never pay full price for anything unless I really have no other choice. I still have trouble making decisions when I choose between this or that, so I usually let price be the deciding factor.

In response to OnePerfectOne, I did that. I ended up with a fairly large box full of things that I never gave to anyone. My goal was to save money and it back fired. There just is rarely anyway to know in advance what people would enjoy. I tried to just give the things away but found that most of it was not of interest to anyone in my life at the time. Most was for kids and they'd grown. Some was for specific adults and at the time I gave a gift I found something else that was much more perfect.

I enjoy the shopping for a gift. I understand the hesitancy to shop when you don't have enough money. What I've done is give myself a certain amount and challenge myself to find something for just that amount. Since you know you procrastinate, schedule the shopping trip on your calendar. Perhaps quickly make a list in your mind or on paper of the person's interests and/or things you'd enjoy. Then make yourself go shopping.

If you don't have a budget written down, I suggest that will help you enjoy the moment. You'll know you have $10 for a gift or for a movie or for fun so when the opportunity comes up you can go ahead and do it.

Hi twin sister,

Good Golly do i do this constantly!!! and even if i had a ton of money i would do the same thing.

I envy those confident people that get it all right, they probably really don't but because they THINK they got it right other people think so too.

i have done the "gift closet/box" and it's been great in some instances and then there are a few things still hanging around. so you could do that but if unemployment is an issue you would have to be super super careful and just think about things you know you will need. even 50 cents for the perfect gift bag for nephew that ends up not getting used this year because the gift to go in it is too big or too small is still 50 cents that could have gone to something else this year, when it does work though and you can just pull something out it is soooo great.

Sometimes procratinatin is just a nice way of throwing a tantrum and saying "i don't WANT to" I catch myself doing that. I don't have a good answer for you because the alternative isn't great. I don't want to pick out a fathers day gift for my hubs becausei think he should be happy withthe handmade card from the kids but HE thinks he needs $80 sneakers. even though he could wear the sneakers he already has. but if i don't he'll be hurt and it isn't worth dealing with that.

Can you get a friend to talk it the gift ideas over with you? that's the only thing i can think of.