The hubs and I have decided not to exchange Christmas gifts this year. We didn’t reach this point because of finances or any other extreme circumstances, but after a brief conversation about gifts neither of us could come up with an answer to “What do you want for Christmas?”. Days later we still didn’t have answers, so we decided that we didn’t need anything. It’s not surprising that we’ve reached this point because we would do this same song and dance every single year. The answers were always forced, as both of us went on a search for things that would be nice to have, but we weren’t necessarily checking for them at any other time during the year.

Here’s the truth of it all. We were forcing ourselves to spend money because it was a “tradition.”This year we’ve decided that our tradition would be different. Instead of gifts, we’re going to go out for a nice dinner on the day after Christmas and then spend the rest of the time enjoying each other’s company.

It’s been interesting to hear our families reaction to our news to not purchase gifts for each other. Some of them get it; some don’t. Spending money at this time of year is a concept that has been ingrained in us. It’s become a parasitic form of love. Depending on the situation you find yourself purchasing a gift you can’t afford to satisfy someone’s expectation, and at the same time, this form of forced gift-giving takes away from you. It takes away from the goals you’ve set for yourself, or you’ve set for your family.

We did purchase gifts for our family thanks to our Christmas Sinking Fund. We set up an automatic transfer for $75 a month, and by the end of the year, we’d saved $900. By the time Black Friday deals rolled around, we had enough money to take advantage of deals and purchase gifts. We even made sure to shop through Ebates so that we could take advantage of cashback! After buying all the gifts, we still have over $300 left in our Christmas Fund. As we don’t need anything for ourselves, we’re planning to move that money over into another sinking fund.

We’ve been spending the last few weeks decluttering our home and getting rid of things that no longer serve us. I’ve shared a few of my decluttering adventures with you all on Instagram and even how my decluttering goals were broadened after listening to “Decluttering at the Speed of Life” by Dana White. Decluttering has put things into perspective for us when it comes to how we’ve been spending our money. As we put things into either the “donate” or “throwaway” pile, I can’t help but think about all the money we spent on fleeting moments of happiness.

I want things in my home to bring me joy. I want my house full of memories that make me smile instead of things that make me question why I ever purchased it in the first place.