There are people I know who'll spend no more than $5 on any gift they are buying anyone. And they also limit the number of people they'll be buying gifts for. By doing so they save a lot of money by the end of the year. It had me thinking that this strategy isn't that bad. You shouldn't buy gifts for everyone you know after all. Not even the extended family [uncles, aunts and cousins who hardly ever visit]. Thoughts?
I try and not to put any limit on gifts but sometimes it is necessary. Most of the time I will just separate the recipients into categories such as primary and secondary. For the primary gifts like people I'm close to like my siblings I will spend as much as I can around a certain amount if I can spare it at the time and for the secondary I will also have a limit around $10 most of the time, though I have to admit I try and find gifts that are even cheaper than that if I can as long as they still look fairly pricey.
I have a limit for most people, but not so much for my parents and closest friends. For most other people I don't spend any more than around £5-£10, whereas people that are important to me, I'll spend say up to £50 if it's a special occasion. I prefer to go with cheap gifts, but I also want to show the people I really care about that I do care. I try to go with thoughtful gifts rather than just spending money on people though, but my mother had really wanted a Kindle but couldn't afford it so I saved up all year to get her one for her birthday. If it's something the person wants I think that's more important than making sure you're not spending too much.
