A few years ago I noticed that my two boys had become very spoilt.  It was quiet embarrassing at times like Christmas and birthdays when there was nothing they wanted. Lovingly my Mum commented how great it was that my boys never asked for anything, well if only she knew it was because they were so terribly spoilt! We had even come to a point where when asked “what would you like for your birthday” they would reply “I dunno” or one very embarrassing time when my youngest had a big long think and then replied “ummm a Television please”, nice manners but WHAT THE!

They are not the only ones to suffer from the “I’ve got it all” syndrome. When asked what I would like for my birthday “that latest Michael Buble CD sounds good” alas I replied “I just treated myself to it last week!!” To say that we are spoilt rotten is an understatement.

SO for the past few years I have been trying to only buy the things we need as a family during the year and buy the things we’d *like* for birthdays and Christmas. As a result the gifts are far more appreciated at those special times. It has even made buying ”new school books” fun and buying new clothes a bit of an adventure. As a family we have started to really enjoy a full day out at the shops to do the Christmas shopping or update our summer wardrobe.

Another very nice side effect has been that the boys play with all their toys as they re-discover things they discarded.   These toys were once much sort after, even begged and pleaded for at the time, only to be discarded when the next “must have toy” came along.  I have also found that I carry much less guilt around when I do treat myself to a cute new outfit or pick out some yummy perfume for my husband to buy at those special times.

In an era where we have far greater disposable wealth and easier access to credit for those “must have moments” it is so easy to just buy stuff we like and we end up putting off buying the things we really need. I’m not saying it’s easy to stop yourself from just buying impulsively either. Just yesterday I took the boys to get new school shoes and found myself looking at clothes and then buying said clothes!!   I did stop and think about whether or not I really needed it and realised it had been an age since I spent any money on myself, in fact it was in November for my works Christmas party.  The point being that I did stop and ask myself ”do I really neeeeeeed this?” and of course the answer was “bloody oath”.

TTFN