Embracing Consumerism For Christmas

I’ve come to place in my life where I genuinely enjoy being frugal. I no longer find it a “struggle”. I don’t believe I’m sacrificing anything by living well below my means, and I would even go so far as to say I’m not actually delaying gratification at all. I’ve been open in expressing my belief that living below your means is not just the most powerful ally you have in achieving great wealth in life, but it can also allow you to hasten gratification – allowing you to accumulate what you really want in life: freedom and autonomy.

However, that doesn’t mean I believe in spreading my message to everyone – especially those that don’t believe in what I believe. There are many people out there who live for today, and are more than happy to work for the privilege. It’s no sweat off my back, and I’ve never thought that talking people into living frugally and building wealth was a particularly noble achievement. I simply aim to inspire others who aspire to reach financial freedom.

With that being said, I’m embracing consumerism this Christmas. Truth be told, I embrace it every Christmas. I truly enjoy spending time with my family and giving gifts is something that’s a deep tradition in our household. I love seeing family member’s faces light up with delight when they open a gift that I thoughtfully picked out. For instance, this year I purchased my uncle a biography of Paul McCartney (he’s a huge Beatles fan) and a couple of Fatheads – one of Calvin Johnson and one of Matthew Stafford (he’s also a Lions fan). I also picked up a couple of Amazon gift cards for my aunt so she can buy some movies and books for her Kindle, as well as an electric blanket so she can stay warm on those cold Michigan nights while she reads her latest find.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is to not let frugality and/or investing overwhelm your life. As well, don’t necessarily think you’re doing anyone else favors by trying to push your ideas on them. What you embrace may not necessarily be something they’d enjoy. My family doesn’t particularly enjoy sitting around the dining room table talking about income statements or recent dividend raises. Furthermore, they don’t really enjoy saving money for an unknown future. And that’s fine by me. I love them all just the way they are, and equally so they love me for me. And while the love is unconditional, love also usually involves compromises and some kind of middle ground.

Christmas is my white flag. It’s my compromise. And it’s not all selfless: I enjoy receiving gifts almost as much as I like giving them. My family means the world to me, and taking part in tradition outranks my desire to change my life – if only for one day. Besides, the little kid in me loves shredding some wrapping paper open with my bare hands, revealing a shiny new gift. It’s once a year, after all.

And sometimes we must have that white flag in our lives. Maybe it’s a first date where you don’t want to necessarily unleash the gates of frugality right away. You don’t want to overwhelm someone, after all. Maybe that white flag comes around one Friday night per month where you and your friends really hit the town in style with little regard to the bar tab.

What I’m not saying is to fit into society at all costs. However, I do recommend to toss up the white flag every once in a while in the name of keeping friendships current and maintaining family relationships. I’m not saying Christmas is all about gifts, but I’d feel like a self-serving jerk if I showed up with nothing but homemade cards and cookies. And if I do the mall thing once a year, so be it. I’m not aiming to push frugality on others. Rather, I’m aiming to buy time so that I can spend more of it with those that I love. Straining relationships with loved ones now in the name of spending more time with them later would be counterproductive.

So, yes. I’m embracing consumerism this Christmas. My guard is let down once a year, and I’m totally okay with it. Frugality is a wonderful tool, but just make sure you don’t become one on the way to financial independence.

How about you? Do you ever toss up the white flag? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: stockimages/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Similar Posts

23 Comments

  1. Another thought provoking post. Yes indeed, it is all about balance, its not all or nothing. Im very frugal also, but there are times I treat myself. Living in Florida its easy, taking a day off and going to the beach. The cost? A couple of gallons of gas. As for Christmas, I like giving a select couple of people gifts. I plan for it all year long, and pay cash for them. As Dave Ramsey likes to say, Christmas is not an emergency, it comes around every year. Plan for it.

  2. There are times when I’m frugal ( I hate library fines, no matter how small) and then there are times when I splurge (my vac costs 4 times a normal vac). It all depends upon the situation. Strike the right balance and you’ll come out fine.

  3. Nice article here, good read! Until recently I didn’t realize how good of a writer you really are.

    I’m pretty darn frugal myself. The only thing I wanted for Christmas this year was locally made buffalo jerky(haha)! I swear that stuff is laced with crack… Anyways my white flag is skiing (not a cheap hobby) and taking an awesome vacation once in a while. Worth it.

    I refuse to ever give homemade gifts. Nobody wants that crap. Rude!

  4. It’s all about picking your battles. Sometimes it’s smarter to spend more money than normal, especially if it’s done strategically. In any case, it doesn’t sound like you went out there and got yourself in debt by going on a huge shopping spree.

    This year we spent money traveling out of state to see some family. It was well worth the money.

  5. Aahhh skiing.

    Now that’s put my financial independence back by many years. We love to go skiing and I pretty much close my eyes when the credit card statement arrives after a skiing holiday (always paid off every month so no interest), as I don’t want to think what I could have done with the cash. I think its more of a white sheet than a white flag!

    The other side of this tale however is that one of the things I want to do when I have reached my goal is to spend December to April living in a ski resort (may even pick up some part time work), this is why I want FI, as I can’t do this while holding down a regular job, but I can if my ownership of businesses keeps sending me the dividends

  6. Inetresting post. By the title, I assumed you would be writing about how you embrace the consumerism of others during the holiday season. After all, we need everyone to keep spending their money so that the dividend growth companies we own can continue to increase earnings and dividends! The angle you took with the article was a pleasant surprise (and reminder) for all of us. Long time reader, first time posting. Happy Holidays!

  7. Anonymous,

    Ramsey makes a good point there. Anything that is recurring (like Christmas) needs to be planned and budgeted for.

    And you make a great point about free activities down here in Florida. Hitting the beach makes for a great way to spend the afternoon, plus it’s free. The fact that there are so many great ways to spend time outdoors for free is one of the reasons I moved here in the first place.

    Thanks for the perspective. And I agree about striking a balance. 🙂

    Best regards.

  8. moneycone,

    I’m with you. I’m better these days about striking a balance. When I first started living frugally it was easy to just start cutting everything. But then you start to realize what’s really important to you in life, and that’s when you start consciously spending in certain areas. And that’s really what it’s all about: being conscious about your spending.

    Best wishes!

  9. CI,

    Hey, we all have to waive a white flag once in a while. 🙂

    They key is to balance it all out and be conscious about what it is we’re spending our money on. Are we getting value? Are we increasing our happiness? The problem with excessive consumption isn’t just in the money spent, but rather in the unconscious nature of it. People tend to spend a ton of money without actually getting much value in return, and aren’t even really aware of what it is they’re doing.

    Keep on skiing! 🙂

    Take care.

  10. Spoonman,

    I’m definitely not going into debt with a shopping spree. I’m spending well under $1,000 total for all gifts to everyone, and I’ll end up racking up a small amount of cashback rewards from the credit card. 🙂

    It’s definitely about picking the battles. For a while there I was eating ramen noodles every day and riding the bus everywhere, yet I would still spend $300+ on tickets to fly home to Michigan to see family. It’s all about spending money in areas where you maximize your value.

    Cheers!

  11. Anonymous,

    Glad you liked the post.

    I could have taken the angle of encouraging consumerism in the name of funding our dividends, but the wonderful thing about many of the companies that we dividend growth investors tend to invest in see secular demand for their products and services. I would say the retailers in my portfolio – WMT and TGT – are more sensitive to holiday spending, but other than that spending money on stuff like cigarettes, soda, gas and food is a year-round activity. 🙂

    Thanks for being a reader. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting for the first time. I appreciate the support!

    Best regards.

  12. Great point. Us married folks often need to compromise. I’m the frugal pants in our family. My wife is great in that she tolerates waiting for a lot of things as we save/pay off debt. There are things she’s wanted for years that I’ve said we’ll do “someday.” But I try hard to do what I can for her while keeping our financial goals in mind.

    It’s important to keep in mind that part of what we’re trying to achieve is a better life. Sometimes that means loosening the purse strings just a tad every once in awhile to enjoy the life we have today as well as in the future.

    Have a very Merry Christmas!

    Steve

  13. Steve,

    Great points there on compromise. Not all of us are frugal minded, and many of us on this path will find ourselves in relationships where the other party is supportive, but not necessarily as interested in delaying gratification or financial independence. Compromise, in these situations, is a powerful tool.

    You’re definitely right: it’s important to strike the right balance and loosen up every once in a while. We’re all living below our means and investing the difference to face a brighter future, but if today isn’t very fun it won’t be worth it. I find frugality less and less burdensome as I get older, but at the same time I also recognize that I’m in the minority and society as a whole is a lot different. Thus, it’s important to focus on your relationships and make sure that frugality doesn’t hamper them.

    You have a very merry Christmas as well! 🙂

    Take care.

  14. For Christmas I got my 2 kids a mix of a few Dividend Champion stocks, a long with a small gift. My wife wasn’t too happy that they couldn’t unwrap more. I’m going to let the kids use the dividends as they roll in to get whatever toys they want during the year, I figure this would be a good teachable opportunity for my family. We’ll see how it goes =)

  15. Investing Early,

    Wow! Nice move. Very brave, and I hope one day your kids realize what a great gift that really is. Hopefully they’ll appreciate that in time. 🙂

    I’d love to buy my family some stocks for Christmas, but I have a feeling that would go over like a lead balloon. That’s okay, though. More stocks for me!

    Merry Christmas!

    Best regards.

  16. good article. Like you I have never really been an evangelist for frugal living. I will tell anyone who wants to know, but if they don’t, I really don’t care about converting them. I may think they are crazy for being willing to work for 40+ years and never really being free, but people are allowed to be crazy if they want.

    I do desire that they make their decisions consciously with full knowledge of the consequences, but what they final decision is doesn’t matter to me.

    I would go as far as saying by that I don’t think you are ‘throwing up the white flag’ by spending a ‘lot’ in some categories. I recently did a blog post about how if you are trying to attain financial independence, WHAT you spend your money on is pretty much irrelevant. Only the savings rate matters. And you will be getting there just as fast as if you spent your christmas money on gifts, or lottery tickets, or an unexpected bill.

    The whole reason we all want to reach FI is to be able to enjoy life to the fullest. So it would really be counter to our goals to deny ourselves ANY pleasures because of modest costs.

    Like I said, as long as the decisions are made consciously with full knowledge of the opportunity costs, then go for it.

  17. I don’t think of it as delayed gratification anymore either. Lately I’ve been thinking that it’s just a more sustainable way of life. We can live frugally and once we retire, we can continue to live the same lifestyle.
    Other people will live it up and when they retire, they will have a big adjustment to make. Or they will just have to keep working longer.
    I got a couple of Thomas engines toys for my kid. For my wife, it will be more frugal or cash because she doesn’t need anything. I don’t mind spending money once in a while. Actually, for us it’s travel. Christmas is not a huge deal.

  18. Dividend Mantra,
    Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I am personally thankful that your blog is part of my daily reading (both the great posts and comments/conversation). Super excited to see what 2014 has in store for Dividend Mantra and dividend growth investing! Glad that you are taking this opportunity to splurge on your family, it’s important to wave that white flag from time-to-time, and their reaction to your thoughtful gifts will be priceless.
    Sincerely,
    Ian

  19. Shack,

    Haha! That’s too funny. There’s probably a lot of truth in your comment. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your holidays as well!

    Best wishes.

  20. TMM,

    I totally hear you. I think this is a wonderful way to live, but people have to want to change. Trying to tell people about improving themselves is just going to go in one ear and out the other unless they want change.

    I agree with you in regards to it not mattering what you spend your money on. If you’re able to rent for $100/mo and get by without a car you can probably spend $10/day on Starbucks and still save 50% or more of your income and not have a care in the world. However, if you’re spending $1,500/mo on your mortgage you’ll have to cut most of your discretionary spending and you still might have a hard time saving half of your net income. It’s all relative, right?

    Opportunity costs is just it. I recently wrote an article discussing that – comparing long-term recurring costs and one-time expenses. It’s important to especially compare the latter against the opportunity cost of the capital, because much of the former is uncontrollable to a degree (rent, food, etc).

    Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the perspective. And it’s great to see you blogging regularly again! I’ll have to stop by.

    Cheers!

  21. Joe,

    I’m on the same page as you. Living the way I do now is my “new normal”. There is no more adjusting or sacrificing – it’s just life. And I’ve become quite happy with it. Furthermore, I also plan to continue living just this way in retirement. While I might living a more interesting life because I’ll have all my time to myself, I’ll still limit my expenses by compromising in other areas. For instance, traveling sounds wonderful, but I’d limit the increase in costs by doing slow, long-term travel to cheaper locations like Thailand.

    Best regards!

  22. PPC Ian,

    Thanks so much for your kind and continuing support. It really means a lot to me.

    I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and get to spend it with those that mean the most to you. I’ll be waving my white flag temporarily, but I’m anxious to get right back to my frugal ways as soon as 2014 starts. 🙂

    Merry Christmas!

    Take care.

Leave a Reply