I enjoyed reading this because it echoes some of my thoughts and feelings regarding holiday-driven giving.
To me, the same way everyone has their own unique nutrition preferences and sleep schedules, people 'should' have their own 'giving preferences & schedules' as well.
Having 'giving' mandated (or heavily influenced) by fairly arbitrary societal holidays feels... off somehow, to me.
That said, the issue's never really seemed like a 'hill to die on,' so I'm fine to happily play the holiday-giving game as it seems to bring some measure of joy to others as well as 'keeping the peace' in my own circles.
You've taken it a step further though with the risk/reward and economics-based look at even the tiniest decisions.
Very thought-provoking stuff, thank you.
This is the thing, isn't it? It no longer becomes a personal decision, it is habit, tradition - automatic.
What I do with this is, randomly buy for these holidays too. Sometimes, my wife goes years without a Valentine's gift, then gets something special and complains - because she didn't get me anything :D
I find a balance point in reality, but I try to keep my mindset leaning towards frugality first, and then actively moving if I choose.
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That's exactly it. I don't really care what day gifts happen on, as long as it's an intentional, inspired, conscious decision as opposed to an auto-pilot one. That's my preference, at least.
Randomly buying for holidays is a great way to handle it. And I'm glad you're practical enough to find a balance point in reality while maintaining your mindset. May more people adopt a similar approach. :)
As usual, thanks for the food for thought! 🙏