Boycott Christmas.

I heard a report on the radio this morning which said that there are 26% more Americans who will be more than 30 days late on credit card payments during Christmas this year than the same time last year.

Christmas is becoming more and more difficult to afford as the cost of living in this country continues to soar, while at the same time, big business is doing everything it can to instill the belief that it is customary to spend thousands of your hard-earned dollars on gifts during this season.

I mean, pay attention to the commercials... you'll see companies advertising a Plasma screen TV (that costs $2000 or more) as being "The perfect Christmas gift"... either that or a "Suzuki ATV or Dirt Bike", a diamond ring, a Mercedes Benz, etc.

I remember when an elaborate Christmas gift was something that cost $75. It's just really sad when we need to bleed the common man dry in order to "stimulate the economy".

It was estimated that the average family spent $910 on gifts during the 2006 holiday season, and that was expected to increase by 5% or 10% this year.

In response to all of this, most of my family has decided to only buy gifts for our children (in the name of Santa), and to limit those gifts to less than $50 each. So, we've managed to keep our spending to less than $200, while still getting together to celebrate and enjoy the season as a family without having to worry about how much credit card debt we'll all be in next month!