Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am
only publishing my interpretation of my situation. You should seek your
own legal representation for your own particular
situation. Do not rely on my
opinions or statements for your own purposes as state
and local law varies as do individual circumstances.
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and my whole
family and I are getting ready for the holiday season just like
the majority of Americans are doing. This Christmas, however,
might not be as cheerful as previous years. I have lost my big
house in a foreclosure. I had only spent two Christmas' in that
house, but I sure had hoped that I would have spent more than
just two there. Now, I am living in a condo tower; and I do not
even have room for the tree I had at the big house and all of
the decorations. Plus, Christmas in a condo tower is not quite
the same as Christmas in a house.
Many people may find
themselves in similar situations as so many Americans have lost
their homes in foreclosures this year. All of those people and
families, just like me, had to move out of their home and into
another place. They might even be sharing a place with others
like I am now with a roommate. The holiday setting is one thing.
The experience is another; and when I say experience, I mean the
decorating and the gift shopping and buying and wrapping and
giving. This year will be a lot different for a lot of people.
I have always been very
generous with my gift giving. My family always got together at
my Grandmother's house on Christmas Eve with all of my aunts and
uncles and their kids. There was pretty much always around
twenty people there. My Grandmother, although she never had much
money, always managed to buy a gift for everyone that came to
her house. She even kept a couple of extra gifts tucked away in
case someone unexpected showed up. I suppose I got my habit of
buying everyone gifts from her as well. My mother and her sister
do the same thing (my sister and brother have not taken up
this... at least not yet).
My Grandmother's gifts
were always practical and inexpensive. There were shirts and
socks and hunting supplies and fishing tackle. I think she got a
lot of her gift ideas from having grown up during the Great
Depression (a lot of lessons that a lot of Americans are
learning in every larger and larger numbers). My gift ideas have
not been as practical nor as inexpensive (For the naysayers, do
not think for a minute that my gift giving expenses put me into
foreclosure - my foreclosures are strictly related to bad real
estate and a bad economy and Wall Street wheelers and dealers; I
have no other debts that are delinquent other than my mortgages
and real estate taxes).
The question now is "What
am I going to do for gifts this year?" I have not started any
shopping. I have not even made a list (Of course, I usually do
not do any of this until like the week of Christmas anyway). I
am, however, thinking about whether or not I am going to give
gifts. A part of me would rather give no gifts than giving gifts
to only some of my relatives. I do have a bit of money in my
checking account as I have not made any mortgage payments since
November of last year (except for my house in Montgomery and now
the rental condo that I have had since about April of this
year). None of the mortgage banks have come after me personally
(not by garnishing my wages or be seizing any assets)... at
least, not yet.
I am leaning more towards
still buying gifts this year for everyone. While I have the
money, I can use it to spread a little Christmas cheer one last
year (next year may be an entirely different story). I probably
will not buy as large of gifts as I have in the past. I think I
will stick to things like picture frames and pictures. I do,
however, feel like I might not be able to do any of this next
year. Next year might be a lot less as the real estate will
probably have sold by then and the banks will probably start
coming after my wages and my assets (the assets are mostly gone
now).
A quick question for my
readers, what are you going to do about gifts this holiday
season? Email me (Noah@ShortOnchange.com). I'll put responses on this page as they come in
or you can add them as comments (comments
page).
I wish you all well this
year and to your families as well. I wish you all a much better
year ahead.
~Noah
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