Time. What time? No holiday cards from us this year. I even sent Christmas presents that will definitely be late. And I forgot to get a little gift for the afternoon helper in my daughter’s school. Yeah he’s not a teacher, but he has to deal with the kids when they are so exhausted and strung out that all mine can manage to say is “doodie bum.” So he probably should have gotten the holiday cocoa too. But holiday tipping and all the issues that surround is for another post.

Today, it’s all about feeling a little Scrooge-y. Yes, I could have sent the presents and paid more than $50 to do so. But being a frugal type, I reluctantly rationalized that a late present from me wasn’t going to ruin anyone’s most-likely over-indulgent Christmas day anyway. They’ll get it on Boxing Day. What’s the big deal?

Then I’ve been having the dilemma of whether I should feed my family the cheapest piece of beef I can find or splurge for the tenderloin. I know what Scrooge would do (order pizza– tempting), but I’m thinking in this case I’m going to be reformed Scrooge and buy the nice meat.

I was searching for the cost of a Christmas dinner online. The American Farm Bureau comes up with a Thanksgiving cost estimate each year: $42.46 for 10 people in ‘07.

And I ran across this fascinating New York Times story from 1908:

IT is not so much the question this year what shall we have for our Christmas dinner as what shall we not have or rather what shall we dispense with to save expenses, as prices of food products are tremendous.

It gets better. First it says that if we were English we’d have to have roast beef and pudding because Brits are traditionalists. But we Americans are:

UP to date and dominated by the “New Thought,” one of the principles of which is self-denial.

Hah!
I probably should have posted this sooner, but here’s the link to Lutheran Social Services Scrooge-O-Meter, which will open your eyes to how long it will take and how much it will cost for you to pay off those gifts you already purchased. I’ll post it in October next year.

I followed three families in debt for a year and just finished up the 12 month period in September. I called it the “Financial Fix-Ups.”

I received so much feedback. Some people complained about the financial habits of the individuals being profiled. Others shared their own tales of debt. Yet others thanked me for addressing such a taboo topic. And then some contacted me asking for help.Each participant told me that being accountable not only to the financial expert I paired them with but also the reading public was instrumental in making improvements in their money life. So I decided to start the Fix-Ups Club– a mostly online club where readers can tackle their own debt issues and meet their financial goals. We’ll have plenty of guest expert Q&As. Discussions and web tools are on their way.

For Ka-Blog readers, the format is familiar. Essentially, it’s another blog. Never fear. I’ll still be Ka-blogging and the content of each blog will typically be different. But I figured some of you might be interested in the Fix-Ups club as well.I’ve been fortunate enough to have never had a lot of debt, aside from some school loans and my home. But for those of you had debt and paid it off, I’d love to learn how you did it. And for those of you currently tackling your debt demon, share your strategies too.

I’ve had a couple of memorable conversations with people about whether heavy media coverage of issues like foreclosure, credit card debt and other financial downers shape the way we think about money.

The argument: pointing out people in the financial deep makes others feel like debt is as American as pumpkin pie.

What never seems to get reported are the facts about how many people have health insurance and how many people pay off their credit card debts in full. It’s a twist on the ol’ why can’t you report on the happy news, the newborn babes, the cats rescued from trees, that kind of rainbow-hued stuff.

I admit that when writing a bummer of a financial trend story I’m empathetic, but can’t personally relate. And I wonder how it is that I’ve resisted the ATVs and new cars and 3,000 square foot homes I can’t afford while others don’t. I also thank my lucky stars that life hasn’t thrown me a rubber check yet.

But then I realize I’m not so different. For instance, lately I’ve been close to booking a few days vacation in Mexico, but can’t pull the trigger. We can afford it in the don’t-have-to-charge-it kind of way. But I know full well that this money should really be locked away for our inevitable car purchase in the next couple years. Or to up our pathetic charitable giving this year.

Yes, we’re all full of contradictions, especially when it comes to spending, saving, and keeping up with the neighbors.

What do you think? Do you think coverage of our supposed culture of debt has slowly turned generations from depression-era savers to spendthrifts?

I made a $50 loan to some a guy I didn’t know to finance his move from Boston to New York last year. I, and dozens of other people through the online loan marketplace Prosper. I had written about a local guy who loaned more than $20k on the site, which rates borrowers based on credit score and debt to income ratios, etc.

My guy, whose name I’ve never known, was high risk because of lots of debt, but his credit score was OK. I figured I could lose my $50, but it wouldn’t send me to the poor house. Besides, Iwas curious about the web site and if he did pay me back, I’d be handsomely rewarded.

Until last month, he paid me on time and I’ve earned a 24.49 percent APY. But now my loan is one month late and the guy still owes me $23.47. Although I’ve already received payments worth $35.16 principal plus interest, so my potential loss isn’t much. I’ll also see more of a return now that he’s late. If he stops paying altogether, it’s Prosper’s policy to send my guy’s account to collections so I can get my piddly $15.

What happened to my aspiring Big Apple-ite? Did he lose his job? Take on too much debt? Saddle himself with an adjustable rate mortgage, or forget to pay his bills while on a trip? Or has he decided that paying money to a faceless swarm is not top of his financial priority list?

I haven’t thought much about this money or this guy since I signed up months ago. But now that there are signs he’s having some trouble, I wonder if a web site loaning money to strangers for unsecured debts at high rates (although nothing near a loan shark rate) does more collective harm or collective good?