Spend vs. Save Gifts

It's December and that means it's time for gift-giving.

Hoorah!!!

Seriously though, for someone like me who needs to be financially responsible because I have a family to take care of and a household to run, I simply cannot afford to splurge like I'm still single. Gone were the days when shopping for shoes and clothes were a guilt-free therapy. Now, buying stuff is usually preceded by THE question of all questions -- "Do I really need this?" That sort of slaps me into reality mode which is a reminder that there are far more important things to take care of.

But if you think about it, there is actually a way for us to still enjoy buying things we like. Without the guilt. We only need to be more practical and realistic given our budgets. 

Having said that, I'm listing down my wishlist for this Christmas. It's a spend vs. save list for me because as much as I wanna gift myself with the really fancy ones, I couldn't. Not this time, anyway. = )

1. Gold watch - Had my eye on this for quite sometime now. I think it's a nice complement to an all black outfit or a neutral ensemble which I must say dominates my wardrobe. Besides, a big watch, for some reason, looks good on my wrist so all the more that I have GOT to have this.  

SPEND                                                                                      
Nixon 42-20 Chrono

SAVE

Michael Kors Oversized Runway Watch

2. iTouch - I love music. It's a go-to moodsetter for me. And now that my iPod Mini's life is about to come to an end (it's been with me for 6 years now), I'm hell bent on replacing it with iPod Touch, preferably 64GB. I wouldn't mind splurging on this thang because I'm sure it will go a looooong way.

SPEND/SAVE

3. Compact System Camera - I have been thinking of investing in a really nice compact system camera and have done quite a few research on which one's the best in the market. For the non-techies, a CSC functions like a DSLR in terms of controls, interchangeable lenses and high-quality images but is made more compact, which means it's not bulky to lug around. Sounds good, right? I don't wanna look like a "pretend photographer" with my heavy camera (I personally think the word photographer is a term loosely used nowadays) but I wanna get decent shots of my DDs (darling daughters) in all their cuteness especially this Christmas so I would really, reeeaaaally wanna get this. Like now.

SPEND
Olympus PEN EP3

SAVE
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3

I could go on and on with my list but for now these are what I could think of. They're big ticket items, to say the least, but surely worth an investment whether I settle with the expensive ones or the not so.

Santa? Universe?

Are you paying attention??? = )