The gift of thankfulness

On my way home from work the other day, I was half-listening to the radio. There was a commercial for something (electronics, I think) and the final statement was "get what you really wanted this holiday season!"

Now, I love getting presents as much as the next person. Come on, admit it, you love getting a gift! Giving is fun too, of course, and I have especially loved the scavenger hunt of searching for the perfect, yet frugal, gift this year. But ungratefulness? Going shopping for myself to get what I really wanted this Christmas? Not something that ever crossed my mind.

Now, I'm not talking about using up gift cards. Gift cards are wonderful and completely useful, and I plan to take advantage of the gift cards I was given. However I'm not about to run out and buy something with my own money that I didn't get for Christmas...just because I didn't get it for Christmas. I've gotten my fair share of items I didn't actually want, don't get me wrong. But I find it presumptuous and selfish to hear that statement on the radio, and worse...I'm sure there are people out there who feel that way, people who are shopping for themselves this very minute, taking advantage of the sales to buy things for themselves.

I'm not sure when my feelings on things changed. Maybe it happened along with the frugal living blogs I read. Maybe it happened because over the course of 2 years I spent less than 6 months in 4 different states. Or maybe I'm just growing up.

I'm trying very, very hard not to roll my eyes when someone discusses their finances, or what they are planning on buying. I am trying very hard not to judge when I hear about someone spending what I consider exorbitant amounts of money on what I would consider to be something unneeded. I'm trying...but, unfortunately, I'm not always successful.