Forced to overspend?
by Jummy
It is the birthday of a friend of yours. This person is not your closest friend but a friend who merits receiving a birthday gift from you. Just as you’re trying to figure out what to buy that falls within your budget range for the event, you receive an email from a closer friend of the birthday girl or boy’s, asking you to contribute a certain amount towards a large supergift for the celebrant. The amount you’re being asked to contribute is 1/3 more than what you had planned to contribute.
What do you do? Do you go along with it? Contribute the amount you had intended to spend toward it? Go with another gift entirely? Or do something completely different?
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September 14th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I’d be going with a gift of my own. I’m not a fan of joint gifts especially if I already had an idea or a set amount of wanting to spend. I don’t see anything wrong with simply saying, I already had a gift idea but thanks for asking me to join in. No excuse really necessary.
September 14th, 2007 at 8:59 am
To me it depends. If you were planning on spending ten dollars and now you’re going to have to spend thirteen, I’d just go with it. But if you were planning on spending a hundred dollars and now it is a hundred and thirty, I might think twice.
If you like your gift idea, just email and say you’re going on your own for this one. If the other gift sounds better and makes it easier on you, go for that.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
If I’m being honest, I’d contribute to the supergift *and* buy the normal gift I was planning on. I don’t really do supergifts, either, but I wouldn’t want it to be known that I hadn’t given a share along with everyone else.