Poll: Do you overspend during the holiday season?
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ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SİTE PERSONELİ
Dec 9, 2025

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you overspend during the holiday season?".

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Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Hollanda
Local time: 04:48
İngilizce > Hollandaca
+ ...
No shopping for me Dec 9, 2025

So far, most people are answering yes. What do you overspend on? (Genuine question out of interest.)
I usually go for walks, meet friends for drinks or dinner, cuddle up with a book and stay away from shops as much as possible, so no overspending for me. Although I will bring a nice bottle of wine for dinner, and a good book as a Christmas present for all those at family Christmas celebrations. I am not a complete Scrooge...


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portekiz
Local time: 03:48
Üye (2007)
İngilizce > Portekizce
+ ...
No Dec 9, 2025

Over the years, I changed a lot. I used to overspend, but now I am rather frugal. On the other hand, I always stayed away from shops during the holiday season as I hate crowded places. Usually, my family (15 to 20 people) spends Christmas Eve at one of my nieces' houses, but we agreed a long time ago that there would be no gifts for anyone. We pool our money and donate it to charity. Christmas lunch (at no set time, because we went to bed late the night before) is spent at my house in a small gr... See more
Over the years, I changed a lot. I used to overspend, but now I am rather frugal. On the other hand, I always stayed away from shops during the holiday season as I hate crowded places. Usually, my family (15 to 20 people) spends Christmas Eve at one of my nieces' houses, but we agreed a long time ago that there would be no gifts for anyone. We pool our money and donate it to charity. Christmas lunch (at no set time, because we went to bed late the night before) is spent at my house in a small group (just six of us). ▲ Collapse


 
Helena Chavarria
Helena Chavarria  Identity Verified
İspanya
Local time: 04:48
Üye (2011)
İspanyolca > İngilizce
+ ...
Unfortunately, yes Dec 9, 2025

I've got six grandchildren, whose birthdays are between November and April, and they also expect presents for what used to be called Christmas. I like to stick to a budget but sometimes it's difficult when you have to buy 12 presents for grandchildren aged between 20 and five.

What are Christmas presents called now? Holiday season presents?


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosna - Hersek
Local time: 04:48
İngilizce > Fransızca
+ ...
Also cool Dec 10, 2025

Helena Chavarria wrote:

I've got six grandchildren, whose birthdays are between November and April, and they also expect presents for what used to be called Christmas. I like to stick to a budget but sometimes it's difficult when you have to buy 12 presents for grandchildren aged between 20 and five.

What are Christmas presents called now? Holiday season presents?


Also cool when you get 12 presents for your birthday from them, no?

[Edited at 2025-12-10 08:31 GMT]


 
Vincenzo Di Maso
Vincenzo Di Maso  Identity Verified
Portekiz
Local time: 03:48
Üye (2009)
İngilizce > İtalyanca
+ ...
I can't, because of... Proz Dec 10, 2025

A few years ago, my workflow was steady and I knew exactly what I could rely on. Over the past years, however, new clients have become extremely rare. Most contacts with potential clients go nowhere, and the number of bottom-feeders has grown dramatically since the 2012 crisis.

ProZ stopped filtering agencies and clients properly, and I even ended up dealing with a scammer.

Even when I have a couple of good months with decent turnover, I can’t relax, because the follo
... See more
A few years ago, my workflow was steady and I knew exactly what I could rely on. Over the past years, however, new clients have become extremely rare. Most contacts with potential clients go nowhere, and the number of bottom-feeders has grown dramatically since the 2012 crisis.

ProZ stopped filtering agencies and clients properly, and I even ended up dealing with a scammer.

Even when I have a couple of good months with decent turnover, I can’t relax, because the following month is completely unpredictable. Whenever I get paid, the first thing I do is pay myself, meaning I invest part of that money, and only then do I take care of my expenses.

I plan every expense carefully: Christmas, donations, travel, everything. I’d love to overspend once in a while, but the immediate future is so unstable that it feels impossible. The translation profession has been deeply damaged by the dominance of bottom-feeders, and we’re all paying the price for it.
▲ Collapse


Baran Keki
Maria Laura Curzi
Angie Garbarino
 
Gregor Trebec
Gregor Trebec
Slovenya
Local time: 04:48
İngilizce > Slovence
+ ...
Not much... Dec 10, 2025

Being on invalidity pension I can not afford to overspend much, just the necessary.

 
Liena V.
Liena V.  Identity Verified
Letonya
Local time: 05:48
Üye (2014)
Fransızca > Letonca
+ ...
Christmas Dec 10, 2025

Helena Chavarria wrote:

what used to be called Christmas.


It actually used to be called holidays – from "holy days" – and referred to the entire period between the Christmas day and Epiphany until a couple hundred years ago. In Britain and later in America, that is. Where I'm from it was Winter Solstice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wmp0HPCOxk


Maria Laura Curzi
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Hollanda
Local time: 04:48
Üye (2006)
İngilizce > Afrikaans
+ ...
Not really, no Dec 10, 2025

No. We set aside some money for the extra food that visitors eat during this time of year, and our total gift budget (for the entire family) is under EUR 100 in total. And we don't really travel at this time of year. So, no.

 


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Poll: Do you overspend during the holiday season?






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