Outstanding Monies

Well, it is that time of year again. The time when we have outstanding money because of Christmas.

My dad owes us money for my mom’s stocking. (Years ago I took over buying my mom’s stocking and my dad pays for it. I but stuff all year and then add it up in December and he gives me cash.) I am not yet done with her stocking, nor have I totaled up how much I’ve spent, but usually I spend in the neighborhood of $300 - $400.

My brother-in-law owes us money for my sister’s stocking. (Last year her stocking was a little sparse and after years of joking with me to help him with her stocking, he actually asked me to this year.) I don’t know how much money he owes me, but I think it is approaching $100 and counting. I will continue to buy stuff as I find things that are perfect for my sister and will fit in her stocking. At this point, smaller is better as I have a few “bigger” items that will fit in her stocking.

My sister owes us almost $100 for tickets we bought for her for the Charles Dickens Christmas Fair which takes place in San Francisco every year. She was unable to print the tickets so I did it for her.

Lastly, my mom owes me almost $200 for different things I have purchased for her. I spend a lot of time with my mom so sometimes I owe her money and sometimes she owes me money. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more often she owes me money.

Currently we have about $700 worth of money outstanding to us. Most of it will be paid in a timely manner. (My mom usually doesn’t pay us back until several months after Christmas.) As I receive the money, I will send most of it towards our credit card debt. The money my sister gives us for the tickets, however, will be what we use to pay for the rest of our day there. It will pay for our food and any spending we do there (not including gifts). As I receive the money, I will send it as extra payments to our credit card.