Budgeting 'per family'

[Hippobottymus]

Just want to start this off by saying I am in no way ungrateful and actually feel incredibly lucky to be receiving anything at all.

But I've only just realised something my parents do as they've only in the past couple of years actually had spare cash. They budget 'per family' not per person. So for example. My brother is single. He gets £400 (not actual amount) spent on him. I have a partner and two children. We get £100 spent on each of us.

It's an odd way of doing things, no? I've just never heard of someone doing it before I've always just budgeted per person, so I have £x to spend overall, y amount of people so I will spend £x/y per person

I think either way i's fair, I certainly receive less since having dc so I presume my family do it 'per family', not per person. Doesn't bother me in the slightest

Sounds unfair to you. Probably sounds fair to your single brother! I'd just live with it. These things are not worth causing a family rift over.

Who has the better Christmas though?!

My Auntie spends more on my brother because he doesn’t have kids but my parents spend equal amounts on everyone. There’s no right or wrong way.

So it is actually a thing we all spend it together and my parents are amazing at finding that perfect gift every year anyway, it's always something that's been thought about and is personal. As I say, I don't mind anyway, it's not my business how they spend their money really, but I'd never heard of people doing it that way before

I agree with budgeting per family, rather than per person. That being said we receive cash, and I keep the cash that was meant to go to DH

My parents have always just given us an amount per person so before I had kids, I would have the same amount as my sister but they would also give that amount again to her kids. Didn't bother me in the slightest. The partners/ husbands just get a token present though

I think that seems the fairest way of doing it actually. E.g. If your parents had an overall gift budget of £800 for you and your brother, it seems a little unfair on your brother that he takes a 'hit when you married, and again when you had children.

I suppose we do this to some extent, but i di tends to increase the budget a bit when more children arrive. So, for example, we used to spend about £25 on DSIL & her husband. We now don’t buy for them, but spend around £20 on their daughter. When their new baby is here next year, we’ll probably spend about £15-20 on each of the children.