Giving Feels Good, but Giving Within a Budget Feels Better!
Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us! It is easy to get buried underneath the commercialism of it all, from fighting for parking spaces while Black Friday shopping (that now starts on Thanksgiving afternoon), to buying impersonal gifts just to cross the recipient off our lists, to overspending because we have been made to think that bigger is better, to being disappointed that our significant other didn’t have a shiny new car in the driveway adorned with a big red bow because a commercial convinced us that huge, expensive gestures prove love.
Retailers spend big bucks in advertising to convince us that ‘Tis the Season to Spend Money; fa la la la la; They Want Pro-fits. Sales from Thanksgiving to Christmas can often make or break retailers’ numbers. In 2017, we spent almost $688 BILLION during the holidays in the US, up from almost $400 billion in 2000 (Holiday Retail Stats from Statista.com)!
Giving gifts should not have us Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Debt. Overspending during the holidays leaves us stressed and frustrated and steals the Joy to World we should be sharing. What can we do to combat the pressure to spend from advertisers and society itself?
Be the shepherd not the sheep! Blindly accepting and purchasing what we are told by the power of advertising can lead to serious debt. Debt leads to stress. Stress can lead to health issues. Health issues can cause more expenses, and our financial future can spiral out of control. Before the holiday season starts, discuss gift-giving and spending options with your family and friends.
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- Budget for gifts throughout the year. I have a friend who made an excellent point about us all knowing the holidays come every year at the same time, and that we shouldn’t let them sneak up on us. My grandmother always kept a separate gift savings account, and she put money in it monthly to pay for gifts at Christmas and throughout the year.
- Draw names to cut down on the number of gifts we have to purchase. This saves a lot of time shopping and can really help keep us on budget. Most of us get what we want throughout the year and really don’t need much.
- Begin a White Elephant gift exchange with a price limit. Everyone only has to bring one gift, and everyone leaves with one gift.
- Set spending limits and stick to them. Keep your budget in mind at all times.
- Brainstorm gift ideas before going shopping to avoid being tempted by shiny objects in the stores.
- Shop deals. With shopping list in hand, research deals. I am a big fan of online shopping. If I know what I want, I can research the best deals on the internet. I did most of my shopping online on Cyber Monday getting an extra 50% off sales prices. I even got my photo Christmas cards 70% off!
- Get creative. Homemade gifts offer a very personal touch that is very appreciated. The *Cricut is an incredible tool that offers endless possibilities for making one-of-a-kind presents. Pinterest is a wonderful website for inspiration. YouTube has step-by-step video tutorials on just about anything.
- Make gifts personal for a more memorable holiday. I am a big fan of photo gifts, especially for grandparents. Photo books, calendars, mugs, collages, key chains can all be thoughtful gits. Using a website like *Mixbook can make crafting the perfectly personalized gift a breeze.
- Try experiences instead of gifts! My sister and I started doing this with our families a few years ago. We use the money we would spend on gifts doing something fun together when we see each other. This year we went white water rafting and zip lining on a trip to Tennessee. It was a lot more memorable than swapping gift cards. The kids look forward to planning events.
- Give to charity instead. We are beyond blessed in so many ways. Why not adopt a family for the holidays and really help someone in need?
Taking time to plan and budget will make our holidays merry and bright!
As we have heard all of our lives, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Let’s make that happen with our interactions with others, not through overspending. We Wish you a Debt-Free Christmas and a Fiscally Responsible New Year! (Are you sick of the holiday song lyrics yet?! I could probably write an entire article using song lyrics!)
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