Skip to main content

132 Days and Counting


While the weather is currently under control of Heat Miser and not Jack Frost (I may have just dated myself), Christmas will be here before we know it. “But I JUST got the kids back in school,” you say? Yes, you did, and some you may not have kids back in school for another week or more!  If you read and followed my blog post from last week, you probably saved some cash while doing that. Congratulations! That is awesome! It’s now time to plan for the next big event that, if met unprepared, can cause financial stress.

Did you know somewhere around 20 percent of the population is STILL paying for last year’s Christmas? Christmas comes at the same time every year–it does not sneak up on any of us. It is time to break the unpreparedness cycle.

While there are only four months until the blessed/dreaded day, there are some things you can do now to avoid falling into the “financing Christmas” trap. I would suggest taking a look at your past mistakes, starting with last year. What did you spend total? Where did you overspend? How much of it was last-minute impulse buys? Write these all down so you can track where you were.

Next, make a list of everyone you must buy an actual gift for. It’s a good idea to keep this to immediate family–children, spouse, maybe parents–especially when you are trying to work your way out of debt and into financial stability. If your extended family is big into gift-giving, suggest setting up a gift exchange where you draw names. I can almost guarantee you that there will be another family member who is grateful you have made that suggestion.

Set a budget for each person on the list. Again, if you are working your way to financial stability, I suggest that an amount set for a spouse or another adult need not be as much as that for a child. Make a list of gifts for each person on your list. This will help reduce impulse buys. A good gift-giving strategy for children is this: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. Start looking for items on sale now–back-to-school time has some great deals.

If you have kids that are a little older, consider doing a service project as a family. This can help children learn gratitude for what they have as well as the real reason for the season.

Make homemade baked goods or cards for neighbors. Create handmade or computer-generated service-oriented coupons for extended family. Create a book of coupons for grandparents that offer free lawn-cutting in the spring or free babysitting coupons for aunts and uncles. Get creative and involve the entire family.

When it comes time to wrap those gifts, see how artistic you can get. Get a newspaper end roll and have children help decorate the gifts with craft items you have at home.  Do you have wrapping supplies left from last year? There are also discount/dollar stores that have less expensive wrapping paper–most of it just ends up getting recycled anyway.

Christmas doesn’t need to be financially extravagant. Parents need to remember that they are setting an example for their children. Decide to be happier with less. Choose to serve others instead of worrying about what you want this year. This will help set you up for financial success that will surely come because karma helps those who help themselves.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunny and 75

While the Intermountain West has had slightly cooler climate than is typical for this time of year, I just know gorgeous weather is right around the corner. Today I wore flip flops in the rain just to make my point. And wearing open-toed shoes without socks is just one of the wonderful things you can do when it’s nice outside! I don’t know about you, but thinking about warm-weather activities makes me want to play hooky from work and play instead. But because I am an accountable adult (most days, anyway), I will NOT forsake my grown-up responsibilities (as bad as I might want to) in favor of longer days and spring and summer fun. I can work before I play. And so can you. Here is a short list of things you should check NOW before the weather gets too hot: THE CHIMNEY – climb on your roof (if it’s safe) or use binoculars to check the exterior, hire a professional for the interior cleaning GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS – make sure they’re clean and make repairs as needed THE ROOF – it’s mu
Post a Comment
Read more

Who’s the Boss?

If you know me at all, then you know I love Dave Ramsey. In fact, I not only attended a Dave Ramsey affair when it once came to an event center near me, but when I went through Tennessee on a road trip, I hunted him down and visited his studio. I have a picture to prove it (well, it’s somewhere). I always listened to Dave when his show was featured from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on my local talk radio station. One of the things he said frequently (something that he actually borrowed from somebody else–John C. Maxwell) was, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” If you are getting a tax “refund” this year, I will first invite you to review last week's blog post and the three links to previous blog posts. I would then encourage you to plan for that “refund” money, and I don’t mean blow it as most Americans will do. Be smart. Use it to pay off some debt if you, as most Americans do, have some. If not, save it appropriately.  We've discussed deb
Post a Comment
Read more

April Fools'

Warning: this material might cause anger and frustration in some readers. But don’t shoot the messenger here. Oh, how I wish I could tell you that this post is based on a joke, but I cannot because it’s the cold, hard truth. So here it is: if you have gotten relatively large tax returns in recent years, those days are probably far behind you. Don’t count on it this year. Things have changed. Our refunds will be much smaller for the 2022 tax year. Why? Many Americans thought that the stimulus payments they’d received were basically “free money” and were excited to get them at the time. But, unfortunately, nothing is ever free, and those stimulus payments are returning to bite us now. A couple of tax credits have expired ; the expanded Child Tax Credit and certain Covid-related breaks are no longer in existence. During the pandemic, the IRS also gave breaks to those who filed their taxes late. That, too, has been taken off the table. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you
Post a Comment
Read more