Skip to main content

Stick to the Plan

Christmas Eve is in a week. You are in the home stretch. You are probably starting to get a little stressed out if you aren’t there already. You want everything to be perfect this year, right? Sorry to burst your holiday bubble, but that ain’t gonna happen.

Before you tell me that my heart must have shrunk three sizes too small, let me share my thoughts with you. When we get excited about things, we may or may not tend to put lots of pressure on ourselves. We may or may not go way overboard and anxiety may or may not creep in.

Regarding Christmas specifically, we may or may not put in a lot of time, effort, and money (many times more money than we should) to attempt to make the occasion "just right" for everybody. The amount of money that we are spending because we haven’t stuck to our budget may or may not stress us out (if it doesn’t, it SHOULD). We then might or might not feel unappreciated by those for whom we have exerted all the effort and resources. We may or may not feel buyer’s remorse, especially when that expensive toy or electronic item Johnny or Jane just HAD TO HAVE lay broken and/or forgotten within a few weeks. That really stinks. My advice? Lower your expectations. When you lower your expectations, you are less likely to get disappointed.

Let me repeat myself. When you lower your expectations, you are less likely to get disappointed.

What does that look like at this time of year? It looks like not trying to get ALL the gifts for ALL the people. It looks like not trying to attend every holiday event between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. It looks like not donating to every charity. It looks like not trying to please everybody. It looks like slowing down. It looks like enjoying the beauty and the magic of the season by participating in the events that work for your family. It looks like enjoying the most important people in your life. And it looks like sticking to your budget because you don’t deserve to drag THAT stress into 2022. Remember there is financial life after Christmas, and poor choices made in December will come to haunt you in January.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One More–Christmas Experiences Part II

Christmas is just a week away. Hopefully you’ve checked everything off your to-do list and can spend some quality time “experiencing” Christmas gifts with your family. Because, after all, your loved ones will be far more touched by how you made them feel than they will be with what you gave them. This week, I want to share with you my sister, Carey’s, family Christmas experience. “One Christmas, when my boys, now 18, 23 and 28, were little, we gave them an experience that is still talked about now. And it’s something so easily replicated that any family can do it, and it’s not too late to do it for Christmas (even ON Christmas) this year. We drove around our neighborhood and looked at all the homes decorated for the holiday. We took note of the addresses as we numbered them. We talked about what made each ornamented yards stand out. And at the end of the night, we voted for our favorite. I had my sons help me make some of our favorite holiday desserts and, in addition to taking p...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Happens Like That

And, in what seems like the blink of an eye, Memorial Day is over, school is out (or almost out), and my favorite time of the year is here! I love summer. I love it when the sun comes up early and wakes me. I love flip flops and shorts. I like to be warm (ok, not HOT, but warm). This is when I thrive. And I think it’s an excellent time to take a vacation or road trip. That being said, I plan a long time in advance for a vacation because I won’t finance one–and I’ve taken some pretty amazing vacations! I don’t usually just take off on last-minute road trips, either, but I’m learning to be more flexible in my old age. So I have done that on occasion, too.  Now, this blog post isn’t about the last-minute drives I’ve engaged, cruises I’ve embarked, or the countries I’ve explored (being a debt-free, self-employed, budget-loving, young, empty-nester has its perks!). This post is about getting you to a point where you, too, can take vacations without stressing about paying for it late...
Post a Comment
Read more

Know Your Limits

When I was 17, I drove a 73 Nova. It used to be really easy to do things like changing taillights myself. That is no longer the case. If I tried that on my later-model vehicle (which is more like a computer than a car), I’d do more damage than good, because there are some thing you should just not do yourself. It will cost you more in the long run. That being said, there are probably some things that you usually pay someone else to do that are not getting done right now. My advice is to just be patient; depending on what it is and your skill level, it might end up costing you more to fix your mistakes. Let’s discuss some of those… Obviously, most if not all car repairs are just better done by a licensed, trained professional, including oil changes. They can also correctly dispose of used petroleum products. Depending on your tax filing status, a professional can help you avoid overpaying the IRS. I remember cutting my daughter’s hair when she was little, and I made a me...
Post a Comment
Read more