Holiday Spending
Holidays can be a big strain on a budget. We all want to buy the best for are families. It is a time when money seems less important than buying gifts for everyone we know. However, it is one of the biggest times of the year to prove that you have changed your spending habits.
If you do not have the money saved up for Christmas, it is time that reality will slap you in the face. This is not the time to run to Bank of America or Capitol One. If you have to buy your kid a $20 gift instead of that $100 video game, guess what? You kid will have to learn to enjoy that $20 gift. The important thing is that you are working on getting out of debt.
My wife and I set a budget of $300 for everyone this year. This included my mother, her parents, some nieces and nephews, her two brothers, and us. We stuck pretty close to the budget except we went a little over for unexpected gifts that arose where people needed a helping hand. However, we paid cash for everything and we spent a lot of time online earning free gift cards and such to add a little extra to the mix. We also cut a little out of our regular monthly budget to cover the overage. The key factor is, we stayed with in our means and paid cash for everything.
It is not a good thing to wake up in January wondering how you are going to pay for the gifts that you bought in December. Christmas is a time for sharing, caring and giving. It is not the time to spend till you drop and sink your family’s finances. You will start to enjoy the holidays again when debt is wiped out and you will not have to struggle all year to pay for the gifts.
Unless you are a multimillionaire or the United States Government, you must live within the boundaries of what you earn. If you do not, at some point, the creditors will come knocking and you will lose sleep and the financial security you and your family needs. Once you are debt free, you can put a little more towards Christmas and holiday gifts. Until that point, spend as little as possible and stay within your budget and you will start to put the joy back in the holidays.
Merry Christmas to Your Families and may you spend your New Year cutting up credit cards and dunking your debt!
Tags: budget, debt free, freedom, hoilday spending
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