Bah! Humbug

I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade.  I love Christmas.  It’s the one opportunity to sit around with ALL of the family (who I do genuinely like), eat too much, nap and chat.  I will get all “Bah! Humbug!” however when people talk about maxing out their credit cards at Christmas! The pressure to spend large sums of money on gifts that others may not like is incredible.  This pressure to spend can blow Christmas spending out of all proportion.  Not only will you feel bloated after the holiday season, but you’ll be feeling poor dealing with that credit card debt.  If  you’ve ever delayed paying bills so you could buy other people presents that they might not want or need, it’s a good indicator that you’re spending is out of hand.

Here’s some guidelines for keeping Christmas spending under wraps this year:

• Freeze your credit card in big block of ice! You won’t be using it.
• Determine your total Christmas budget – it’s whatever CASH you have available; $50.00 or $5000.00,  it doesn’t matter.  Do not use credit.
• Do some gift negotiating with your family – don’t buy gifts for everyone, do a secret Santa or similar.  Set a budget, e.g. $20.00 limit.
• Wish List – Have everyone do up a wish list that way you’ll get something you actually want AND your gift will be something THEY really want.
• Job Lists – I don’t really need another book (I go to the library), but I’d love someone to clean my gutters or help me paint that room.  Maybe you can exchange labour this Christmas?
• Give savings bonds- hopefully they use it to build a solid financial future

Remember Christmas isn’t about racking up the credit card to make other people happy.  It’s about taking the opportunity of that the down time, presents, to have a great time with your family!  Imagine how guilty you’d feel if you knew someone had maxed out their credit card to buy you a present.  Don’t do it!