Getting Ready For The Holidays...

It is that time of the year! Christmas is just around the corner and many of us are anxious because gifts have to be made or purchased and budgets are tighter this year than probably any other year you remember! It may be a temptation for you to go into major credit card debt to make Christmas "special" for those you love. The problem is, that come January, those "now due" credit card bills are going to put a tremendous strain on you and your family!

With a little planning on your part and a pocket sized notebook to keep everything in order, you can avoid starting off the year going into debt. I propose that this year, we put Christmas in perspective, trim our lists and our budgets a bit and focus on it's true meaning. Does that mean not to buy presents for the people we love? Of course not! But DO sit down and work out how much Christmas you can afford without plastic and then STICK TO IT!!!

There are quite a few reasons people go into debt. Some of them may include:

1. They want to give their kids every gift they could ever want.
2. They forget what gifts they have already bought, end up buying extra and never return any of them.


3. They feel the need to give the biggest, best, most creative presents in the neighborhood.


4. Lack of planning means too much money is spent on easily remembered people and the forgotten gifts get charged towards the end.

Well, it's time to dump our hangups with a simple, more frugal Christmas. This is a year we all want to be a little more careful. After all, who knows where the economy is going to take us six months, or even one month from now! Today I simply want to get you thinking. It's early enough at this point to make changes that can turn your Christmas around.

The VERY first step to making your holidays (and especially the new year) brighter is to accept this one rule that absolutely CAN NOT be broken.

NO CREDIT CARD DEBT

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!!!!

If you can't afford to pay for it with cash, DON'T BUY IT! No exceptions! So first, get yourself a little tiny pocket notebook that fits in your purse. This will be where you can write anything Christmas related such as:

1. The EXACT dollar amount you come up with, (include your spouse on this decision if applicable), that you can afford to spend on Christmas Gifts this year. (Remember, CASH ONLY!)
   
2. A list of EVERYONE you want to give a present to. Next to the names allocate a SPECIFIC amount of money from the total dollar amount you came up with.


3. A list of people you want to give baked goods or something, (not too expensive), that you make yourself.


4. A list of GIFTS you have already purchased to which you will add any and all gifts that you pick up.


5. Ingenious gift IDEAS that you come up with on the fly.

Now remember... if you forget to put someone on the list initially and add them later that is fine, but you may have to re-allocate funds if this happens and you have already assigned all your money out! Perhaps you should budget to have a little to the side just in case that happens. :)

For the next six weeks my goal is to try and deliver frequent tips and ideas that I hope can make your Christmas a little less expensive and perhaps even a lot more fun! We are going to work at shaving dollars here and there to make your Christmas heavier on the MERRY and lighter on the wallet! Be sure to come back and visit and please share this website with anyone you think could use a little help this holiday season... and as always, don't forget to share YOUR tips for simplifying Christmas too :)