Debt Is A Trap

Here is a newsflash folks, Christmas, is coming.  I used to spend a whole lot more on gifts every year than I do now.  I also used to do it by swiping my credit card.  I am working hard to be debt free so the credit card thing is in my past.  Now in October the little bell starts to ring in my head that is over the Christmas gift category.  We know that it is coming and inherently we do very little in planning for the expense.  I want to touch on how to get through the shopping season this year and plan for the next holiday season so that you don’t even feel the spending and it is all in cash!

The first step is to make a list of everyone you buy gifts for.  The next part of the list are all the little extras that come up every year.  Secret Santa at work, the mail lady who always looks out for your packages, the kids teachers, all of these people appreciate being remembered for the holidays.  This list will help you determine how much is needed for spending.  Whatever your traditions for gift giving, big or small, just the kids or drawing names, it still is going to cost money.  There are only 80 days until Christmas.  That is a little more than ten weeks and for some folks only 5 paychecks away.

Second, determine how much is going to be spent on each person and write it next to their name.  Hopefully you have an idea of what you would like to purchase for them so you can watch for sales.   Total the column and divide by the number of pay periods you have left and there you are.  The amount of money you need to allocate from your paycheck each week to cover the holiday season without swiping a credit card.  At the bottom of the list I suggest you note things that you need such as cards, napkins, supplies for dinner, and wrapping paper.

Food for thought about next year.  I used to belong to a Credit Union that had a Christmas Club.  Every pay period they took a set amount out of my check and stuck it in an interest bearing account that I had access to late October.  Those were the easiest times for the shopping season.  The money was there when I needed it and it earned a little interest on top of it!  My favorite shopping site is Amazon, this company has EVERYTHING, my nephew asked for something for his birthday and I couldn’t find it within 100 miles from home, looked it up on Amazon, ordered it, got free shipping, and had it in plenty of time!  Check out the site and one of my favorite books…. just click HERE

Now consolidate your list down so that you have who, what, and how much.  Put it somewhere handy so that when you find yourself at a store, you can spark your memory of what is needed.  I am looking forward to a financially stress free holiday season, one that I can enjoy my new Grandchildren, not worrying about what bill isn’t getting paid for the sake of a gift.