Take a moment to think about all the things that make Christmas
special: decorating the tree, taking a drive to look at the
neighborhood lights, making cookies or hot cocoa, singing
carols.
Take a moment to think about all the things that make Christmas special: decorating the tree, taking a drive to look at the neighborhood lights, making cookies or hot cocoa, singing carols.
Ever notice how spending hours in the mall, parting with every last dime and stressing out to create a humongous holiday feast never quite made that list? Funny.
No matter how tempting it is to paper over a year of hurts, distance or missed opportunities, to try and repair relationships with a tremendous heap of gifts, it is important to remember that material goods can’t fix these things.
Those who devote their time and energy toward the things that really matter this season will not only get more out of Christmastime, but they’ll be less likely to still be paying off Christmas 2004 when the season rolls around next year.
The first step toward a happier, more financially healthy holiday is to prioritize. Sit down and write a list of the things that embody Christmas.
If gift-giving makes the cut, fine, but just remember that giving store-bought gifts to everyone is not required.
Homemade cakes, cookies or fudge, and “gift certificates” for different services that require time, not money, are good options. Don’t overlook thrift or second-hand stores either. Many Americans give away items that may have been used once or twice, if at all.
“Retailers are predicting sales of $220 billion dollars this season, yet 77 percent of Americans say they want a simple Christmas,” said Carmela Vignocchi, director of public relations for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service, a nonprofit debt counseling service. “When you look at the numbers, there’s a disconnect. We want people to make choices that fill them, not the retailers, with joy.”
Potential alternatives to the overblown Christmas celebration include agreeing to a gift exchange where everyone in the family draws one name from a hat.
A price limit having been set, each person receives a gift and all of the superfluous gift giving in the family is eliminated.
Another option is to agree in advance to set spending caps with relatives who you know you’ll be exchanging gifts with, or agreeing not to give gifts at all this year, enjoying a large meal and quality family time instead of opening presents.
The time usually reserved for opening gifts could be used instead as a time to tell a Christmas story, reading from any book the family deems appropriate from the Bible to The Grinch.
If major Christmases have been a family standard for years, it’s okay to start small. Simply ask guests to limit the number of gifts they bring or ask for family members to make Christmas dinner a potluck meal, dispersing the cost of playing host to such an event.
Be educated about personal finances before setting foot in a mall. Most people don’t really know how much they have available to spend on gifts, let alone how they’ll divide those funds, said Vignocchi. She suggests making a list of the people you would like to buy gifts for, then figuring out how much you’ll actually have available to spend this season.
Once that’s done, decide how much of that money will be spent on each person. Then make a list with the person’s name and the dollar amount next to it, along with two or three gift options – if one is out or unavailable, the others will likely still be for sale.
Don’t forget to factor in the cost of wrapping paper, shipping and other holiday expenses like the extra food necessary to participate in holiday potlucks.
For consumers who do get into trouble this season, it’s not the end of the world. Tally the bills and immediately work on a payment plan. Make a list of credit cards with their balances and minimum payments, and organize it based on interest rates from highest to lowest, according to Money magazine. Make minimum payments on all but the highest-level card, putting as much cash toward its balance as possible.
Once the highest interest card is paid off, continue down the line until you’ve cleared your debt, a tough but rewarding experience.
“Sixty percent of people who regularly charge Christmas don’t pay it off by the next year,” said Vignocchi, “so the thing that seemed like such a great bargain on the sales rack isn’t such a great idea any more.”
Make a commitment to try and pay off Christmas expenses in the next three months, and immediately start working on a plan to reduce costs next Christmas, said Vignocchi.
The holidays will be much merrier and brighter without that dark specter of 00debt hanging over jolly St. Nick.
