Playing Santa During Your Holidays Less Stress, Financially

We all want to play Santa. It's that great feeling of giving to those we love and appreciate in our lives. It's that one time of year that is extra special to say, "I love you!" or "I appreciate you"!

We all experience chaos and a lot of stress during our holidays. If we are better prepared, we can take back our lives and our finances too.

I know first-hand the feeling of losing control, spending way too much-buying gifts for those in our lives, our families, friends, co-workers, bosses, and caretakers such as our postmen, house cleaner, teachers and many more people in our lives.

To steer clear of debt, start with a plan as quickly as possible before Christmas. I prepare my holiday plan as early as September of every year but anytime is always a good start.

Spending can easily get out of control quickly if we are not careful and plan, especially if we are using our plastics to buy gifts. Credit cards can be a good source and support for our holiday shopping, but only if we spend wisely and pay off balances as soon as we get the statement.

Can credit cards be a good thing? You bet, IF you are not paying any interest or low interest on your purchases, you can earn rewards from your shopping, and you can use these rewards to buy gift cards for gifting or turn your rewards into cash to buy other gifts or credit to your account.

Don’t forget about your reward points you are accruing. Be sure you know the reward benefits of your credit cards and take the time to understand the cashback earnings on each credit card and how many reward points you need to accrue to use the points. Make the time to take advantage of putting more money in your pocket!

Another excellent resource for not using credit cards is, Dave Ramsey has a unique system for not using credit cards, but instead, he encourages to utilize the cash in the envelope system. This system has helped several people in my life get out of debt and stay out of debt.

If you are like many, you may be feeling overwhelmed because you don’t have the money to buy gifts. I’ve experienced those lean times financially; I know what it’s like to budget with a low-income or barely any income, and you may think it’s impossible, but it is possible. We need to be diligent about the process, sticking with it.

Here is my holiday plan every year, or it can be done all year round if we want to make an impact in our financial life and save:

1. Know your monthly income and create a holiday budget.

Gather all your sources of income and total. If you earn a sales commission, take the average for the number of months you worked. Gather all your monthly bills, expenses, including your household expenditures, and subtract from your income total. Subtract another 10% off what is remaining to put into your savings account. Whatever the amount left remaining is all you must budget for your holiday shopping.

If you end up too lean financially for gifts, I have listed a few of my ideas (scroll down) to help you when money is tight.

The most important thing is, write it down! Get it all out, thereby putting it in writing or on your computer to visually see and monitor, weekly. Put it all in writing whether you want to see it or not!

There are several budget tools you can use online and a template to print out. I have the budget tool I created in excel. Send me a DM, and I will be glad to share my budget sheet with you.

2. Plan your shopping and gift list and stick to your list

Research the better deals online and if you shop brick and mortar stores, then plan your route and prepare your gift list. Try to buy all or as much as possible in one trip or one store, so you save gas.

If you shop online, you can find some great deals and look for those promos and discount codes that can save you money. Shop with Ebates, Ebates is now rakuten.com, is another excellent way to get paid while you shop.

Watch for the great deals advertised online, such as black Fridays have already begun as early as October for some retailers. There are a lot of inexpensive gift items from various online shops to purchase cute and unique gifts. You want to be sure you only shop where the shipping is free or discounted, because you may end up spending as much or more for shipping than the item you are purchasing.

3. Track your spending

The easiest way I have found is tracking automatically. There are some great mobile apps for tracking your spending. Banks are an excellent resource for free money management tools, go to their website, and take a look around.

4. Take a break from excess spending for two months

I know what you are thinking, I can’t give up my Starbucks or my lunch out with my co-workers every day. What we sacrifice now is to be able to meet our financial goals in the future. I would start with cutting back on eating out or picking up coffee to go for these two months, and any other unnecessary spending, and I'm sure you will be amazed how much you save.

Dive a little deeper to see where your income is going every week or month. While you are tracking your spending, you will see how much you are saving just by eliminating these other spending habits. The more you find ways to cut-out or cut-back, you will gain more savings.

I love sharing how I was able to give gifts when we were lean financially. Be creative and think outside of the box. With a little creativity, you can still save during your holidays.

Cheer Up!

Some of my favorite ideas for giving free gifts, YES I said free or almost free!

Think of your skills, are you a designer? Redecorate a room in your friend’s house.

Are you a cook or a baker? Gift a wonderful home-cooked meal or baked good.

Tech-savvy? Build a website for a family member or friend or sketch out a plan for their new blog.

Are you a photographer? You don’t need to be a professional, take some portraits with your phone of family and friends and frame them. You can find inexpensive frames at thrift shops, garage sales, or discount stores.Another great way to save is to buy in bulk, give everyone the same gift.

Buy everyone the same small gift, such as little journals or discounted cookbooks from your local bookstore for those cooks in your family.

Are you a handyman or great at fixing things? Give a gift by fixing something. Are you crafty or a cabinet maker? Refinish something or spruce something up.

Buy used stuff from eBay, Goodwill, garage sales, and put a little loving care into the item and make it look new again. Never pay full price if you don't have to.

You can fix it, make it, grow it, or bake it! Put some thought into it and wrap your skills as gifts. We all could use a gift of labor!

The holidays can be overwhelming if we allow it, but we can take back our life by taking control of our time to make better financial decisions. Remember, making small sacrifices today so you can have a better, stress less financial future.

It’s better to start somewhere, so creating a plan now to prepare for your holidays well in advance is one step closer to financial freedom and peace of mind from all the chaos.

I hope these ideas help take away some of the holiday chaos and financial pressure playing Santa for those we love and appreciate in our lives.

I am always here to help you make smarter financial decisions. It’s my goal to help you have financial peace of mind!

Have A Very Merry Christmas!

Pam