The good news in the U. S. this November is that the presidential election is over. After 21 months of political ads and debates the Christmas ads will almost be a welcome relief. Relief ,that is, for those of you who have made plans for your Christmas shopping activities or have even completed the task.
The bad news of course is that the world is in a very bad down economy which will most probably make Christmas shopping this year much more worrisome than any other year in recent memory. Money is tight. Prices can be high and family finances will be strained to the maximum .
In this short report I would like to talk about two usually unpleasant topics. What you should have done about your Christmas shopping eleven months ago and what you may have to do now if the chore is not yet completed.
Remember the old saying: “When you are up to your neck in alligators, the technique of draining the swamp to fix the problem is no longer an option”. Opening a Christmas club account at the bank this November will not help you pay for Christmas this December. If you find yourself swimming with alligators this year lets talk about what you should have done last January. It’s a painful exercise but it can keep you from repeating mistakes.
Some Time Tested Techniques To Prepare Ahead Of time For Christmas Shopping.
- Open a Christmas savings account at your local bank. Make weekly deposits
- Start your shopping in January. Lots of bargains available
- Buy a few gifts each month. Use your credit card if necessary but be sure to pay the balance every month to avoid extra interest and fees
- Prepare a budget based on reasonable income estimations
- Consider making some gifts yourself if you have the skills. Sewing, crocheting, painting, woodworking, pottery, etc.
- Work a part time job and put those funds away for your Christmas shopping
What if you did not prepare and are faced with the daunting task of doing your Christmas shopping with limited means again this year. How can you ease the pain?
What To Do If In a Financial Bind This Christmas.
- First of all do not panic
- Write out your list. Do not work from memory. You will not have extra funds to buy gifts that you later realize you did not need.
- Plan a budget. Don’t start blind. Stick to your budget. If you had budgeted for a $10.00 gift do not get discouraged when tired and spend more.
- How much can you really spend and where will the funds come from.
- Remember that any satisfaction you derive from buying a gift will probably be severly diminished when you find later that you can not now buy a necessary household item.
- If you will not be giving some of your gifts till after Christmas, consider buying them during the sales after the holidays when you can usually find great bargains.
- Discuss the situation with your family. Especially the older children. Let them know that things are unusually tough this year and everybody will need to sacrifice. Perhapas the older school age children will gladly accept smaller gifts which will allow you to spend a little more on the toddlers who are not old enough to understand.
- Consider making some gifts as mentioned above.
- Plan with your spouse to forgo exchanging gifts with the promise to share something special after the holidays when hopefully finances will be in better shape.
Keep in mind that the holidays are a time to spend and enjoy your family and be thankful for what you do have such as your health and each other. Gifts should not be the most important item during Christmas. It is the thought not the price of a gift that should be important. Remember that this will be a hard Christmas for almost everybody. You are not alone.
This is not the time to let your pride allow you to do something foolish that may cause serious financial problems in the coming year. One of the most important things you can accomplish if this is an especially rough year is to remember to make plans starting next January for the following Christmas. The pain of not being able to do all you would like will be fresh in your mind and can be a driving force to make sure that if able you will be ready for the next Christmas holiday.
Remember that no matter how tight times seem, things always seem to have a way of working out and if you take the time to look around , you will probably find that your circumstances are much better than many others.
Buying Quality Does Not Have To Break The Bank
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