HAPPY SHOPPING DAYS!
Happy holidays! If you’re among the employed and you have no emotional scars from childhood holidays and you experienced no life traumas in the past year, you are likely looking forward to the holidays. If you fall into one of those other categories, you are likely looking forward to getting through the holidays.
Holidays can be a burden. Parents feel the need to create special and happy times so their children won’t be scarred. Those with troubles and sorrows feel the need to put on a happy face to keep from being viewed as Scrooges. The unemployed and underemployed are reminded that almost everything associated with holidays involves money. They must turn down invitations to outings and gift exchanges and still try to figure out how to provide some gifts when the budget doesn’t cover rent and food. There is never enough money to do every thing we should do but we feel we should do even more over the holidays.
It may be possible to make a nice gift from an empty Kleenex box and pine cones but most of us just want to be able to buy enough to avoid embarrassment. That means very careful shopping. It means scouring the Internet for gift ideas and for the best prices. It means putting the cash aside so that we can pounce on the deal when we see it. It means having enough time to do our own packaging so that the recipient can’t tell the gift had been returned. It takes a lot of work to save money.
Here are a few reminders about holiday spending:
1. There is nothing religious or spiritual or patriotic about spending more money.
If you spend a lot of money on the holidays it is because you enjoy it or feel guilty and can’t say no. There is nothing wrong with buying gifts at outlet stores or surplus stores or even second-hand stores. No one needs multiple gifts and children need to learn that you never get everything you ask for.
2. If you can’t pay for it, you can’t afford it.
Don’t kid yourself about charging things for the holidays. You’re only doing it if you can’t afford to pay for it and you’re setting the stage for a very unhappy January and February. Try layaway plans to see if you’re serious about actually paying for things when you are short of cash.
3. Most holiday expenditures have no lasting value.
Quick, what was your favorite gift two years ago? Most of us find the things we get to be quite forgettable. The key is to have the package look good and the gift look good enough. It will not be exactly what they wanted and if it was they would soon learn it wasn’t what they had imagined.
4. Gift cards can’t fool a recipient.
You might find a piece of jewelry or clothing for $20 that wraps up nicely and looks like $50. A $20 gift card always looks like $20 and it looks like you didn’t have time to shop. Gift cards are a way to say “I didn’t have time to shop for you so go shop for yourself.” That only works for amounts large enough to impress and who wants to impress with large amounts of cash?
The holidays are a financial trap for many Americans. We tend to have high expectations for ourselves (but we are very understanding of loved ones and their challenges). The best way to deal with holidays is to have a realistic plan for spending and stick with it. If that means spending nothing at all, start saving those empty Kleenex boxes.