| Christmas Creativity, how not to go in debt this year
Each year millions of people go in debt buying Christmas presents for family, friends, and co-workers. Each year more than half of these people spend the year trying to pay off their Christmas Purchases. Some find they are not able to pay them off by the next Christmas, and the trail of debt starts accumulating. Buying gifts on credit that you could not otherwise afford, is not helping you and not helping the person on the receiving end. Why? Because often times the person on the receiving end feels obligated to buy something in return of equivalent value. With the onset of credit cards, the true meaning of Christmas and giving gifts gets lost in the hustle and bustle of materialism. Everyone enjoys gifts. But have you ever stopped to think if the person on the other end will be paying for your gifts for the months to come? If you do, others do. Christmas is supposed to be a joyous time of the year. Is it worth the after Christmas anxiety when all of the bills start to roll in? Charging Christmas gifts or any other gifts is not going to land you ahead in life. It will only deter your success for the future. Until, that is, you pay off your credit card bills. Getting into a habit of charging presents each year and then working to pay them off all year, is counter productive. The Christmas deals and steals you got, are such deals and steals when you look at how much it is costing you in monthly finance charges. Depending on your interest rate, you will pay for these gifts several times over before the next Christmas rolls around. There can be many hidden charges that go unnoticed on your credit cards. See the free article, How much are my credit cards actually costing me? Everyone wants to have a plentiful Holiday Season, but what is the price tag for a plentiful Holiday to you? Some spend very little on the Holidays, from $50 to several hundred dollars to even several thousand dollars. What range are your Holidays? Should we be setting a price tag on our Holiday that equals to the joy we receive? The answer in no. Joy is free. It always has been, and always will be. So where do the presents and the high costs of having a good Christmas fit in? Many years ago fruit in children�s stockings was greatly appreciated and could be a real treat for those where fruit wasn�t part of their regular beans and rice meals. Fruit is still a tradition today filling lost of stockings each year. Today, high priced technology items are always high on the wish list along with many other expensive items. And it seems that each year the amount spent on Holidays creeps up. The question becomes how much should be spent on gifts? The answer is no more than you can afford, and maybe not even that much. Tips for a successful debt free Holiday Season: - Set a budget, and stick to it. Half the fun is shopping and finding the hot deals! - Get the most out of what you spend. If this is not a part of your holiday, try it. Have everyone give you a wish list. If you have set a budget for each person of say $25, let them know so they can write their list accordingly. Include a spot on their list for cheap, fun items. - If your teen has their heart set on an I-Pod, let the family know and everyone can give a gift certificate to the same electronic store. Combined the teen should have enough to get their chosen item. - Find out what your family enjoys the most about Christmas. Is it the home made fudge? Is it opening a whole bunch of small gifts? For the family member who loves the fudge, a special batch under the tree made just for them is a creative, welcoming gift. For the one who enjoys opening lots of presents, a visit to the local dollar store can produce a ton of neat items. - Include useful presents. Many people enjoy getting things they can use. For example, pens, pencils, paper, and maybe a new dictionary for the writer. For the gardener, gloves, little tools, hand lotion. For an older relative, cans of their favorite chili or stew can make an excellent gift. - Be creative. Have someone with a special interest? Package up a theme present. For the Dad who loves to works on things, a new toolbox, filled with lots of little useful things. Flashlight, batteries, new tools, nails, screws, etc. Wrap these individual items up and stick them all in the toolbox and put a bow on top. - Shop in unexpected places. Have a mother that loves to read? Hit garage sales or the local library used book sale. Try E-Bay to order a �lot� of books by her favorite author. - Do you have something that someone else adores? Wrap it up! - Old, unused gifts in the top of the closet that didn�t really �fit� you. Re-gift. Re-gifting is just smart recycling. - Make something. Everyone treasures a homemade gift. - Give a coupon and wrap it up in a little box. Free back massage coupon, Free Get out of The Dog House coupon, free clean out the garage coupon, etc. The list is endless on ways to cut costs at Christmas. If someone wants a more expensive item than what your budget calls for ask around. You never know when someone may have upgraded, or may no longer use what you are looking for. The classifieds are brimming with good deals around the Holidays with |