Tag: Christmas

We’re in the Final Quarter!

As hard as it may be to believe, there are roughly 90 days left in 2022. Does anyone else feel that life resembles a roll of toilet paper? In that the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes? Honestly! It seems to me that we were just starting summer about 3 or 4 days ago .

Yet, here we are in the final quarter of 2022. We’re heading into Halloween, Thanksgiving, Eid, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas & New Year. And for some segment of you, there are various birthdays and anniversary celebrations thrown in there too. It’s the time of year that I’ve taken to calling the Shopping Season.

You may call it something else. No matter. My only question for you is: how are you going to pay for it?

I’m hoping that your upcoming celebrations and festivities will be funded by your money pots, aka: sinking funds, rather than by your credit cards. And if you do use your credit cards, please have the money already set aside to pay the bill in full. As you know, I love my credit cards and gleefully collect points each month. However, I would shred my cards in an instant if I didn’t already have the cash on hand to pay the bill in full each and every month.

Create a plan of attack for the Money Vultures coming for your cold, hard cash … I mean, draft a strategy that allows you to enjoy the Spending Season as you want to. Retailers are still trying to make up for those sales that were lost during the pandemic’s lockdowns. They will be particularly inventive and persuasive as they try to convince you that spending is the only way to show your love. I’m not telling you that you can’t spend your money. What I’m telling you is that you should be smart about how you do so. What things are most important to you? Who are the people who deserve to stay on your gift-list? Is there anyone who should be removed from your list? Are charitable donations important to you? If so, how much do you want to donate this year?

These are the questions that you should answering as we start the final quarter of the year. If you’re paid bi-weekly, there are only 6 or 7 paycheques left in the year. Take the time to figure out how much of each will be spent on the various events that you know will be coming up before 2022 rolls into 2023.

I know people who are absolutely enthralled by Halloween and acquire the most amazing costumes every year. Other people put lots of time into decorating their homes for Christmas. There are those who have to do a significant amount of travel in order to be with their loved ones over the holidays. The Spending Season is chock-full of opportunities to spend-spend-spend on everything for everyone!

It can be a financial disaster that derails all of your other money goals. You don’t have to let that happen. Nope! You have the power to decide how you want to spend your money during the next 90 days. Do not let the AdMan and the Creditor convince you that the only way to appreciate your loved ones is to bankrupt yourself. It’s not true. The people who really and truly love you do so because of who you are, not what you buy them.

The Holidays.

As hard as it may be to believe, the holidays are only a few weeks away. Thanksgiving will be here in another couple of weeks. (Or in November if you’re in the USA.) Then it’s another few short weeks until we celebrate Christmas, or Hannukkah, or Kwaanza, or Festivus.

While the holidays will be different this year, the fact remains that people will do what they can to keep tradition alive. That might mean mailing more presents, or swapping recipes instead of baking in the same kitchen. It might mean less travel but more time doing video chat. Or it might mean more road trips and fewer flights.

No matter how you and your loved ones plan to celebrate the holidays COVID-style, there’s a good chance that your wallet is going to take a gut punch before the celebrations are over. The time to start saving for the holidays is now. There are roughly 13 weeks left in 2020. Start setting some money aside each week so that you can pay for the upcoming expenses without putting them on credit.

Homemade for the holidays?

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re one of the many people who are staying closer to home. If that’s so, then maybe you have some extra time on your hands. This might be the year that you take up baking Christmas cookies or other holiday treats. If you start a few weeks before the big day, you can probably bake some presents for the people you’ll be seeing.

After the year we’ve had, and the social distancing we’ve done, I suspect that a great many of us don’t want more stuff. However, we’d appreciate sharing a bite of something delicious with those we’ve missed. Stuff is easily forgotten. Happy time spent together? Not so much. People want the connection… and most of us connect over food in one way or another.

If you’re doing to be online anyway, try watching some videos of people baking (or cooking) something you’d like to share with your loved ones. I recently discovered the Preppy Kitchen on YouTube. I’ve spent hours watching the host bake delicious desserts. My eyeballs have consumed more calories than I could ever possibly burn off in one lifetime! That said, I’m still considering which of his delicious recipes I will be baking for Christmas dessert.

It doesn’t have to be a baked gift. You could make or create so many other things to be shared. Here’s one list of ideas that might appeal to you. The internet is a vast place so keep looking if none of these suggestions are the ones for you.

Spend cash, not credit!

Maybe you’re not the creative or crafty type. No worries! I’m not either. I bake year-round, but only make Christmas cookies at the end of the year. I’m more of a mall-shopper when it comes to presents for the holidays.

That said, please follow my lead. Only spend cash on the presents for others. No one wishes for their loved ones to go into debt to get them stuff. Well, maybe kids do but that’s because they don’t understand credit and debt just yet. The adults who love you don’t want you to be financially harmed over doodads and knickknacks. If you must buy people presents, then stay out of debt to do so.

Figure out a budget of how much you want to spend on others, then stick to it. Thanks to the pandemic, there’s a chance that your discretionary spending on other stuff has been curtailed this year. There’s a chance that the money not spent on commuting, the gym, sports activities, and eating in restaurants has resulted in a little bit more jingle in your pocket. I’m not encouraging you to spend more than you otherwise would! Savings should not be squandered simply for the sake of doing so.

What I am saying is that, hopefully, it’s easier for you to keep the credit cards tucked away this holiday season. If you’re fortunate, then you can spend cash only to fulfill your desire to give.

We are two thirds of the way finished with 2020. The holidays are coming up quickly. It would behoove you to start planning for how you’re going to pay for them. I want you striding into 2021 with a smile on your face and without debt on your mind!

Weekly Tip

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Make extra payments over the life of your mortgage to minimize the interest you pay over the life of your mortgage loan. This can be done by increasing your minimum payment each year. Or it can be done by putting a lump-sum down against your mortgage. The more extra payments you make, the less interest you will pay to the bank.

Shopping Season

The shopping season is upon us once again! It used to be called the Christmas season or the holiday season but the notion of Christmas or holidays is no longer emphasized.

When I look around, all I see is the emphasis on shopping. Apparently, the proper and just way to show your love to family and friends is to empty your wallet. Every retailer under the sun is exhorting you to spend-spend-spend! If you’ve got a nickel, they’ll happily take it.

Need a gift for your bus-buddy’s grandmother’s snow-shoveller? Then head over to Staples and find just the right thing!

How about a little something for the hostess’ dog-groomer’s roommate’s twin sister? Surely you’ll find what you need at Tim Horton’s.

And let’s not forget to buy a gift for your neighbour’s chiropractor’s assistant’s step-sister’s tennis instructor’s mechanic’s first mother-in-law, okay? Surely, the perfect gift is just waiting to be found on Amazon.

I jest…but not by much.

Gift-giving expectations have exploded.

When I was a child, it was way back in the dark ages. People read by candlelight. A full-sized chocolate bar cost $0.05. It was a 10-mile walk to school, both ways uphill. Back then, a seasonal greeting was sufficient and no one expected anything else.

Today, the retailers have brain-washed us into believing that we should spend whatever it takes to buy something for everyone that we know. It’s insidious! What if my neighbour’s chiropractor’s assistant’s step-sister’s tennis instructor’s mechanic’s first mother-in-law doesn’t like the tin of saltwater taffy that I gave her? I spent $42 on shipping – she damn well better like it!

When we buy into the notion that everyone needs atleast one gift from everyone else, then we tacitly accept that money has to be spent or else someone won’t be happy.

Time – the Ultimate Gift

You know what has worked to create better relationships and strong connections? Spending time with people. Playing cards & board games, completing a puzzle together, or hosting a potluck allows for people to share their lives, talk about their dreams, laugh together, and make some good memories. Time is priceless because it is finite. You only get so much of it and it’s best not to waste it.

When you choose to spend time with someone, you’re giving them something precious. You can’t buy time, but you can use it to create spheres of intimacy where you, your friends and your family can just be. In today’s world, where the constant demand is to do more, be more, spend more, achieve more, one of the best gifts of all is creating a space where it’s okay to just chill, to simply relax, to be together with those whom you cherish.

I’m not trying to pretend that you don’t need some money at this time of the year. If you have to travel or you’re making something that’s not on your regular grocery list, then funds will be needed. If you’re hosting out of town guests, then you’re going to need some extra funds for the additional costs of running a household with a few more bodies. I don’t want to give the impression that this time of year doesn’t deliver some solid punches to your pocketbook.

However, I do want to disabuse you of the notion that buying stuff is the way to find the kind of relationship that you want. No one wants to feel like they’re simply a wallet-on-legs. You want to feel appreciated, not taken for granted. Going into debt to buy gifts for other people is not the way to create the genuine relationship that you most truly desire.

Spend cash! Spend cash! Spend cash!

If I can’t convince you to cut down on the number of presents that you dole out, then perhaps I can persuade you not to go into debt to do so. Keep the credit cards out of your wallet – don’t take them to the mall – most definitely do not use them online! If a website already has a copy of your credit card information saved, then go an delete it immediately. You need to slow down the speed at which you spend your hard-earned money. I call this slowing down process “financial friction”. You will need to create some friction between your viewing of an item and the purchase of that item. Friction will impede your ability to go into debt during the shopping season. This is a very good thing!

Trying to buy someone’s love is a bad idea. Going into debt to buy someone’s love is an even worse idea! If your plan to buy affection doesn’t work, then you’re in debt while also failing to get what you really crave from someone else.

At the root, everyone wants the same thing. People really want to be accepted and loved for who they truly are. They want a genuine connection to others and to know that they are cherished. Your wallet can only buy stuff – it cannot buy the intangible elements of a wonderful relationship.

After all, if your relationship is based on money, then what’s left if the money goes away? How do you know that you’re loved for who you are rather than for what you can buy?

As hard as this may be to believe, I have nothing against gifts! I enjoy giving them and I enjoy receiving them. What I’ve learned over my years is that the amount spent doesn’t correlate to the importance of the relationship in my life. The people in my life love me after shopping season is over, whether I’ve given them a $2 garage-sale mug, a tin of homemade baking, or the latest fancy electronic toy. Tossing aside my financial goals and going into debt to buy gifts for other people hasn’t resulted in stronger relationships.

Look, I’m not telling you to stop buying gifts. I just want you to think about why you’re buying gifts. And I’m going to gently suggest that you spend a little bit less this year in presents. Those who really and truly love you won’t stop loving you if the box under the tree is slightly smaller this year.

Trust me on this one.