How to avoid Christmas debt overload

The Christmas season is truly the season of giving. There is no
other time of the year when people's hearts are as open or their
hands are as freely generous as they are during the Christmas
holiday. I mean, even our favorite Christmas motto states, "It
is better to give than to receive." While giving does fill your
heart with joy and help those who are less fortunate than us,
many have taken this motto to extremes when it comes to buying
Christmas presents for their children, spouses and other family
members. It is not uncommon for families to run up tremendous
high-interest credit card debt to buy their children elaborate
and expensive gifts such as computers, stereos and designer
clothes as Christmas gifts.
Just take a look at the commercials that air constantly during
the Christmas season. They all have one goal in mind: to
motivate you to spend as much money as you can during the
holidays. I can remember one commercial in particular that
advertised a leading high-end car manufacturer. The husband
opened up his gift from his lovely wife to reveal a set of keys.
When he went outside to look in the drive, there was a very
expensive, sleek and seductive sports car. Seriously, who has
been good enough all year to deserve a $50,000 luxury sports
car? But the message is clear, give the very best. The same
angle is used on men when it comes to buying expensive jewelry
for their wives. It's never ending.
Now, I'm not saying that advertisers are to blame for our
ballooning Christmas debt. They are simply armed with the
knowledge that more consumer spending takes place during the
holidays, and they want a piece of the pie. The fault then lies
with our own inability to curb our holiday spending. It seems
that even if we do not have the money to finance a lavish
Christmas, we will still purchase one using our high-interest
credit cards and worry about paying it off later. And worry we
do.
If this scenario sounds familiar, it doesn't have to be that way
yet again this Christmas. You can take a few simple steps to
alleviate Christmas debt altogether. Here's how: · Spread your
holiday spending throughout the year. If you're one of those
people who love to lavish your family members with expensive
gifts during the Christmas season and you don't want to stop the
practice, you can avoid a debt hangover by spreading your
purchases throughout the year instead of all at once a few weeks
before Christmas.
· Set a holiday budget. Decide what you can reasonably afford to
spend during the holidays and do not go above that amount even
if it means sacrificing gifts along the way. · Buy only for
those closest to you. Contrary to what you might believe, you do
not need to buy gifts for all 27 of your nieces and nephews. Buy
for those in your household first, and then, if you have any
left over, buy for those closest to you. You should also avoid
buying for everyone at work. Just because someone buys for you
that does not mean that you need to return the favor. Simply
send a Thank You card and remember to put them on your Christmas
card list.
· Remember that the best gifts come from the heart and not the
department store. Likely many in your family would enjoy
spending more time with you during the holiday season instead of
watching you run from store to store trying to find the perfect
gifts. Why not opt to spend more time together this year and
keep gift giving to a minimum?
· Homemade gifts mean more and are less expensive. Wouldn't it
warm your heart to know that your beloved Aunt or Grandma baked
your favorite Christmas treat especially for you? You wouldn't
have to know that yours was just a sampling of a large batch
that she also distributed to her beautician, neighbors and
friends. It didn't cost her much money, and it won't cost you
much either to do the same for your friends.
So, before you get caught up in the frenzy of Christmas consumer
spending, take a moment to reflect on what is most important to
you and your family during the holiday season.