holidays Archives - Live Debt Free

The holiday season is right around the corner, and with it will come long shopping lines, and for many, large credit card bills. However, bringing out the credit cards simply to afford the holiday season is a big and costly mistake. Paying high interest rates on a maxed out card until next spring simply to get your 8-year-old a great prepaid cell phone stocking stuffer is ridiculous. Instead, consider the following tips to make your holiday season enjoyable without needed to constantly whip out the plastic:

1. Learn discipline

You won’t make it through the holiday season debt free unless you learn to keep yourself under control. While it is fun to shop and cook for loved ones, it is also costly. Don’t let yourself get carried away with buying the best gifts for every one you’ve ever come into contact with – this goes for your kids too. Make a reasonable shopping list, and stick to it. If you don’t shop with discipline, you will overspend and make last minute, unnecessary purchases that will only cause you to go overbudget and most likely rack up those credit cards.

2. Create an accurate budget

When most people begin planning for their holiday shopping, they only think of gifts and then give themselves one solid amount for those gifts. This is a sure fire way to set yourself up for overspending as budgeting just for gifts leaves out other holiday needs such as travel and food – both of which are integral parts of the holidays. When creating your budget for the holidays, be as accurate as possible. Include all major food purchases, gifts, and any travel expenses that will be needed to keep yourself from swiping those credit cards when funds are low.

3. Start preparing now

The sooner you start shopping, the better. Most people don’t have all the funds needed to complete holiday shopping in one month alone. By spreading out your shopping, you will give yourself more time to find the right deals and you will be less likely to charge any purchases as you won’t be spreading yourself so thin financially.

4. Shop smart and make your own

Always remember to shop smart. Your kids don’t always need the biggest and best; an inexpensive alternative can provide just as much entertainment and enjoyment. Shopping online can also greatly reduce shopping expenses. Certain items, such as electronics, books, and movies, can be purchased for significantly lower prices if bought online. For foods items, consider local farm markets or discount grocers to buy the fix-ins for your holiday meals. Alternatives to department and big box stores can provide huge savings without sacrificing quality so don’t be afraid to shop in them when trying to stay within your allotted budget. Making your own gifts is another great way to save money. This guide teaches you how to make all your own homemade cleaners naturally.

5. Delegate and share expenses

If you realize that your extravagant Thanksgiving meal is what is always sending you over budget, then ask others to help out. Simply request that everyone bring their favorite side dish to reduce costs. When holding holiday celebrations, there is no harm is asking others to help. It will actually make the event more enjoyable for everyone as it will be more personal, and it will be more enjoyable for you as it won’t be as stressful and won’t require as many funds.

The holidays are meant to be a time of joy and giving, not one of financial instability and anxiety. Avoid putting yourself in the red by steering clear of the credit cards trap this holiday season. You don’t need to spend a lot to have the best holiday season. In fact, doing so will only make the season more stressful.

Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark Holiday

For those unfamiliar, a “Hallmark Holiday” is a term used to describe a holiday created for commercial purposes that seeks to exploit the emotions of consumers for reasons of profit.

People may argue the legitimacy of this term, but for the intents and purposes of this article we will assume it true (mostly because I believe it… and I’m the author.) 🙂

Define your own celebrations

Despite popular cultural norms, we strive to choose our own celebration days rather than letting them be dictated to us by commercial entities or anyone else. While we do celebrate some traditional holidays, we still try to do so in a way that makes us happy rather than just following along with the spending culture we’re inundated with and surrounded by.

Per celebrating loved ones, I endeavor to celebrate my love for them daily rather than certain days of the year. I love my wife every day and hope to show her that as often as possible. I love my mom every day, and hope to show her that as often as possible. I love my sister every day and hope to show her that as often as possible. You get the point. Rather than picking days, I think it more fitting to try and make them feel special every time I come in contact with them.

Despite the aim to always honor loved ones, I still have particular days I like to focus on them but prefer to define these days according to the personal relationship, not popular culture.

Anniversaries

Anniversaries are a big one for me. I view them as special because they represent the loving and life long union of two people setting off to share their lives with one another. I like to show particular admiration for loved ones on these special days.

Birthdays

Celebrating the day people came into this world is another huge one for me. What better opportunity to focus on individuals than the anniversary of their birth.

Although both of these event types are very commercialized in popular culture, I enjoy placing the focus on the person and the relationship rather than focusing on gifts of high dollar amounts. I typically do this by expressing my appreciation for them through words, pictures, and memories, etc… or by meeting a specific need they have.

Valentine’s Day – What we did and how we saved

Since we do not celebrate this holiday in traditional fashion, we focused on making it a great day like we do with all other days. Initially we planned to split a meal at one of our favorite restaurants then visit the MSU planetarium, but chose to avoid the crowds and stay home instead. If you didn’t already know, we are in debt so we limit ourselves to a maximum of one night out per month. Also, we decided long ago that dinners out should be limited to occasions that are special to us, so we chose to save our special dinner for next week… our 5th wedding anniversary! 🙂

Rather than going out, spending money, and fighting crowds… we made our favorite dinner together – Indian Madras Chicken Curry – and cuddled up to a good movie afterward. We saved about $20 on the meal by cooking at home (which also provided us leftovers for the week ahead) and utilized our Netflix streaming subscription to watch a movie at no additional cost.

All said and done we saved about $30+ and spent a lovingly relaxing night at home eating our favorite dish and cuddling up to a great movie.

Valentine’s Day – What did you do and how did you save?

Do you believe in celebrating Valentine’s Day? Did you celebrate it traditionally by spending money to enjoy each others company, or did you celebrate it creatively without focusing on gifts and evenings out?

Surviving the Holidays Without Credit Cards