3 Strategies To Avoid Holiday Overspending
3 Strategies To Avoid Holiday Overspending
Overspending, overeating and overdoing during the holidays is a problem for everyone — divorced or not. But for those of us living on one salary and supporting children, watching our spending is all the more crucial. Combine it with melancholy, guilt and people-pleasing, and you have a recipe for credit card overload.
Starting off the new year with a massive credit card bill is a downer, so let's discuss three steps you can take to avoid overspending.
1. Give Homemade Gifts: Try giving homemade gifts. Take a Saturday to make jam or cookies and wrap them in a pretty box or gift bag and you're set. There are also excellent banana breads that can be wrapped nicely.
If you're not "crafty" then invite a friend to do it with you; you provide the baked cookies and she can provide the pretty packaging. Pick a Sunday night and deliver the bagged cookies the next day at the office or drop by your friends' houses on the way to work.
Take a look at gift catalogues for ideas. My sister-in-law plants amaryllis bulbs and gives them as holiday gifts. I look forward to them every year and I think it only costs her $3 to $5 and a little forethought.
2. Avoid expensive restaurant meals and go potluck when entertaining: Avoid expensive restaurant meals. Tell friends you can meet them for desert or suggest a potluck at your house. Last year a friend of mine decided to host a Christmas party. As she was planning, she started to mention the high cost of everything. I suggested she cook a turkey and assign or ask people to bring side dishes, salads and deserts. She literally stopped and dropped her pencil and said, "I never even thought of that." It was a huge success and the best part was all the delicious side dishes that she never would have had time to make.
3. Borrow your holiday dress or dresses: Borrow a holiday or special occasion dress. I know it sounds excruciating but this is the time to fall back on some old fashion cost-saving tips. There is no better compliment than to ask a friend if she has something you can borrow. It says you like her taste and trust that she is a generous friend. It's really what the holidays are all about. Of course while you are rummaging though her closet, you might find a great purse and some jewelry too!
Planning ahead and having a realistic budget is key. I've already spent more than I should and there are three weeks to go. Avoid emotional spending and try not to associate the holidays with spending. Instead, relax, reflect, journal, spend time in nature and with friends. All that requires is a teapot, some old tennis shoes and a good hiking trail.
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