Christmas is Coming?

“‘Twas the night before Christmas … “

Well … not quite … but as I look around at all of the beautiful decorations in stores and on houses and see the first snow here in Michigan, I know that “Winter is Coming” and Christmas is almost here.

It seems like Christmas happens on the same day every year.

Oh wait … it actually does happen on the same day every year.

Even though the day of the first Christmas advertisement in the United States has changed from Black Friday to the day after Halloween (or even earlier), Christmas has remained on December 25th. 

Since we know when Christmas is, we should probably make a plan to get ready for it.  Sure, we have decorated our house and bought presents for our loved ones. We have even made plans to go to church and purchased a lot of food and drinks for get-togethers, but maybe we are not truly ready. You see, even though Christmas has remained on December 25th throughout the years, many of us fail to save up enough money for this holiday. Instead of focusing on Life before Budget, we focus solely on Life and forget entirely about the Budget. 

Like you, I have not been ready for Christmas before. When I have failed to set up a budget and a savings plan for Christmas, then it has followed me like a bad hangover into January, February, or beyond.

However, I know that it can be tough to set up and stick to a budget and a savings plan for Christmas. First of all, we may not know how much money Christmas will cost. Secondly, we may not have saved any money throughout the year to get us through Christmas. 

The good thing is that we can change this year! Not only do we know the date Christmas is on, but we can get ready for it financially. 

My wife and I try to plan for Christmas each year a couple of months before December 25th. Here’s what we do:

1. Create a list of who we are getting presents for and what other things we need to spend money on. We then try to go through the list to determine what presents we are getting for everyone. We also try to assign a dollar amount to each gift.
2. After planning for costs, we make sure that we have enough money to avoid going into debt over Christmas. If we didn’t save much money for Christmas, then we may have to get creative.  Crafting, coupons, and homemade gifts are all great options to avoid going into debt. After all, for us debt is not an option!
3. Purchase gifts if we have the money to do so**, or figure out gifts that do not require much money. Typically gifts that require a bit of thought are usually better than those that just require a lot of money. My wife’s parents may enjoy a homemade 3-course dinner where we set-up, cook, and clean-up after them. My sister may enjoy free babysitting for her two little kids so that she can go out with her husband. Even my kids may enjoy coupons to spend time at a local park or to go kayaking more than they might enjoy a throwaway plastic toy. 
4. After planning to avoid debt, the fourth thing that my wife and I do to make sure that Christmas doesn’t follow us into January of next year, is to hang onto our list of who we are shopping for. Christmas costs usually don’t vary too much from year to year, so this list gives us a starting point for next year. 

Whether we love or hate the holiday season, we definitely don’t want to receive a credit card bill for $600 worth of Christmas gifts on January 20th. Not having a large Christmas bill to pay in January will mean that we can save a bit of money throughout the year for next year’s Christmas. Saving $50 each month is a lot easier than trying to come up with $600 on December 10th to avoid going into credit card debt.

---

Are you ready for Christmas this year? Have you saved enough money or do you have a plan to make sure that Christmas doesn’t follow you into next year? Let us know how you are planning to avoid Christmas debt by checking out the comments below. 

And thanks for reading!

~Nathan

---

Let’s keep living a great life … with the help of money. So what’s next?

• You can travel for free by using rewards credit cards.
• You can get motivated and get out of debt.
• You can check out the next post or the previous post and continue to learn.

But no matter what you decide to do, let’s leave the ordinary behind and take action today!