The holiday season is upon us. In some ways, it doesn’t seem possible. Not long ago, we were sunning ourselves by the lake and eating hot dogs and hamburgers beside the backyard grill. Life is funny. It has a way of moving along when we least expect it.
Now that we’re officially in the holiday season, the question is, are you ready for it? Did you prepare or are you behind? If you did prepare, good for you, you’re ahead of the game. If you didn’t, there’s still time for you to make good financial decisions without going into a mountain of debt.
In a recent study conducted by WalletHub, 46 percent of Americans surveyed said they still had holiday debt from last year. A similar study from WalletHub conducted in 2023 prior to the holidays noted that 19 percent of Americans would by applying for a new credit card to help pay for their holiday shopping.
This is not the ideal way to have a worry free holiday. When you whittle the holiday’s down to their core, the very purpose for their existence, they’re meant to provide joy and fellowship among family, friends and neighbors. Spending your hard earned money to buy things for others when you can’t afford to do so makes zero sense from both a budgetary and rational perspective.
There are exceptions for those who belong to the working poor and can barely keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. I’m not talking to them, they have plenty of their own problems.
For the rest of us, it’s hard not to plunk down a credit card in order to pay for the things we’d like to buy. This is especially hard when it comes to our kids. If you’re like me, you want to give your kids the best life possible. Sometimes this means buying them the things they want. It brings them joy and in turn, brings you joy for having the ability to do it. This is normal. It’s also normal to have remorse 6 months later when you’re still paying off something that your child has now thrown to the side for the next big thing.
If you fall into the category of being behind on your holiday budget, you still have time to store up some cash to avoid having to use credit cards to pay for the items you’d like to buy. Let’s discuss the steps you can take to have success this holiday season.
Develop a Budget
It seems simple, right? It is simple if it’s something you’re used to doing. It’s more difficult if it’s something you’ve never done or don’t currently do on a daily or monthly basis. Although it seems simplistic, documenting who you’re buying gifts for and how much you’re going to spend will help you greatly reduce the risk of a budgetary collapse. Sticking to the budget is also vital to success.
Downsize Your Life
Forego the morning coffee at Starbucks. Pack your lunch instead of eating out. Invite friends over for drinks at your house rather than spending money at the bar. These are all very small things that will have minimal impact on your life or general happiness; however, the impacts to your budget could be huge. I’d honestly recommend doing each of these on a regular basis anyway, but you can certainly implement them from now until mid December in order to save some money.
Work on Your Side Hustle
Take it from a guy who now makes his living hustling for every dollar. There is money out there if you work hard, have a will to win and provide something people either want or need done. At the Catawba Fest last week, I saw multiple vendors selling jams, breads or other goods. Many of them appeared to be local with the vast majority helping customers make a purchase each time I walked past. If you’re good at something, use it to your advantage. You don’t have to go into debt to do it either. There are plenty of low cost options for you to make extra money. Do your research and get started.
Accepting your fate and going into debt in order to purchase what you want or need for the holidays is avoidable for a vast majority of us. Make the necessary sacrifices now in order to have a joyful and stress free holiday season. You’ll also be setting yourself up for financial success in 2025 by avoiding paying off your debt for months to come.
After all, Christmas comes once a year.
Your credit card bill; however, comes once a month.
