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Having it all in December, Losing it all in February : some things to consider this Christmas

By Susan Jung, MBA

Several surveys conducted by organizations around the world have found respondents still feeling the effects of the recession. In one survey, when asked about their spending plans, 51% of respondents stated that they would be spending less on Christmas this year. More than half of respondents said that the recession has given them cause to rethink how they would give gifts this year.

So, does cutting back mean you can’t enjoy Christmas this year? Absolutely not, but we really do need to be thoughtful and intentional in our approach to the festive season. And, we may have to rethink what enjoying Christmas is really all about. Even though retailers would have us think otherwise, Christmas really isn’t just about the gifts. Here are some tips and suggestions:

What we can do:

1. Look at your budget and try to be honest about how much money you really have to spend this Christmas. Ideally, the money we have to spend is the cash that we have saved specifically for this purpose.
2. Explain to your young believers, that Santa wants to make sure that all of the children in the world get the 1 gift they really want this year, and ask them to choose what their special gift will be. Beyond that 1 special (and usually more expensive) gift, head to the dollar store and pick up some extras – dollar store finds are perfect for stocking stuffers, and the best part – you can buy a lot of stuff for very little money.
3. See if family members might agree to not buy for the adults this year. I saw a client this week who shared with me that this year, everyone in his family over the age of 16 will be buying a $20 gift certificate – all of the gift certficates will be put into a pot, and each person gets to draw their gift. What a great idea!
4. Consider a pot-luck Christmas dinner – share the costs and the work. My family and I have adopted this tradition, and it is always an overeating success – we all make each other’s favourite dishes and we have a fabulous feast.

What we should not do:

Let’s face it, most of us would like to have more money than we have. Christmas is one of those times when we are generally even more aware of this wish – we want to buy our children everything on their wish lists; we want our spouses and sgnificant others to be dazzled and overcome when they open that special gift. Unfortunately, most Canadians are not in the position of being able to do it all. And, this is where Christmas can get tricky and even very risky. Credit cards can make it easy for us to have it all, but the problem is that “Having it all” in December sometimes turns into “Losing it all” in February or March.

That’s not to say that making Christmas purchases on credit is a bad thing. Sometimes it’s not – if you can manage to pay the debt off in no more than a few months, then it may be a reasonable plan, but if you can’t pay it off on a timely basis, or worse yet, you already have substantial debt that is already a burden, adding to the problem is simply not a good idea.

I know that is not easy, and life’s financial burdens can weigh that much heavier at this time of year; the desire to simply worry about things after Christmas can be a powerful motivator to simply use credit to get through the season.

I’m sorry if I sound like the Scrooge in Christmas – I really don’t mean to, but I do want you to try to PLAN for Christmas this year. A PLAN can take many forms: if you have manageable debt now, don’t let impulse make it unmanageable in the future; if you are already struggling with debt, don’t make it worse; and… if the stress of debt is making it difficult for you to even think about enjoying Christmas this year, we may be able to help – for further information, please  call us at 310-PLAN, or try our free debt options calculator to review your options. Let us help you Turn the Worry of Debt into a PLAN for a Less Stressful Financial Future.

Full post as published by Hoyes Michalos and Associates Ontario Personal Bankruptcy Blog on December 06, 2010 (boomark / email).