Christmas Day is two months from today. Is that not hard to believe? Where I live, the weather is still almost summer like. Regardless, the gift giving season is upon us. Are you prepared financially for the holiday season. Ready or not, it’s here…again.
For most you are not likely ready. Nothing has been saved and, the fact is, you do not even want to think about it. For many it is Thanksgiving Day when you finally realize you have to get ready and, as a second thought, determine how will you pay for everything.
For years I have been teaching to begin to save for Christmas the day after Christmas. Not only are the decorations steeply reduced, but you can begin to save a little every month to have what you need next year. For some of you – you are ready. For more – you are already done shopping and ready for a stress and debt free holiday season. You can read a helpful blog here.
If you are not one of those who is ready – get ready now. You have to have a plan of how much you will spend and who is on your list. Set that amount now. You have two months to save. Since you only have two months, it may be very wise to reduce the overall amount you “want” to spend to what you “need” to spend.
Save half of that amount in CASH in November and the second half in December. Avoid going into debt on credit cards and pay for your gifts in cash! Do you really want to be paying for Christmas next year?
In January, begin setting aside a little each month. Avoid adding more debt by saving month after month.
