Synopsis: How to plan and take action for a stress free and debt free holiday season

You probably noticed as the kids were getting back to school, Halloween costumes and decorations were in the stores.  Soon the stores will be fully stocked with Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah gifts and decorations.   For many of us, making the holidays special and fun is about decorating, party planning, food shopping, cooking, baking, gift-giving, traveling, preparing for house guests and for some, completing home improvement projects in time for the festivities.    There is a lot to do and all of it takes time and money. 

If you have already started your holiday planning, hats off to you!  If you haven’t given it a thought yet, now would not be too soon to get started by creating a holiday spending plan. 

Available Money:
The first step is to figure out what money is available to spend.  Ideally if you have been saving throughout the year you will have that amount available to you.  If not, you can still designate an amount that will work and spare you from going into debt come January. Be sure to account for normal fixed expenses and periodic expenses, like property taxes due before the end of the year.

Expense Categories:
The next step is to brainstorm all categories of expenses associated with the holidays that will be paid for by money available.  In addition to gift recipients and gifts, other categories could include decorations, cards, postage, brunch, party and travel.

Spending Plan:
Once you have a category list, start writing in the amount you plan to budget for each gift recipient and other categories on your list.  Total this list of expenses and compare it to the amount of funds available.  Does it work?

If the answer is yes, it is clear you have sufficient funds available to move forward with your plan.  If the answer is no, it is great to know that now so you can adjust the plan to make it work.   Go back and identify the things you really need versus the things you simply want.  Ask yourself, “Is there another way I can meet these needs for less or no money? Keep adjusting until you find a balance between the things you need and what you can afford.  If the plan still doesn’t work, think of ways to bring in some extra holiday cash.  Think of this process as a way of exploring possibilities and being creative.  

Some of the most meaningful gifts come in no package at all.  I know a woman who is very talented writer.  Instead of presents one year she chose to give family and friends a poem written especially for each one of them.    Another idea is a gift of love and service which could be a homemade gift certificate offering to wash the car or help with errands.

On a personal note:  one of our most enjoyable holiday seasons was when we had a reason to plan ahead.  It was the year one of our sons was born in November just before Thanksgiving.   That year I felt I did not have a choice to put off planning for the holidays if we were going to enjoy a stress free holiday season with our new son.  The plan made a difference - everything got done, gifts selected, wrapped and paid for before the end of the year.   Another year, because we were going to be gone for the month of November, we decorated, shopped for gifts and planned a holiday party for December 1 by the end of October.  All we needed to do was turn the holiday lights on when we got home and enjoy the festivities with our family and friends.

Not only did having a plan in place for what we needed to get done make a difference we also discovered this early planning helped us spend less as well.   It was great not to be doing our holiday shopping at the last minute which would often lead to making decisions under pressure and buying more.  
 
You don’t have to have a baby on the way or be leaving town to get things done.  Set your own deadline.  Then create a spending plan and take action for a stress free and debt free holiday season.