Controlling Christmas Spending

Here we go into another holiday season. Yippee ...my kids have been diligently telling me for weeks which toys they absolutely must have. For my oldest son, his list of video games is quite exceptional. If I was to get every game he wants, there wouldn't be time for him to do anything else. He would become a teenager at 5, eat, poop, sleep, play, repeat. My 2 ½ year old wants everything. He just figured out who Santa is. And, last and the expensive, channeling Emelda Marcos, the “fashionista” 11 year old.

Shopping, oh how I do hate it. The crowds, the lines, the fighting for a deal...I'm a rather directed shopper. I want to get what I need and get out as quickly as possible. But, this is the season for accidentally finding thing you need as well which always seems to add a lot of extra money to what was hoped to be a controlled Christmas So, this year with a recession advancing, I'm putting my foot down and setting some simple rules to follow for getting through the gift part of the holiday season with my bank account still intact.

Here it is...

1.We're not spending more than $100 per immediate family member.
2.The extended family has agreed to a “Secret Santa” with a max budget of $50.00. (This is fun and only $50.00 compared to the $450 I spent last year.
3.Cash is king. We are not using credit cards this year. They tend to give the feeling that we have more money than we really have.
4. Mommy and I are not giving gifts that have monetary value. We are giving chore coupons instead.
5. I found I can control those buying urges without distractions by shopping online...debit card only thank you.

By doing these things, I estimate I can save over $2,000 this holiday and the children won't really know the difference.

Article Source: http://www.series-of-articles.com

Clancy Fort is a debt counselor and owner of Fort Debt Settlement (www.fortdebtsettlement.com), an affiliate of Debt Zero. He is an expert on debt reduction and cash control. You can contact him through his website at www.fortdebtsettlement.com .

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated