All I want for Christmas is You
Ahh Christmas is almost here. Christmas season is the best time of the year for many, but it could also be one of the most stressful times for people who are in debt and can’t afford to buy gifts.
There is just so much pressure put on us to buy everybody and their mother a little something something for Christmas. If you don’t, then you are just like Ebenezer Scrooge.
The pressure comes from everywhere. There are countless Christmas commercials telling you what you should buy, there’s Christmas music everywhere (doesn’t tell you to buy stuff, but it reminds you two months in advance that it is Christmas season and that you should start getting ready), and there are also those who keep asking, “What are you getting [INSERT NAME] for Christmas?” It is not even November yet!
Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas. It is a time to get together with your family and loved ones. Everybody seems to be happy – maybe tired of the Christmas songs, but happy – some of us gets a little break from work, and we get gifts.
Yes, I like gifts too. The problem I have is when people get into debt just to buy somebody else a gift.
Avoid Debt for Christmas
According to a recent Gallup Poll, Americans are expected to spend an average of $781 this holiday season. That’s a lot of money, and if you’re not prepared for this expense, it could take you deeper into your debt hole.
The best way to avoid debt for Christmas is to not buy stuff for people, but that’s just unrealistic. People love Christmas because you not only receive gifts, but you also get to give somebody a gift and make them smile.
I’m not here to tell you not to buy anything at all because I’m not doing that either – unless you are living paycheck to paycheck and can’t really afford to buy a gift for somebody. If that’s the case, you should really reconsider your priorities.
If you are struggling with debt and can’t afford to part with $20, I strongly suggest that you speak with your friends and family and tell them that you just can’t afford gifts this year. They will understand and I guarantee that they will still love you even if you don’t give them a gift.
For those who are debt free or are in a debt payment plan, have a hold of their finances, and are planning on buying Christmas gifts, the best way to avoid debt is by planning ahead.
If you are planning to spend $781 this holiday season – which is way too much money – the smart thing to do is to add that expense to you budget. Divide the amount you’re planning to spend by 12 months, that way it puts less strain on your wallet. Instead of having to come up with $781 out of nowhere in December, save $65 every month and you’ll have the $781 by the end of the year.
Dave Ramsey is known for saying “Christmas happens on December 25th every year. So there’s no excuse not to save up before the gift-giving season hits.”
Reduce the Amount of Money You Spend
In my humble opinion, I think $781 is a crazy amount of money to spend on gifts, but it is not unreasonable if you are buying most of the people you know a gift. In my family, we used to buy a gift for everybody and we were all broke after Christmas. So we decided to have a Secret Santa instead.
The Secret Santa allows us to still give – and receive – a gift for Christmas, but it also helps us save money because we only have to buy one gift. Okay, this only applies to the adults because we all buy the kids gifts, but still. I no longer have to buy something for my older brother, his wife, my sister, her fiance, my fiancee (I still have to), my mom, my dad, his wife, my grandma, and my younger brother. And this is just my immediate family.
My mom has 4 siblings and my dad has 11 siblings, and most of them have multiple kids, and some of those kids have kids of their own, so you can see how Christmas spending can easily get out of control in my family.
Now we just have to buy one gift and that’s it!
We still get together to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas, and have a great time opening gifts – or should I say, gift – so the Christmas spirit is still there and we haven’t stopped loving each other because we no longer receive 27 sweaters.
So talk with your family and try to convince them to do a Secret Santa type of thing. Explain to them that you are trying to get out of debt and having to spend a lot of money on Christmas is not going to help you achieve your goals.
Like I said before, they’ll understand and will be proud that you are doing something to become debt free. Some of them might even be relieved that they also don’t have to think of gift for the entire family.
We do the Secret Santa thing and it’s definitely the way to go. It frees up more time for you to consider 1 perfect gift instead of a billion mediocre gifts for everyone. And also the 1:1 gift exchange means you grow closer to the person who got your name. Like, my great aunt go my name one year. We usually don’t talk but when she got me a great gift, we definitely had something to talk about.
That’s a great point, Will. I’ve never thought about bringing distant relatives closer together, but you are right about that.
Making sure you don’t get into debt during the holidays is crucial to staying on a good financial track and building a strong financial foundation. Christmas comes the same time every year; there’s no reason not to plan ahead for it.
That’s right. Planning is key and since Christmas happens every year, there’s really no excuse. It’s not like it is an unforeseen event.
We have cut back A LOT on our holiday spending over the last few years and that was because we reached out to the family and suggested that everyone just buy gifts for the kids and that the adults don’t exchange. We were all only swapping gift cards which was just a waste. Hubby and I have also challenged ourselves to gift budgets. It’s fun to see who can find the best “stuff” for the least money.
We also decided to only get stuff for the kids, and only one gift for one specific person. It saves money and time.
I like your gift budget idea. Challenge each other to find the best gift for the least amount of money.
We’re planning on cutting back this Christmas. We still buy for all the immediate family adults, but this year we’ll be scaling back our gifts. Now that babies are around, it’ll be easier to just buy for the kids and not the parents. We still are fortunate to have 7 parents and grandparents to buy for though and it adds up.
That’s why we decided to scale back. The family was growing too big and the money was running out.
I try to keep my Christmas spending to a minimum so I look for more thoughtful gifts as opposed to ones that are pricey. I also have my Christmas funds on a separate card so that way I’m sure to stay within my budget.
I much rather get a thoughtful gift than an expensive useless gift.
We keep Christmas spending to minimum as well. Gifts are not important, quality time is more important.
That’s what I’m saying. We enjoy the time together on Christmas way more than the gifts.
Last year I did gifts from my side business which is buying and reselling items on eBay, I was very worried nobody would like them, but I was surprised at the glowing response I received. All it cost me was part of my profits, not any money that came from a paycheck or credit card.
That’s a good idea. Maybe I should get in on that action.
I would love to spend lavishly on friends and family, but that hasn’t been the case for a long time. I buy one toy/gift for a needy family or adopt a family type situation, and I sent my nephews about $25 each. Nothing fancy but it gives them a little somethin’ somethin’. For my parents I just sent them cards. And that’s it!
It would be nice to be able to give our friends and family nice gifts, wouldn’t it?
That’s nice that you give a gift to a needy family. I did that a few years back and it felt very good. I’m not sure why I haven’t done it more often.
We usually have a pretty small Christmas. We spend about $100 on my husband’s family (they’re out of state so we pay for shipping), $100 on my family and $50 on our kids (they’re 2 and 1 so maybe not even that much haha!). We don’t normally buy gifts for each other unless we happen to have extra money that month. I think the average of $781 is totally unnecessary!!! Anyone spending that either needs to suggest a secret santa or not purchase extravagant items!
I was floored too when I saw the average was $781. That’s just insane. Somebody better be getting a new computer.
I’m cutting down a lot on presents this year for my family, hopefully spending half than normal on presents. My friends and I do a secret santa with a max spend of £10, that is always a lot of fund.
The friend’s secret santa is indeed a lot of fun because we give each other outrageous things.
I enjoy the gathering together for the holidays idea but I refuse to spend a crazy amount of money to show people how much I love them. DH and I along with our families no longer exchange Christmas gifts. We’re all about the food 🙂
Same here. We do the secret santa thing because everybody likes gifts, but we get together mostly for the food.
Secret Santa is the way to go for sure. You’re never going to find great gifts for nine second cousins anyway. Luckily we don’t exchange at all with extended family. We buy for the niece and nephews and if my in-laws come for a visit, we take them out for a nice meal. That’s it – and I’m pretty sure everyone loves everyone else just the same.
That’s simply a lot of money for the typical person to spend on the holidays. It reminds me of how the average person spends just short of $80 on a Halloween costume. Again, way out of line with what would “need” to be spent to participate in festivities.
When it comes to the holiday season, and Christmas in particular (as that was the topic of the post), I think it’s important to keep in mind that while gifts are nice to give and receive, it’s not about the gifts and money to begin with anyway. Once we remember that, it can make it easier to make sensible decisions.
One technique that I have found helpful is to shop for gifts all year around in preparation for Christmas. I know before hand how many people that I’m actually getting a gift for, and then spend the year with that in the back of my mind. If I find a killer deal somewhere, I buy it and save it until Christmas.
I never wait until the Christmas season to do all of my shopping. So-called “deals” (especially on Black Friday) don’t actually save you any money, and people feel the pressure to get their shopping done as quickly as they can, which increases the tendency to over-spend on crap that people don’t need.
Spend all year looking for the best deal, and I can almost guarantee you that you will save money.