How To Relieve Holiday Anxiety!
By Sallie Bentt
I must admit that as much as I love and look forward to the
holiday season, I simultaneously feel a great sense of anxiety
when the festive season approaches. I look forward to quality
time and sharing with family and friends, but money is stressful
enough every other month of the year and it's intensified
during the holidays. Christmas parties and dinners, gifts and
great times lend well to holiday excitement and sadly, great
expense. With an uncertain economy and an ever-changing job
market, it feels even more stressful than ever. I want so badly
to be wholly excited, yet I find myself dreading the obsessive
calculations from the frenzied activity in my checkbook, more
activity than my checkbook sees all year.
Fortunately for those of us who do experience a nagging anxiety
tugging at our heart and purse strings, there are ways to
relieve these feelings to make the holidays feel almost as
joyous as you remember before you had the burden of paying for
them.
Start this holiday season by getting organized: Maintain a week
by week calendar of all upcoming events for you and your family
through the holiday season. This will help you visualize where
you need to be and what you need for each upcoming week.
Organization will guide you through the holidays by keeping you
focused and will allow you to maximize your money, time and
resources. Further, this will help you avoid the last minute
panics!
Don't be afraid of your stress: You're not alone. Talk about it.
If you're concerned about gift giving and don't want to make a
dent in your savings or rely on plastic to foot the bill for
Santa, discuss your feelings with your spouse, your children or
significant other. Express your concern and create a strategy to
survive the expense of the holiday season. If discussing the
issue with children, help them understand that in the real
world some years are financially better than others are. This
year has been tough on all Americans and if you can spend
frugally during this season, maybe you can do something special
later in the year when times, money and employment are more
certain.
Gift giving doesn't cost a fortune: The most valuable gifts
sometimes come in the smallest packages. People often do without
the little things because they don't want to spend money on
themselves. This is where you come in. Get creative!
Shop early. Shop sales: If you wait until the last minute to do
your holiday shopping, you risk missing current sales and
overspending on unnecessary purchases, often the result of
feeling guilty about procrastinating. Take advantage of sales
everywhere to get the most for your dollar and don't forget
stores that regularly carry discounted merchandise. One of my
favorites is Tuesday Morning. This store typically carries a
little of everything and the prices are significantly lower than
prices in major department stores.
Inventory your kitchen: To survive the cooking and baking that
goes hand in hand with the holidays, make a list of what you have
and what you need. Buy only what you need. Use a list when
grocery shopping to avoid overspending. Use coupons and remember
that if you find something you'll eventually need on sale now,
buy it and freeze it for later.
Paper or plastic? I once wholeheartedly believed "charging it"
allowed me to preserve my cash for a later date. Remember, if
you charge it, you're only delaying when and how much extra
you'll pay for purchases. Create an overall spending plan and
determine in advance what you can afford to spend. You'll feel
much better when the holiday season is over that you're not
still paying for it!
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Copyright (c) Sallie Bentt, 2001
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sallie Bentt is author of the ebook "Debt
Deception! A Guide to Preventing Credit Card Debt" and host of
Credit-Tips.com. She frequently writes about the need to teach
financial education to prevent debt. Visit her at
http://www.DontDoDebt.com or
http://www.Credit-Tips.com.
