Stay in Ya’ Bag and Out of Your Feelings, Sis

By administrator | 12 Financial Christmas Gift Ideas

Sis, you are the gift.

It takes most Americans five years to pay off the debt accrued during the holiday season.

With five days remaining until Christmas, you might be feeling a little financially frustrated. If so, have you overspent? Do you feel overwhelmed when you look at the people you still have to shop for?

Before you spend another dime…
Breathe… Then ask yourself can you really afford to spend more money? If you can do it guilt-free, continue pass go but save the $200.

Mmmmkay! I’ve told you before, I budget 2% of my annual income to shop during the Christmas holidays. If you’re the average American making $50,000 a year and you’re spending under $800, you’re well within your budget according to the national average. However, most consumer reports show that Americans spend an average of $1,100 per year between travel, gifts, and decor during the holiday season.

Be sure to use the link in bio to get my tips on How I Manage My Mood & My Money during the holiday season.

I Know My Presence Is the Present

When you become so vested in the $pending, you forget that the real focus is to “spend” time with the people who you make memories with all year. If I find myself pressuring myself into perfect decor or a gift, I simply say my presence is the ultimate present.

I am going to be attentive when someone is sharing with me. If I’m given a gift, I do my best to share the highest gratitude. When giving a gift, I do so embodying love. When I feel pressured, I financially fall back! I’m supposed to be decking the halls, not delving into debt.

In between those sips of eggnog, you may want to look at your credit card bill or your online bank transaction history to give you a sobering reality check when you need it. Nothing like a “What’s My Balance?” phone call to ground your senses as well as your dollars and cents.

In a recent story, only 42 percent of shoppers said they’ll pay off their purchases in three months or less. More people said it will take five months or more to pay their holiday debt, according to one report. If you only make the minimum payments it could take more than five years. Yikes!

Here is a user-friendly debt calculator shared by one of our partners – debt.com – that can assist you in paying off debt sooner.

Focus Financially Forward

While there’s a lot of focus on shopping, soon it will be a New Year, starting off a new decade, and if your goal is to pop more than bottles in 2020, you can’t start being intentional about your money on Jan.1. The discipline starts with your next dollar!

Bottomline, Sis, don’t go hard on yourself or your money. Give what you can with joy. When you start to feel financially frustrated, it means your are doing tooooo much! Pause, take three deep breaths and read my blog (-: