And Wealth Building Links
Sales abound. Commercials entice. Shopping is in the air.
I like to shop as much as the next. I get swayed by advertisers too! In fact after swearing against buying an iPhone, iPad, or eReader I succumbed to a tablet for my holiday present. True confession; the Samsung Galaxy was on sale for $179, cheaper than the iPad and Kindle Fire I was checking out! And I’ve had fun with the “toy” downloading apps, playing games, and reading my favorite books. It turns out, it is a great gift. (Okay, so I opened it a bit before the Chanukah holiday begins.)
Gifts, indulgences and holidays are some of the important things that make life worth living. They build a wealthy life, it’s not only about the money. It’s important to celebrate the joys of life. Where the celebrations go awry are when they go beyond your pocketbook and put you in debt.
Follow these simple tips to celebrate without breaking the bank.
Beautiful and Affordable Gift
HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIPS:
- Figure out who’s on the list. Make sure you’re not giving to impress but for a genuine reason.
- Create a reasonable spending budget for the holiday. If you can’t pay for your spending within the month or two, cut back the list and/or the holiday budget.
- Match a dollar amount to the recipients’ gifts. For office friends we usually go to the dollar store, buy a bunch of beautiful containers ($1 each), buy big bags of candy, clear wrapping paper, and ribbon. Place candy in the containers wrap and tie with a ribbon. Each gift costs less than $2 each. Write a meaningful card to show you care!
- For the kids; big gifts don’t equal love. Give what you can afford and teach the children the holidays are more than just indulgence. Make sure to show the kids how to give to the less fortunate. Donate toys and coats to the holiday drives.
- Shop for sales and know the regular prices so you recognize a deal. You still have a few weeks until the holidays so take it slow. Don’t make the holidays a strain, enjoy the time of year and remember what the season is really about.
- Make a list-and stick to it.
- If it’s not on the the list, don’t buy!
Enjoy the Season
Wealth Building & Gift Giving Reads:
- The Chicago Financial Planner; Post Election Financial Advice-The 1% Solution
- Ernest Buffett Left a Legacy; On Target Coach
- 77+ Homemade gifts – DIY Christmas/Holiday gifts; WealthInformatics
- Merry Thriftiness-It’s Not About Being Cheap - Enemy of Debt
- Have a Holiday Spending Plan; Don’t Dread January – Beating Broke
Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance Across the Web
- Wise Bread; Best Money Links
- Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at See Debt Run
- Carnival of Retirement at Family Money Values
- Carnival of MoneyPros at Growing Money Smart
- Carnival of Financial Planning at Planting Money Seeds
- Carnival of Retirement at Making Sense of Cents
- Finance Carn. for Young Adults at 20s Finances
- Yakezie Carnival at IHeartBudgets
How do you keep shopping and spending under control during this time of year?
image credit; destination wedding favors from google images
Number 7 is the most important and hardest to follow
I’m trying my best though.
I just try to only buy what I need which isn’t really ever much at this time of year luckily…
Lance @ Money Life and More recently posted..Random Thoughts, Personal Finance Round Up and Carnivals #31
Great tips! We already know what each other wants, but aren’t sure yet what to give the kids in the family.
Michelle recently posted..Weekly Roundup
@LAnce, Agreed, only buying what’s on the list is REALLY difficult!
@Michelle- Kids can be tough to buy for. You’re never certain what they want (except the most vocal ones). And gift cards frequently do not get used.
Barbara Friedberg recently posted..7 HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIPS
Great list! Funny, my wife and I were just talking about how our children enjoyed big boxes more than actual toys or gifts. Our list still favors more meaningful needs than wishes. We definitely stick to a budget and a list!
krantcents recently posted..Happy Thanksgiving
Great ideas, my favorite is having the list in advance and sticking to it! Its very easy to spend an extra 20 here and there that adds up to a few hundred dollars!
Jon @ Pay My Student Loans recently posted..The Benefit Of Moving Home After College To Save Money and Pay Off Debt
@Krantc-Many parents overspend on toys for kids. In most cases, they’re really happy with the simple toys, crafts, and household boxes (the bigger the better) for the little ones.
@Jon-The list one requires continual discipline!!!!
Barb recently posted..7 HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIPS
Sticking to the list is tough sometimes..those marketing tricks really work. Thanks for including my article too!
Brent Pittman recently posted..Are We There Yet? Life Lessons I Learned from a 1,400 Mile Road Trip
@Brent-You can be aware of the tricks the marketers use to get you to buy, and still fall prey to their strategies!!!
Barb recently posted..7 HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIPS
This year we’ve simplified our holiday shopping: we’re donating a bunch of toys instead of buying a ton of gifts for our niece and nephew that get everything on their wish list anyway. We’ll buy their families a “family” gift, but all the toys and -ah hem- crap we buy them will be going to needy boys and girls this year. We just couldn’t contribute one more year to their gluttony.
Little House recently posted..Frugal Holiday Decorating Ideas
Great tips Barb! We use a number of them. The biggest thing for us is to have a budget and stick to it. We pull out cash throughout the year so when the Holidays come up we have no worries and can buy what we need.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..More Blogging Tips From a Beginner
There’s nothing wrong with indulging yourself once in a while as long as your other affairs are in order
Brick By Brick Investing | Marvin recently posted..Market Conditions (11/25/2012)
@Little House, I couldn’t agree more. There are so many kids in need it just makes sense to contribute to those who really need it.
@John, That is so smart. you should tell everyone that strategy. In fact, I’d welcome an article from you on the topic of saving during the year for the holidays. Interested? Barb
@Brick by Brick-What is life for if you don’t treat a celebrate a bit???
Barb recently posted..HOW TO REBALANCE YOUR ASSET ALLOCATION