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‘Tis the Season

It’s that time of year again: the debt season. This is the time of year when a lot of people throw caution out the window and spend too much, sometimes what they don't have, just to look good. To do it, they fall into vicious cycles using online payday loans irresponsibly – just to get through the end of the year.

Am I describing you? Are you worried about paying off last year's spree, and worried about what you'll be able to do this year? Don't worry, because these tips work, and they can keep your holiday shopping in check, and they can help you save money and create good will with friends and family.

Create a Gift List

Before you can decide how much money you are going to spend, you need to figure out who should be on your list. The list can be immediate or extended family, friends, co workers, anyone you're close with. Or it could just include your immediate family: kids, spouse and maybe your parents, if they are still living. Whoever you put on your list, you must make sure that you can afford to give them gifts without breaking your budget. Reduce if needed, and keep refining your list as you work out your budget.

Create a Budget

When you have your list done, the next step is to figure out how much you can spend on each person. Say you have 10 people on your list, and these 10 are the final out of a list of 40. Let's assume you have enough to spend $ 20 on each person, putting your total budget at $ 200 for gifts in the season. The assumption here is that you will not be whipping out your credit card this season to buy more than you can afford. You can't use what you haven't got, right?

Food and Decorations, If You Please

If you have your gift budget carefully planned but do not have your food and decorations budget in order, your budget will be ruined in no time, leaving you with higher credit card and loan debts to pay off later. As decorations aren't consumable and can last several years if well managed, the only reason to buy more would be lights not working, or if your pets or children had at them. We have had the same stockings since my oldest was born almost 14 years ago, and they have held up extremely well.

Focus on the Feast

Your feast should be planned out, right down to the last little ingredient of the pecan pie. What kind of a feast do you want? Coudl you afford the feast without online payday loans or credit cards? For the most part, if you live within your means through the year, and have a bit left over consistently, you could spend an extra $ 50 to $ 100 for the holiday occasion. If your normal food budget is $ 200 for two weeks, you might be able to bump it to $ 300 for one payday, with an extra feast for $ 100 without overspending.

Give Up the Guilt

One reason that many people overspend on gifts is that they feel pressured to do so out of guilt and duty. In this society, expensive gifts and money are supposed to have something to do with how much you love a person, therefore the more you spend, the more you love them which isn't incredibly intelligent. Commercialism has had something to do with this. Have you ever seen the jewelry commercials where they purport, "When you love enough to give the very best?” The implication here is that if you love enough, you will spend a lot of money. This really should be turned around to say that if you love enough, you will save a lot of money as a legacy for your children.

What people really want is time with you, regardless of how much money you spend on them. Give up the notion that you must overspend to show people how much you love them. Instead, think of creative gift ideas, like printing coupons for a free housecleaning or night out – it shows you're willing to give time or effort. That means more than money, and you shouldn't feel guilty.

Skip Plastic and Use Cash

A great way to keep your holiday shopping under control is to use cash instead of plastic, which also applies to a debit card. Though debit cards can help minimizing your spending, cash is still king. If you're using a card, you don't get how much you're spending without a concrete, visual indicator. As you shop, you don't have the visual picture of how much you're spending. If you have cash in your wallet, you have a good idea of how much you spend from the disappearing bills. In the event that you run short, online payday loans are an option, but one that should be carefully considered.

Think People First

As you create debt each holiday season – which may include online payday loans – you begin to shift the priorities in your life. Instead of focusing on your family and friends, you get into a “make money” mindset that shifts your focus to money and work. Eventually you will wake up and wonder what happened to your relationships, and wished you'd have placed people over money and material crap. While money and wealth make life easier, neither surpass the relationships you form with other people. Nurture these first and make these a priority this holiday season. Happy holidays!

Tags: Avoid debt, credit card, holiday shopping, online payday loans