The holidays are supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but for many the holidays can be a stressful and anxiety inducing time. The pressures of who should receive gifts, how much to spend and what gifts to give can cause holiday angst. This pressure can also cause irritability, worrying, physical pain, overeating, insomnia and general feelings of being overwhelmed.
Here are reasons why you should protect your coins this holiday season:
Reduce Financial Stress and Anxiety
Protect your coins and your peace of mind by putting together a holiday spending plan. Whether you use a piece of paper or a spreadsheet, write down the names of who you will buy gifts for and the amount you will spend on each person. Write down how much you actually spend on each person every time you make a purchase so that you can see in real time whether you are over or under your spending amounts.
Don’t stress yourself out trying to get a gift for everyone. If there are people that you really want to get gifts for but can’t then do something from the heart such as baking some holiday cookies or other sweets.
A holiday spending plan can help put your mind at ease and reduce the stress and anxiety that comes with protecting your coins.
Avoid Overspending
If you don’t tell your money what to do, then your money will do as it wants. Going into the holiday season without a plan can lead to overspending. It’s extremely easy to overspend. For example, you get your niece a cute doll for $30 which is in your budget and then you see a few doll outfits that she must have along with some other accessories. Before you can stop yourself, you have spent $100 and are $70 overbudget.
The last thing you want to do is take money from savings, skip on paying bills or worst accumulate credit card debt that you spend months after Christmas paying off. Overspending can also lead to borrowing money to buy gifts.
Achieve Financial Goals
Your financial goals are important to you. Do not let the holiday season derail those goals. Stay focused and on track as the holidays can put your financial goals at risk. Remember your financial goals every time you make a purchase. I recommend putting your financial goals as your screensaver and/or putting a post it note of your financial goals in your wallet as a reminder.
Put together your financial plan for the holidays and be as proactive as you can about sticking to your budget. Even if that means only shopping on certain days and/or bringing cash only to the store while leaving your debit and credit cards at home.
Happy Holidays and watch your bottomline!!!