Holiday season is almost upon us ... wait a minute, I didn’t have my summer break yet. I know that things in the High Street have been terrible this last year, but are we really prepared to get geared up for Santa and snow when I am yet to take those embarrassing 1980’s style Bermuda shorts out of the closet for their annual summer outing to the beaches of Europe?
It is true and for many it is already uppermost in their minds, in fact I only reported last week of an appropriate gift I have discovered for my father, so I shouldn’t really be so surprised. Today it really sank in as the annual email from the admin team was being opened all around the office asking for suggestions on where we would like to embarrass ourselves during this years Christmas party!
When it comes to gift giving, it is sad that many individuals will spend up on credit this Christmas and pay no heed to the financial warning bells. Come January, they will find themselves in a situation where previous financial woes are compounded, new bills derived from the festive season start arriving and in many cases insolvency becomes the most attractive way out.
It doesn’t seem very apt that a season of giving will inevitably result in such undesirable consequences for so many. The average reported household spend seems to rise each year to a figure that would take my bank account several years to recover from and being fairly frugal, I have always wondered how people believe they can absorb such frivolities into their annual budgets.
For several years I chose to do all of my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. Not being a fan of the whole body crushing experience of major shops during the run up to the event, I felt that I would not only miss the crowds, but would also have to start and complete my shopping in a single outing, giving me no time to get caught up in the stress that such buying "pleasures" can also bring.
Having matured a few years and grown accustomed to the needs of a new generation it has not always been possible to continue this practice as the need and desire to keep little ones happy often means waiting for that horrifically expensive and show stopping gift to emerge on the shelves and get in line with the masses.
How we are going to pay for all of these gifts, especially this Christmas? It has been a very indifferent year and I am sure I don't stand alone in the queue of people wondering how on earth they will manage a success following this year’s financial disaster? The good thing is there is still time to plan and next pay day I will be looking at budgets and what there is left to come in terms of the annual bills for the rest of the year.
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I will be looking at what activities I currently undertake which I could possibly avoid for a few months in order to build a bit of reserve for the festive season.
I am fairly convinced there is no Christmas bonus this year at all (as with last year actually) and therefore any spending which I may be planning has to somehow be reconciled into a budget which certainly at present has no room for credit extension at all.
An obvious financial pain alleviator, perhaps undesirable for some and unavailable to others, but that could hold the difference between a "let’s just get through it" and a “wow, how did we manage that!” type affair, maybe to seek extra employment, or for those without any, to try their hand at getting some, even if it’s just part time and/or temporary.
Further to this I intend to revolutionize spending on adults this year…yep sorry folks, it looks like the Simpsons socks may be on the cards!
Looking back over the years it does seem to me that whilst opening lots of things at Christmas, 90% of them find their way to the back of cupboards within days of the event. Yet the sensible and slightly less exciting items are remembered all year. With that in mind I have a cunning plan to be remembered throughout this next year, perhaps not so much on the day but by the constant reminder throughout the year of how "sensibly generous" I have been. Could this just be a sad realization that? I think I’m getting old!
Tags:
discount,
shop,
money,
holidays,
gifts