Know Your Priorities to Make Holidays Special
No matter how you celebrate the holiday season, this time of year can be stressful—with financial stress often playing a large role.
Figure out what makes the holidays special for you and your family, and allocate most of your spending to those things. Maybe there are other, less important things you can scale back or skip.
For instance, if you love hosting a lavish holiday dinner but are ho-hum about festive holiday clothing, don’t buy that new outfit. Budget more for your dinner instead. The key is to set priorities and identify the important things.
And remember handmade or homemade goodies, charitable gifts, or the gift of time can mean much more to recipients than presents. The holidays are about being focused on others, which actually makes it easier to budget. The less self-centered you are, the less likely you are to have financial issues from spending every nickel on yourself.
