Christmas Is Not An Emergency
I borrowed this line from Dave Ramsey and I agree with it wholeheartedly. Christmas is NOT an emergency. Yet, every year it seems to feel more and more like it is.
In this post I will refer to Christmas a lot because that is what my family and I celebrate at the end of the year, and it makes it simpler to refer to one holiday. But I recognize that not everyone celebrates Christmas. Please insert any other holiday that applies to you. Whatever that may be, I believe the principles I discuss here will still apply.
It seems that every year around the holidays people become more stressed financially. They need to buy gifts for their kids, for their spouse, for coworkers. Parties need to be planned and paid for. Trips need to be planned and paid for.
What are we doing? Christmas shouldn’t be an annual stress fest. I think we are missing the mark. Why do we celebrate Christmas in the first place? This is supposed to be a holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ. It’s not supposed to be a focus on consumerism. Why is a holiday that is supposed to bring us closer together and help us remember what’s important in life causing us more stress? We need to shift our priorities.
What are we doing? Christmas shouldn’t be an annual stress fest. I think we are missing the mark.
I wanted to post this now, well ahead of the holiday season so hopefully we can all try to make this year a little different and a little less stressful.
Back to the title of this post: Christmas Is Not An Emergency. What do I mean by this? Well, I am of course referring to the financial aspect of Christmas. For most people this primarily means buying gifts for family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. It could also mean throwing parties or going on vacations.
Buying gifts at Christmas time is not something you should have to use your emergency fund for. Christmas does not pop up out of nowhere. Last time I checked it is always on December 25th, so you can plan accordingly. It is also something you should NEVER go into debt for. I worry that too many people do this every year and it is a perpetual cycle they never truly escape from.
It can be a little like putting on some weight every year. Let’s say you make the rounds to several holiday parties and don’t hold back on all the delicious food. By the time November and December are over you’ve put on 5 pounds. We’ve all been there. So, you make a New Year’s resolution and lose a few of those pounds. But you never seem to be able to lose the last couple pounds. By the time the holidays come again, the cycle repeats itself. Those final 2 pounds you didn’t lose stack up over the years. Five years of this and you are 10 pounds heavier. 10 years without changing anything could be 20 pounds!
Holiday debt is the same way. Many of us spend more than we should and go into debt. We rationalize it by saying we “need” this vacation or my family “deserves” these gifts. We’ll pay it back later once things settle down. The problem is things never settle down. Life happens. We do our best to pay back a little at a time, but more often than not, by the time next year rolls around it still isn’t all paid and the cycle continues. Even if you do manage to pay it all off, there is still a significant opportunity cost. All the money you used to pay off debt and interest could have been saved, invested, and earning you interest!
People don’t realize they are simply signing on the dotted line to keep themselves in financial servitude to their debtors longer, paying more interest over time.
Retailers, banks, and credit card companies don’t make this any easier. There are advertisements everywhere we turn, and it only gets worse around the holidays. Everything goes on sale, falsely convincing you that you can actually afford something even if you can’t. Banks offer “holiday loans” or send out an offer for you to miss a payment or two on your auto loan or home mortgage so you can “afford” the holiday expenses. People don’t realize they are simply signing on the dotted line to keep themselves in financial servitude to their debtors longer, paying more interest over time. Credit cards offer shiny new pieces of plastic to help you get through the holiday stress, only to add you to their group of slaves making minimum payments at 23.95% annual interest.
Well, I think enough is enough. This year it’s time to do things different.
The kicker of it all is that deep down inside none of us really want these material things anyway. We think we do. But more “stuff” just doesn’t make us happier. It may temporarily fill some void we feel, but in the end it still leaves us empty and now in worse financial trouble. What we really want is happiness, more meaningful relationships and connections, purpose, experiences with those we love. The irony is, this is what Christmas is supposed to really be about, but we’ve lost the proper perspective.
Here are three strategies you can begin now to make this Christmas a less stressful and more meaningful holiday:
Begin Saving Now
When this post comes out there will be a little more than 16 weeks until Christmas. If you get paid biweekly, that means you will have 8 more paychecks between now and Christmas. Rather than letting the full weight of the holidays hit you like a financial bomb, start saving now. If you haven’t been doing this already, set aside some money from each paycheck to pay for the costs of the holidays. This will take a significant amount of stress out of the holidays allowing you to focus on more meaningful things. You will be much less likely to buy anything on credit and go into debt.
Spend Less This Year on Gifts
How much did you spend last year on gifts? Was it too much? If I’m honest with myself I think we probably spent too much too. I realize that when there is too much emphasis on what we’re “getting for Christmas,” it shifts the focus away from where it really should be. The focus may be a little different based on your religion and values, but I think most of us would agree we would prefer there be more focus on helping others, spending time with family, service, and love.
This year I want to give myself a challenge to spend less than last year . . . much less. Not necessarily because I want to save money (although that is a nice side effect) but because I want to shift the focus away from consumption to more meaningful things. What family traditions do you want to continue and perhaps make more memorable? Maybe this is a year to start a new tradition.
Plan More Meaningful Experiences
Christmas is a time about making memories. Very few of us look fondly back at Christmas time because of a specific gift we received a certain year. Most of us remember the smells, the traditions, the lights, the experiences, the feelings.
This year, instead of asking your kids “What do you want for Christmas?” maybe try asking them “What do you want to do as a family for Christmas?”
If you are coming up short with ideas, let me share with you a holiday experience/tradition that our family loves and costs very little money.
We call it the 12 Days of Christmas. We choose a family we know and leave a small gift on their doorstep, like a bag of candy or small Christmas ornament, 12 days in a row before Christmas. We usually go at night and our kids will sneak up to the door, leave the gift, ring the doorbell, and come running back to the car trying to remain unseen. It gets more and more difficult each night because the kids of the family we have chosen start to see a pattern after a few nights and try to catch us in the act. Our kids love it and look forward to it every year. Plus, it doesn’t cost very much at all.
I would bet that 20 years from now my kids won’t remember anything they ever got for Christmas, but they WILL remember doing the 12 Days of Christmas every year when they were growing up.
Conclusion
Remember, Christmas is not an emergency. This year let’s break the cycle. This year let’s plan ahead financially, starting now, and take some of the “money stress” out of the holidays. This year let’s not go into debt for unnecessary expenses. This year let’s focus more on things that really matter. This year it’s time for a change.
