Diva Zone ™ Magazine 2019 Holiday Issue - The DIVA Zone Magazine | Page 9

2019 Special Holiday Edition
9
Responsible
HOLIDAY
$ PENDING
BY SONIA SUTHERLAND-CRUZ
It’s that wonderful time of year again when we get together
with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ,
our Savior.
With all the “hoopla,” parties, festivities, gift giving,
overeating, over drinking, and overspending, we sometimes
forget the true meaning of this awesome holiday.
The average DIVA spends approximately $800 on Christmas
gifts every year. Not to mention the extra “have to have
items” that she buys herself while she is supposed to be
shopping for others. After all, “It’s a SALE.”
However, it’s not too late to get a grip on your Christmas
spending. You still have time to formulate a workable
spending plan. By being pro-active and planning ahead, you
may avoid the post-Christmas “Bills and Credit Card Blues.”
First, take a good look at your finances. Are you already
in debt? Do you have a substantial amount due on your
credit cards already? Are you still paying just the minimum
amount each month? Are you still paying for last year’s
Christmas gifts? Have you met any of your financial goals
this year?
Only you can answer these important questions. Consider
your personal situation for a moment and realize the actual
financial consequences of overspending this Christmas
season. Are you going to be digging yourself into a deeper
financial hole, just to impress?
Being innovative and resourceful this year by centering your
mind on the real significance of Christmas will help you
spend your hard-earned money wisely. After all giving is an
important part of the holiday season.
I would like to share ten holiday spending tips to help
you spend wisely and celebrate the most wonder ful
time of the year:
1
Make a list of family and friends and decide on a dollar
amount for each of them and stick to it. This will avoid the
emotional impulse buying that is especially high this time of
year.
2
Consider making your gif ts. For those of you that have
been blessed with God-given talent, this is the time to
display it. Can you make jewelr y, bake, sew or cook? My
friend has a wonder ful talent for making “Black Rum Cake.” I
personally look for ward to her gif t ever y year.
3
For the child who has ever y thing, why not have relatives
contribute to their college fund by giving savings bonds
instead of toys and clothes. My family has done this for over
15 years and trust me, it has come in hand for my son’s college
tuition and books this year.
4
Gif t cer tificates are ver y popular these days. There is a
gif t card for just about any store you could ever think of.
This is especially great for that hard-to-buy teenager. It also
helps you to stay in your budget!
5
On-line shopping has proven to be both time saving and
less costly for some hard to find items. For those of you
who have family and friends out of town, this will cut down
on your shipping cost, by having the company ship direc tly.
6
“Cath Is King!”.…Leave the credit card at home. You will t
hank me later. By paying in cash you will be more inclined
to stick within your budget and avoid the inevitable post-
Christmas credit card blues.
7
Keep track of your spending by utilizing a holiday
spending worksheet. By writing down the amount that
you spend on each person you will be able to stay on budget.
8
Avoid the “Check-Out Of fers” at the register. I know it is
tempting to save an immediate 10%-15% on your purchase
but adding just one more credit card to your list could ac tually
damage your credit rating.
9
If you can’t af ford it—don’t buy it! Your child may want that
$500 dir t bike he saw on television, but it simply is not in
your budget at this time. Forget the guilt trip! We tend to feel
like failures when we can’t deliver ever y thing for ever yone
during the holidays. Once again, ask yourself if this is the true
meaning of Christmas?
10
Star t the New Year outright. Begin to pay of f an
outstanding credit card debt that you established and
star t a Christmas fund. Opening an account at any bank or
credit union now will eliminate the need to find money for
nex t year.