December is here and I’m already seeing the posts in my Facebook feed with the countdown days until Christmas. This is the time of year where we are supposed to be enjoying family and friends while making memories. Unfortunately, many times this becomes a time of stress and conflict in families and especially in marriage. Having a debt free Christmas is nearly non-existent in our culture, but that’s going to change right now. We want you to have a debt-free Christmas as well, so we’re sharing our tips on how to make the most of the holiday season without breaking your budget. We have included this as part of our 31 Day Spending Freeze so that you are preparing throughout the year to save during the holiday season! Check out all of our Spending Freeze posts.
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- Start budgeting now. We have some great tools to help you start budgeting for Christmas now. First, print out our Debt Repayment Plan printable. Make sure to fill in all of your credit cards, balances, interest rates etc. Then read our brief summary of the Debt Repayment Plan and decide if you want to go with the Snowball Method, or the Interest Rate Method (Personally, I almost always do Snowball, because I love to see results quickly, and it keeps me motivated).
- Even if it’s too late, and you’ve already put some of this Christmas on credit cards, we are going to start fresh for next year, and make sure that you get this year paid off and have budgeted plenty for next year. Join our Debt Free Spending Work Group, where we are going to be working throughout ALL of 2020 to become debt free together!
- Print out our Free Printable Holiday Binder to place in the back of your Family Binder. The Holiday Gift Planner guide will help you walk through how much you plan on spending on each family member. However, remember that to have a debt free Christmas you have to stick to your budget. It will be tempting to go over, but you don’t want buyer’s remorse on January 1st.
- Start your handmade gifts now. Don’t wait until the week before Christmas to start gathering all of your supplies. You should already be preparing, planning, and purchasing (the three p’s) the items you need for your handmade gifts. Check out our non-toxic DIY Air Freshener, our Lavender Sugar Hand Scrub,
- Plan all parties on a budget. The holiday binder has a meal planning page that you can use to plan your menus. Check out our article How to Have a Party For Less at the Dollar Store for other ways to save on your holiday parties. If you follow those tips, you should definitely be able to stay within your budget.
- Bake and freeze early. Did you know you can bake your cookies and pies early and freeze them for the holidays? My grandmother has baked hers two months in advance. I find they are freshest within six weeks or less if they are completely baked before they are frozen. However, if you want a fresher taste, you can get them totally ready to bake and freeze, then bake them after they are thawed in the refrigerator.
- Christmas card tips. I purchase my non-photo Christmas cards the day after Christmas. These are the cards I give to coworkers and others who are not interested in having a picture of my family. However, for my own family, we take our own family photo. Each year we try to be as creative as possible, and one year we even dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Our son was an elf, and we put reindeer antlers on the dogs. All the items were purchased at the dollar store. We printed them out at a Big Box store with a coupon code and they were $0.15 or less each. Our family loved it and everyone commented about how they were cute and funny.
- Have everyone bring a side dish. It isn’t your responsibility to cook every single item for the meal. Most families want to pitch in and help, so it is perfectly acceptable to allow another family member to cook their favorite item. It also helps them feel special when you tell them things like, “I can’t imagine Christmas without your baked pecan pie.” You make them feel good and get out of cooking another dessert at the same time.
- Use natural decor. Pine cones are still in vogue, and they look great spray painted gold and placed in a large white vase or clear bowl. You can also clip natural pine garland and have that as a centerpiece as well. Check out this list of natural Christmas decorations on Pinterest.
- Remember the reason for the season. This holiday is so commercialized in today’s society, and we have a tendency to want to keep up with the Jones’s. However, if you read our articles on How to Become a Minimalist and How to Become a Minimalist With a Family, giving is the greater gift. Go for less material items this year and focus on time together. Maybe instead of a material gift, give your children the gift of time with you by purchasing a night away at a small hotel or resort.
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Remember this holiday season that life is very short. We don’t know how long we will have with the ones we love, so let’s focus on them and spending time with them. That should always be our first priority, and will guarantee treasured memories of this holiday season. Let’s start working this year towards making next year’s holiday completely debt free.
Thank you