I couldn’t concentrate. The pastor’s words were a mere whisper floating by my ears. Finally, I had to exit and make my way to the restroom to release a river of tears.
All I could think was, “Christmas is three weeks away and I can’t afford presents for my teenagers.”
A job change rendered us short on bills, let alone extras, and we didn’t believe in going in debt.
A woman entered the bathroom. She began encouraging me with how God provided one Christmas after they were robbed.
Relief washed over me, and God provided a supernatural miracle for us that Christmas too.
Holiday debt is the norm. But it doesn’t have to be.
According to Lender Tree, last year Americans borrowed an average of $1,028 – a 34% decrease from the $1,549 borrowed the previous year.
There are tips we can follow to keep decreasing our debt, until we’re debt-free from holiday spending. The more time you have for planning and implementing plans, the better the results.
Tips
Lists are your friend. Make a master list of your normal holiday expenses in the following categories:
- people to buy for
- food
- decorations
- special events and parties
- travel
Place estimated costs for each category. To estimate, you can choose amounts based upon your current income. If family’s set a minimum for gifts, consider that. The goal here is to include everything to avoid surprises. Don’t forget school events and programs.
Next, I prefer making a detailed list of each of those to add as I remember with real numbers. Then I change master list totals. Just knowing who to buy for doesn’t tell me how many gifts or actual cost. It also makes it easier to change if I can’t afford three presents for one person or have to change buying meat to two sides.
Be reasonable and don’t try to keep up with your neighbors.
If lists don’t match totals, your options are to cut back on giving and attendances or find other means of earning income.
Money-saving ideas
- take fewer food items to events
- share the load for family dinners
- buy sale items
- give fewer gifts or to less people
- bake or make gifts over buying
- regift
- stop rarely used monthly subscriptions
Get a second job by providing services like:
- turning your hobby into sales
- wrapping presents
- babysitting
- garage sales or use Facebook Marketplace
- cleaning job
- mowing job
- freelance writing
One year I played a game with myself and if I spent less than my budgeted amount for groceries, it went toward holiday spending. Others collect their change.
When you plan ahead, you can earn and save money all year long. Banks have special Christmas savings accounts. They don’t have to start in January either but are best.
When you know what the people like you buy gifts for, you can shop all year long. You can catch clearance sales, Buy Amazon deals, and steal yourself for Black Friday deals. Coupons and promo codes exist to watch for also.
Crafters have the advantage of working all year long.
More Than What We Got
As a Christian the emphasis in our home was on the season and giving over what we got. We enjoyed:
- participating in Christmas programs and pageants
- riding in holiday floats
- making gift bags for Mexican children
- shopping and delivering gifts for nursing home residents
- caroling
- hiding our gifts and other games for opening gifts
Applying these tips, along with much prayer rescued us when life hit our finances hard due to job changes.
For two years of our marriage, we were hit with one thing after another while doing our best to be a good steward. We ended up living on half of the amount of our bills, yet we never went without electricity or water and only increased our debt by $5,000 over those two years. Talk about a miracle!
I prayed and God took care of us, even finding what shoes I needed to wear to church for $1 – another miracle.
In my life, I have overcome many obstacles, especially finances. Not wanting my experiences to go to waste, I became a Resilience Mentor. I am available to guide you through your adversity, so you don’t have to do it by yourself. For a free call, reach out to me through the contact form and we’ll set up a time, so relief can be yours too.
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© 2024 – 2025, Jena Fellers. All rights reserved.
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