As the holiday season gets into full swing we are reminded of the joy Christmas should bring. Songs are playing about having a jolly Christmas while kids sing about Santa and Frosty the snowman who never dies. The hustle and bustle and lights are supposed to make us feel great right? For some, the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is the most stressful time of the year.
Sadly, the year-end holiday season is one of the most depressing times of the year for a significant portion of the population. The economy isn’t what it used to be but we are still encouraged to be happy through commercials that boast about sales which are supposed to represent the love you have for those closest to you.
What happens if you are broke during the holiday season; or as I like to call it, low on liquid assets? How will you meet the demand that is put on you from your kids, holiday work gift exchanges or a mate that expects a gift?
Well the guilt from not being able to buy a gift does not need to overtake you. In fact there are some advantages to not having money or available credit to go shopping crazy.
- You can’t go into any further debt than you already are
- The old saving poverty is the mother of invention can reinforce creativity as you make meaningful gifts
- You learn to scale back the list to those closest to you (that’s all that matters)
- You learn to live within your means
- The spirit of what the holiday really means becomes evident – togetherness and spirituality
- You learn you won’t wither away if you don’t purchase the extravagant gift and the day after Christmas it’s all over
- It can make you realize you need a better planning strategy for next year
- You appreciate Christmas should be every day and not just once a year pretentious display of how buying things proves love
- Your bank account can stay in the black and not in the red
- It forces you to set realistic goals about what your family should and could be doing for Christmas
Don’t get caught up in the hype of what Christmas is according to the television and sales papers. As a believer, I know it is a celebration of the birth of Christ. I can’t imagine the three wise men would have bought iPads, Xbox One’s or even Solar Paneled Camels for Baby Jesus. It’s just a day people and if you are good to those around you on a regular basis, the feeling of not being able to do a lot materialistically on Christmas won’t be as catastrophic as you think it is.
[BlackLifeCoaches]