The Holidays Are Upon Us: Don't Fall For 4 These Financial Traps
How to enter the new year with a full bank account
For all the holiday people out there, this is a critical time for you. It’s the money season. Everything and everyone is going to be out to get your money. The advertisements, social media, and seasonal spirit are all coming for your bank accounts.
You got two options for when new years arrives:
Have money in your bank account and less debt than before the holidays.
Have no money in your bank account and more debt than before the holidays.
I’m not a holiday person, so the holidays don’t affect my bank account, but for those that are, here are a few significant expenses you need to watch out for:
Holiday decorations—If you’re going to decorate, only get what you need and nothing more.
Don’t fall for the holiday decor sale traps after the holidays, either. Use the same decor again, or wait until the next holiday season to buy your decor.
Holiday Hack: Get a fake tree, so you don’t have to buy a new one yearly. That saves you a couple of hundred dollars right there, and decor tends to be cheaper if you want to change up colors and themes yearly. Stick to a budget for decor, too, though.
Gifts for everyone and their cousin—Holiday Santa parties, gift exchanges, family, friends, charities, and anything or anyone else you can think of will suck your money dry if you don’t implement firm boundaries.
If you decide to get gifts for people, set a budget in advance and follow it to a T.
Please note that you are free not to get anyone a gift; never feel pressured to buy something simply because “it’s the holiday season.” I promise people will survive if you don’t give them a gift.
Rethink the whole gift thing—Materialistic desires are nice, but they’re empty pursuits. Our actual needs are small, 85-90% of Americans are in debt because we don’t know how to stop consuming sh*t, and we tend to dig ourselves into more debt around the holidays.
A good holiday should leave you feeling rejuvenated, empowered, and full of joy from spending quality time with yourself, good people, friends, or family, not bloated with debt, less money, and more things that don’t add much genuine value to your life.
“Treat Yourself” Mentality—Look peeps, you can treat yourself without spending excessive money. During the holidays, people preach, “treat yourself this holiday season!” but have little regard for how that will affect your bank account.
Only treat yourself with financial resources if it doesn’t affect your bank account negatively. Finally, don’t wait until the f*cking holidays to treat yourself.
Here are some free ways to treat yourself:
Mediate
Workout
Take a bath
Eat healthily
Go for a walk
Read personal development books
Work on your business, goals, and dreams to create income
Food For Thought
Buy your own gift—Don’t wait for someone else to buy you something you genuinely desire on a holiday that happens once a year. Make it happen by empowering yourself financially.
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I wish you a jubilant, fulfilling, abundant, and memorable holiday filled with beautiful moments and less focus on things (aka gifts).
Tchau,
Destiny xo