In my newspaper on the Business page, the bankruptcies are right next to the gal who writes about money. She has all kinds of advice about saving, spending and keeping money. If only those people could have been reading her column, maybe it would have helped.
My family was notorius for having money issues. One uncle showed up on my wedding day looking to borrow some money. He forgot he had received an invitation to the wedding. My family also had numerous financial troubles - some were legit but most were poor planning and worst judgement. Our Christmas's were always bankrolled by the good people of Benefical Finance. Christmas had a debt problem, all its own.
There is no other time of year that we spend it more. We may or may not be prepared to do so. For the last ten years or so, I have had a Christmas fund. It sits in its own little envelope waiting for that first hit. I think it was in October that we found a Little Tykes kitchen for Miss M on sale and my Christmas money was ready to go. The money is gone now and my shopping is done - turned out well.
All that being said, I am going shopping with my friend tomorrow - I can GUARANTEE you I will not come home empty handed. I can almost guarantee you that when I go pick up Brandi's Christmas cards at Walmart in a few minutes, I will not come home without the 30 inch Superman that is half-price. Why? I will tell you why.
Christmas is intoxicating. It takes over whatever good sense we have tried to learn and cultivate. The lights, the music, the deals are too much for us. The moment you drive away from your house, it starts. The neighbors you never speak to are waving as they are decking their halls. House after house, especially at night, is a feast for the eyes and all our inner children come out to play. You get to the store and there is a bellringer collecting for those who can't. One year, every time I went in a store - I put something in the kettle. My theory was if I could spend money, here and now - I could share, here and now. I plan to do this again next year with my gkids. We are never to old to learn to share. My point is, to fight off the magical fumes of Christmas is almost impossible. I wish it wasn't so. January comes too quickly and so do the bills. So will the unexpected - the washing machine breaks down, a trip to the doctor or new tires for the car.
The moeny lady's column today was about a couple who bought nothing for a year. Theyplanned ahead and bought all the food stuff, gas and everything else they needed and didn't shop for the rest of the year. Interesting experiment - they paid off all their debt but their mortgage. Wonder how much we could save if we stayed away from Best Buy alone!!!
I hope your Christmas money is doing just fine and I hope you are enjoying these days. It is a time filled with so much, wish we could bottle it and keep it all year...
