Nurturing our relationships
- This is really what the holiday season is all about!
One of the essential elements of successful holidays is time
spent with your loved ones. In fact, nothing is more important
in life than nurturing relationships that you build with members
of your family and friends.
Hopefully, you had fun, took time out for rest and relaxation,
and lavished gifts on those you love during the holidays. All
this is good, however you may have wreaked havoc on your budget
through financial overindulgence.
Think about
how you approached buying gifts during the holidays. Some people
have made so many purchases using credit at Christmas; it will
take them until late spring or summer to pay them off!
If you are a person for whom the mix of impulse buying and credit
is difficult to resist, here is some advice:
 In
the beginning of the year, prepare a Christmas budget;
Establish
a monthly savings plan to accumulate the amount necessary
to cover holidays expenses;
Prepare
a gift shopping list;
When time comes:
Take
the time to shop around;
Before
buying, verify if this gift is part of your list;
Leave
your credit cards at home;
Use
your debit card wisely; or
Pay
cash. |
In addition, beware of retail stores sales strategies: publicity,
sales (such as "2 for 1", "no GST", "50%
off on marked items"), easy access to credit and the "buy
now, pay later" strategies are the most powerful ones.
The next time you open the door of a retail store for your Christmas
shopping, remember the following economic principle: desires are
unlimited whereas resources to fulfill them are limited. In our
consumer-driven society, publicity invites you to buy many products
of all kinds. It is human nature to always want more, and the
advertisers know that. Your desire to please your loved ones with
the perfect gift is understandable, but not essential. Whatever
your financial situation, your gift list could always be bigger
than your wallet. But you can go further than you think if you
focus on what matters most: visiting and doing special activities
with your family and friends, like decorating the Christmas tree,
taking walks in the snow, playing board games, etc., which is
really what the holidays are all about.
Renée Trépanier, Education and Communications
Manager
SISIP Financial Services, Ottawa
This article is for general information
purposes only and is the opinion of the writer.
