Save Money For Next Christmas – Part 1
Welcome to the latest series brought to you by www.JosephSangl.com!
It is the day after Christmas, and you have just ran up a pile of debt on your credit cards again. It was fun to give great gifts, but it was not fun putting the purchases on the credit card.
If this is you, welcome to normal America. An America where we charge Christmas on credit cards, and attempt to use our tax refunds to help pay it back.
I remember when this was me. Each Christmas from 1992 to 2002 was a financially stressful time! I ran up a balance on the credit card and commit to use my tax refund to pay it back. The commitment was not very strong, however, because I always ended up carrying large balances on my credit card and paying high interest.
Since Christmas 2003, Jenn and I have paid CASH for all of our Christmas presents. Zero debt. No credit cards. No financial anxiety.
In this series, I will show you HOW we did it!
Step 1 Determine how much money you want for Christmas next year
Jenn and I always showed up a Christmas time without a plan. As a result, we overspent. Credit cards were always happy to catch our slack planning.
There is a great way to determine how much money you want for Christmas. You can pull up a [download#3#nohits] and list each person for whom you will purchase a present.
You might want to include line items like Christmas Cards, Postage, Christmas Tree, and "Unexpected Christmas Gift Needs".
The goal with this step is to obtain the amount you want for next Christmas. Is it $200? $500? $1,500? $5,000?
My VISA debit card number was stolen …
Last weekend, my lovely bride was Christmas shopping on-line. On Monday, I went to my bank's on-line site to make an on-line bill payment (I LOVE on-line bill payments!)
Here are some of the charges that I saw …
Now, I knew that she had been shopping on-line, but I didn't know that it was for a new spouse!!! Some of the fraudulent charges were from Match.com and Yahoo! Personals!
I called my bank, and they were fantastic! The person who used the card apparently used it as a credit card – they did not know my pin code. They immediately put a hold on the VISA check card and sent a new one to me. They have already reversed the charges and credited them back to my account.
So, I am now officially a fraud victim.
It makes me wonder how many www.JosephSangl.com readers have been a victim or know someone who has been a victim of this type of theft!
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Marching To Debt Freedom – Couple #1 – Month 03
Introduction
Couple #1 has HAD IT with debt! They have been married for many years and have two children.
It has now been three full months since they embarked on their Debt Freedom March! That means that the hardest months are behind them!
On to the update for this month!
What went well this month …
I can see improvement not just in the numbers but in the actions of me and my family. The kids are starting not to hound me for things that cost so much.
Challenges and struggles for this month …
Christmas is LOOMING and I have not planned ahead. I think what I have decided to do is to pay cash for Christmas and to pay the minimums on the debt just for this month and resume the march in Jan. This will be the last year of a Christmas not planned ahead.
Updated Debt Freedom Date …
Month By Month Progress …
Sangl says …
I am FIRED UP by the progress that Couple 1 has made! In just three short months, they have made two debts leave and paid off over $3,000 in debt!
Even more important, the family is getting on board! The children are realizing how huge of a lifestyle change this is and are jumping on board! There is NOTHING like a united family attacking debt.
I am thrilled to see that Couple 1 is going to start saving for Christmas 2008 in January! It is SO MUCH EASIER to save for known, upcoming expenses over the course of months instead of absorbing the entire budget-crushing expense in a single month.
While they are going to pay less on debt, I am PUMPED to see that they are avoiding Christmas debt by paying cash! This is so important! As you attack debt, you will encounter expenses that threaten your ability to avoid debt. You have to make the decision that NOTHING is important enough to go get debt. Way to go!
Readers …
You can save for Christmas (and property taxes, annual insurance premiums, and other known, upcoming expenses) in advance as well with your own monthly escrow account. THIS ARTICLE shows you exactly how to do it!
It is encouragement time for Couple 1. Would you take a moment to share your thoughts with Couple 1?
You can receive each article FREE via E-MAIL by clicking HERE!
Prevent Overspending For Christmas!
I remember the days that I used credit cards to pay for Christmas.
There were two key reasons that I used these fabulous credit cards:
- I did not save money for Christmas during the year
- I overspent on Christmas presents
I solved #1 by creating a Christmas escrow account.
Let's say that I wanted to spend $1,000 for Christmas. By saving $83.33 each month, I magically have $1,000 when Christmas arrives! This takes away a lot of stress, and I highly recommend it! You can read more about creating your own escrow account by clicking HERE.
I solved #2 by putting together a written plan for my Christmas shopping. I pulled up a copy of the [download#3#nohits] and entered the names of those I am shopping for this Christmas.
At the top of the form, I entered $1,000 for the "Cash Budgeted".
I then wrote in the amount of money that I plan to spend for each person on the list.
Applying my secret formula for financial success, INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO, I spend the $1,000 to EXACTLY ZERO.
By pulling out cash for the Christmas Shopping, I can ensure that I will not overspend!
I am FIRED UP by all of the success stories that readers are sharing via the "Success Stories" link! Have you shared your successes – both large and small? You can do so by clicking on SUCCESS STORIES on the sidebar or by clicking HERE!
Christmas Shopping
This morning I am going to go Christmas shopping.
I will join the masses of people who are engaging in one of America's great events – buying stuff.
I get to shop for Jenn (my wife) and that is it. My bride woke up this morning at 4:45AM to go shopping, and she has the list for everyone else. I am thankful that we save for Christmas every single month of the year as it really makes Christmas more fun when I am not worried about spending money that we don't have!
I was handed an updated "Wish List" from Jenn last night. The items on it now exceed the budgeted amount by at least five times! I really need help from The Saving Freak to show me a frugal way to increase the purchasing power of my Christmas shopping money!
I also get to take my daughter Christmas shopping with me. She has a few people on her list, and I love watching her shop!
Perhaps while I am out and about I will pick up a Clay Aiken Christmas album for Perry this year!