It is hard to imagine that the holiday season is already just around the corner. If you are anything like me you are probably wondering where the time has gone this semester. With the holiday season coming up, this means holiday gift giving. This can be an extremely stressful and expensive time. Luckily Powercat Financial is here to help. We are going to discuss a few tips and secrets on to manage the holiday stress and keep your wallets full. First, let’s discuss holiday stress management.
Acknowledge your feelings: This is easier said than done. If you are spending time with family during the holiday season you may be celebrating the holiday for the first time without a loved one. Know that it is normal to feel sadness and grief. Find a safe place to express these feelings, you cannot force yourself to be happy because it is the holiday season. For some of us spending time with family can bring on a mix of emotions. Again find a safe place to express these feelings. If these feelings are difficult to acknowledge on your own, reach out for help. Talk with a trusted relative or friend.
Be realistic: The holidays do not have to be perfect or live up to previous year memories. Families grow and change, traditions and rituals change with families. Find ways to recreate to these traditions that can meet the needs of the family change. As families grow so do differences. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. Be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Opposite parties can be feeling the effects of the holiday stress as well.
Take a breather: Spending time with family and friends can be a lot. It is important to make time for yourself. Find an activity you enjoy doing; take a walk (if you can bear the cold weather), read a book, mediate, do yoga, etc. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind.
Now, let’s switch and discuss how we can save money while holiday shopping.
Create a Holiday Budget: Budgeting for the holiday season starts NOW. It is important to consider where your holiday spending falls in relation to your average monthly spending. To find this relation you will have to sit down and create a regular month spending budget. When you do this I suggest making coffee and putting some classic holiday music on. Once this budget is created you can carve out the extra cash for holiday shopping.
Make a list of people you need to shop for: This will make it easier to set a budget. At times it may seem cut throat when you limit your gift recipients, but this will reduce your stress level. I find it difficult to shop for all of my family. While I can get something for each person in my brother’s family, just cannot afford it. So I get one gift for all of them. This is a great way to reduce the number of people on your list.
Compare Prices: After you have gone through the hassle of creating a holiday budget and a recipient list, you can start your shopping. Shop around to find the best deals in town. Surfing the web makes it easy to find the best deals in town. Many stores will price match the deals you find online.
Now that you have a few tips and tricks up your sleeve to handle the stress of the holidays and shopping you are ready to dominate them.
If you need help creating a budget Powercat Financial is here to help we offer free and confidential appointments in-person as well as on zoom. Appointment requests can be made online at www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial. If you are unable to make time for a full appointment you can always come to our walk-in days. The next walk in day is Friday, December 3rd. We also have a handy holiday budgeting worksheet and shopping guide you can use on our website in the right side column at https://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/budgeting/.
Upcoming Event: Money Management for All – this is a financial workshop sponsored by SGA, Student Governing Association with Powercat Financial on Tuesday, November 16th at 5:30pm in the Union Big 12 room or via Zoom. A link can be found on our website at https://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/.
Eli McDonald
Graduate Assistant
Powercat Financial
302 K-State Student Union, Third Floor
918 N. 17th Street
Manhattan, KS 66506-2800
785.532.2889
