Focus On South Florida

• Dec 16, 2007 11:15 am US/Eastern
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  Keeping The Green: Holiday Tips from Meg Green

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Keeping The Green: Holiday Tips from Meg Green

By Meg Green
Certified Financial Planner and CEO of Meg Green & Associates
meg@meggreen.com

This year is especially tough for many who are finding their expenses higher than planned for, what with gas in their cars, mortgages resetting, electric bills out of control…and here come the holidays. Well…now's the time to decide who is in control…the recipients of your gift giving or you?

May I suggest you take hold before the January credit card bills come in to drown you.

Here are some suggestions…

1. Make a list and check it twice.  Sometimes we continue sending gifts out of habit rather than because we really want to. Relegate those to the lower end of your gift giving, and perhaps a card will do.
   
   
2. Get creative. Example…. I was able to send whole families a box of Xmas Tangerines for $19.no shipping charge. This was instead of 4 or 5 gifts to all the individuals there…and they loved it! Charitable donations go a long way too. One family I know is doing a picture exchange. Bake or make something. White elephant is so much fun!!


3. Have a Family Meeting: Immediate family, ie spouses, partners, kids etc, have a right to know and must know if circumstances are tough. If they're spoiled, time to unspoil them! Plan to go feed the homeless on Christmas or New Years day. They're not whining for a new car or a Kate Spade purse. Another idea is to either set a dollar limit or a one gift limit…or perhaps all chip in for one family gift. (Last year my family bought gifts for our vacation house, not directly for each other. We all get to use them and it made us happy.) So think new bath towels or sheets (on sale), dishes, new electronics or whatever floats your family's boat.


4. Be Practical: Little kids like the wrapping paper and ribbons as much as the gift. itself anyway. Throw money into their college funds and give them something small to open. Bigger kids, give age appropriate gifts, like two months of a cell phone bill or a few tanks of gas. Starbucks cards are great; or the food store or whatever. Being practical. can be very rewarding to all concerned.
   
   
5. Have fun! Basically, you have to take charge yourself, without feeling sorry for yourself or anyone else if you cannot buy what you'd like. Make it fun. Bake cookies with the grandkids; baby-sit for a friend in need. They say the best things in life are free. Work on it…and have a good time.