According to the , you have lots of company. More than 40 percent of American families spend more than they earn each year. For those with $8,000 of family debt at 18 percent interest, it will take more than 25 years to repay the total put on plastic, which will reach more than $24,000 with interest.
The (NRF), the world's largest retail trade association, insists that despite the war in Iraq, the slump in the real estate market, and the price of gas, shoppers still plan to spend more on the holidays this year than they did in 2006. The NRF expects total holidays sales to jump 4.0 percent, to a whopping $474.5 billion. The typical shopper will spend $816.99 on holiday-related shopping plus another $106.67 on other purchases tied to special sales or promotions that represent personal treats. However, you don't have to contribute to any increase.
When I was a single parent years ago, I searched desperately for ways to overcome my guilt over having a much smaller income than my child's father. Since I had no other family members, any holiday gifts from my "family" meant from me, period. Although I had gifts in mind, I yielded to impulse while in the mall and always purchased more than I had planned.
A friend suggested I try what she called a financial fast. It works best when you do it for a week or even a day before starting your holiday shopping. Like the fasting most of us have undergone at some point before medical tests, for spiritual clarity, or to make a political point, it should be customized to fit your situation.
I have found these fasts invaluable for clearing my head as far as handling finances. I still use them.
For most people, the simplest way to go on a financial fast is to pick a typical workday. During a 24-hour period, you simply avoid spending anything unnecessary. Clearly, if you have to pay for the subway to get to work, that is a necessary expense for you. However, a trip to Starbucks,Stud Earrings, lunch out with co-workers, or inserting that dollar bill in the snack machines is not. Neither is stopping for on your way home from work.
The last time I embarked on a daily financial fast, here's what I axed: a trip through the drive-thru for a diet soda, a newspaper from 7-Eleven, pantyhose on sale when I stopped to pick up some antibiotics for a sinus infection, and a paperback that caught my eye. As I was about to exit the grocery, prescription in hand, I developed a sudden craving for the hot sliced pizza on the lunch bar, then remembered why I needed to avoid it. I also passed on buying three bags of discontinued cat food marked down 75 percent. I then waited until I passed the gas station the next day to fill up my tank, since prices were always lower on Tuesdays than on Mondays.
If you can extend your fast for a week or even a few days, you will begin to think very differently about money. You will think twice before you spend it. By the time you head for the mall or your Internet browser, you will have made a gift list and become better prepared to stick to it.
Let's say you have listed a pair of earrings for your niece. Most shoppers might be tempted to also grab the sweater they see on sale, the one in the beautiful shade of rose that she adores. After all, she's special. She deserves it.
Having finished your pre-shopping fast, however, you will be better able to withstand the temptation to shell out for impulse purchases. Still love the sweater after walking around the mall for half an hour? If it's in the same price range as the gift you planned, just cross off the earrings on the list and feel free to get a good price on the sweater instead.
Then congratulate yourself for not contributing to the predicted four percent increase in sales this year.
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