As this holiday shopping season kicks off, I’ve got a couple gifts for you.

First, a reminder to be kind to yourself by avoiding debt when shopping for presents.

Second, a stark warning that 2024 is not a year that you want to ring in with credit card debt because the economy looks set for a recession.

Third, I’ve got an easy five step plan for you to get your loved ones gifts without causing you to go into debt.

All of this and more in the video below:

TRANSCRIPT:

You know how you know something but it takes hearing it from someone else to actually make you do something about it? Well that’s what this video is. You already know how grateful you are for what you have and that you don’t need more stuff in your life, no matter how big the discount is. And the people who you buy holiday gifts for, already know that you love them hopefully, and they won’t think you love them any more if you buy them an expensive gift.

So this year, you’re not, I repeat not, going to go into debt with holiday shopping – not gonna happen. This year has already been expensive enough. Thanks, inflation.

Trust me, you do not want to go into 2024 with any more debt than you already have, and if you don’t have any, that’s great, keep it that way! 2024 will be a bumpy ride, and I think that’s probably putting it very mildly, so you want to go in with it with the least debt possible and the biggest financial cushion you can.

At the moment, when the economy seems to be strong and stable, it’s hard to imagine that things are about to get really rough for a lot of people, but I’m pretty confident that that’s going to be the case. The last thing you need when you’ve just been laid off, is last year’s holiday shopping making it that much harder to stay afloat until you find a new job.

So here is your super simple 5 step solution to surviving the holiday shopping season debt free –

Step 1: Make your list of people you’re getting gifts for. Ya know, like Santa. And feel free to be just as discerning with that whole naughty and nice thing.

Step 2: Figure out your budget. If you created a S.A.V.E. Budget this year, then you’ll just look to see how much of your gift budget remains for the rest of the year.

Step 3: Divide your budget by the number of people to figure out the amount you’ll spend on each person. You got 20 people on your list and $800 to spend? Divide 800 by 20 and you get $40 a person. That’s the max you can spend on each gift. Well, you could spend more on some and less on others, but that’s your guiding figure.

Step 4: Start early on getting thoughtful rather than expensive gifts. The thing with being thoughtful is that it takes time. When we procrastinate, things get expensive. You end up buying any without paying that much attention to the cost.

Step 5: Repeat the mantra: I am amazing at staying out of debt. I am awesome at spending on budget.Or you can come up with a better mantra for this holiday season, but tell yourself whatever you need to say because this is not the time you want to be carrying super high interest credit card debt. You will really be upset with yourself and it will not be worth it. The people you’re buying these gifts for hopefully care about you more than the presents and they wouldn’t want you to go into debt for them.

If feelings come up for you like, no, I can’t NOT get nice gifts. Then spend some money on a financial coach or therapist to get to the bottom of whatever that is. Capitalism loves that you have those insecurities and fears that have you spending more than you should but don’t allow yourself to get sucked into the madness. It’s hard to extricate yourself from the frenzy to buy, buy, buy, but you can do this.

You will be so proud of yourself when you get to January and have a zero balance on your credit card, or if the balance is at least the same as it is now. Trust that you can gift something that will be meaningful and appreciated without being expensive.

Ok, you got this. Make it a goal, a challenge, an early resolution. Whatever it takes to get you to overcome the overwhelming pressure you feel to spend and go deeper into debt. Have a wonderful and safe holiday shopping season and I’ll catch you in the next video.