by Scott Pape - November 5th 2005
I have no car, no house, no furniture and no designer clothes (or shoes for that matter), so I reckon I should be the easiest person in the world to buy presents for. Yet with 50 sleeps ’til the fat man comes (Santa, not Shane), my family and friends are asking a unique question: “What do you get a guy who has nothing?”
There are many things I like about Christmas. It’s a time to relax, catch up, and deal with relatives you’ve managed to avoid since last year. But going into credit-induced combat with stressed-out shoppers has never been at the top of my Christmas wish list.
Apparently I’m not alone – according to a Morgan poll, 60 per cent of us dislike Christmas shopping.
There are still a few people that believe in the magic of a consumer- driven Christmas.
Retailers and credit card companies spend big bucks to ensure that we (and our wallets) get caught up in the festive free-for-all. This is achieved by mass advertising that’s designed to get us in the spirit of spending. Credit card companies will soon be as busy as Santa’s elves, working tirelessly as they send out pre-approved credit increases, and deal with the avalanche of new applications designed to cash in on the once-a-year billion-dollar bonanza.
Painful plastic
Retail sales have been lower than normal this year, so you can expect that proprietors will be pushing hard to get us to beat last year’s record – a cool $38 billion ($1900 a head) that was spent in November and December. Credit card companies are in a winning position knowing that the bulk of Santa’s sack will be funded by plastic. Priceless!
According to a 2004 survey by Liberty Financial, 68 per cent of people used their credit cards to pay for the bulk of their Christmas purchases, and 28 per cent of people said they had struggled to pay off their credit card after the previous Christmas. Worse still, 7 per cent indicated that they had still not paid off their Christmas cheer up to 12 months later. Talk about a gift (to the credit card companies) that keeps on giving!
Think ahead
Often in the weeks leading up to Christmas you’ll find financial types extolling the virtues of making Christmas saving a priority throughout the year. This is like advising someone to moderate their drinking at the end-of-year office party – when they’re on to their 13th cocktail.
I’m yet to meet anyone who diligently puts away a set amount of money every week to save for the festive season, but I have encountered many people who have racked up huge amounts on credit cards and personal debt throughout the Christmas period and been unable to pay their debts come January.
Think of this as your wake-up call. With just seven short weeks until Christmas, now is the time to start planning to ensure that your new year’s resolution isn’t to avoid bankruptcy.
Beat the crowd
For your sanity I suggest this year you beat the Chrissie crowds and get your shopping done early. Bonus points if you go old school and employ the time-tested failsafe method of lay-buying your presents.
Follow the words of the great man himself: make a list, check it twice, and find out who’s been naughty and nice (although unlike Santa, the naughtiest person on my list often gets the best present).
Your list should have all the people you plan to buy presents for and the amount you plan to spend. To ensure you don’t suffer a debt-induced hangover in the New Year it’s important to fund your festivities with cash. Over the next two months start diverting a set amount each pay day to a separate account.
The gift of giving
It’s time to rethink the gift of giving. With the emergence of free and easy credit most of us have the ability to spend to our heart’s content. It doesn’t take a lot of time, thought or creativity to spend a couple of hundred dollars showering someone with gifts – the store will even gift wrap them for you.
The most treasured gifts aren’t likely to have an expensive price tag on them, and their value isn’t likely to be displayed on a credit card bill. Rather, some of the best presents you can give are those that are measured by the time, effort, energy and creativity that you’ve put into making someone feel special.
Tread your own path!
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutupyourface/38922374/
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2 comments
I set $20 aside every week on payday, which is $1000 plus interest by the time chrissy rolls around. I’m not the greatest saver by far, but i think christmas is the only time you regularly get hit hard for upfront costs like that. Saves me so much debt!
I buy all my gifts gradually through out the year up to November. So then when December comes around all I have to do is wrap them! I always have money at Christmas time when no one else does