Christmas is here

It's that time of year again. Time for the family get together, too much food, some extra sleep, and some well deserved time off of work. You've worked so hard this year, just ask yourself! It's also time to go and spend too much money on your friends and family (and some people you don't like!) buying them things they will never use! I have a friend who last week found a DVD he bought his son last year for Christmas, still in the plastic wrap. He's going to re-wrap it and give it to him this year again! Now that's a way to save some money. There's nothing wrong with Christmas or buying presents, we all love to get and give gifts this time of year. The problem is buying more than you can afford. It seems like every year Christmas sneaks up on us and we don't have the money for gifts. Instead of cutting back on what we spend we charge it, run up our credit card and end up paying 2-3 times the amount in interest. Here's a crazy idea...every month set a side $100 into a Christmas fund. This way the next time Christmas "sneaks up" on you, (every December 25th) you will be ready with $1200 to spend on gifts! No more credit cards, no more surprises, no more worrying about where the money's going to come from. It doesn't have to be $100 every month, but it should be something. Take the amount you plan to spend on Christmas next year, divide that by 12 and that's the amount you need to start saving every month, NOW!

Alot of us use unexpected events in our lives as an excuse to be in debt.
"I didn't know the cars was going to break down"
"I wasn't expecting to go to the doctor"
"I forgot about Christmas"
You get the point. Here's a little insight that might help, unexpected thing happen, so expect them! See, if you're ready for them they aren't so unexpected and they don't turn into a financial crisis. Use the same Christmas fund concept above for these other areas. Have a monthly amount that you set aside for car repairs, doctor bills, medication, and other expenses you may incurr through out your life. Now when the car breaks down you don't have to charge it, you use the money you've saved in expectation of this unexpected event to pay for it. It's amazing how things change when you are prepared for them. Your mood changes when something does happen because you don't have the worry of where the money is coming from. You already have it! Also, I truely beleive things happen less when you are prepared for them.

So just a thought to help you move toward a better 2010! Start to prepare yourself for the unexpected by expecting it!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or thoughts.
staleyfinancial@gmail.com