So I'm starting the conversations now with my family about expectations and spending. Perhaps we can all agree to get back to homemade gifts, whether sewing a pillow or a gift certificate for a service, a homemade meal or special dessert? We already gift the grandchildren with "adventures" (a special day out with the grandparents) instead of "things". We all don't need the stuff, let alone the expense.
And, of course, I found a blog that talks about just this. (Odd, I know, that I'm not the only one thinking this way???)
Fight Holiday Spending with a Simplicity Challenge
http://bemorewithless.com/fightspending/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BeMoreWithLess+%28Be+More+with+Less%29
It’s not even Halloween, so you
might be wondering why I am writing about holiday spending. I’m writing about
it because it’s time, and because I want to get to you before they do. You know
who I’m talking about. I’m sure there are Christmas commercials and decked out
showrooms appearing already, so I hope I’m not too late.
This is an opportunity to start
focusing on what truly matters to you during the holiday season before festive
advertisements, black friday teasing, and all things tinsel and tantalizing
invade your brain. The companies that create those glittery ads and attractions
know that if they can distract you for just a moment, they have an opportunity
to remind you what the holidays are all about, for them.
Holiday spending and accumulation
isn’t just about gifts either. You will be tempted with holiday focused food,
decor, entertainment, charity, sales and other things designed to make you feel
like you aren’t good enough unless you fully participate in the spending
mayhem. Spending on any of those things isn’t bad or wrong and in some cases,
it’s wonderful, but it is so important to be aware of why you spend what you
spend AND to decide in advance how much you want to spend or can really afford
to spend.
Before you make the
decision of what to spend, know that …
§ Nothing you buy will
make you a better person.
§ Nothing you give will
make someone love you more.
§ Spending won’t make you
happier.
With all of that said, this is an
especially challenging time not to spend. It’s time to be vigilant about what
matters most to you during the holidays.
Fight Holiday Spending
with a Simplicity Challenge
Stay focused on simplifying your
life even through the holiday season. You will be pleasantly surprised in how
that allows you to fully engage in the spirit of the season. You might struggle
with your decision to stay home the day after Thanksgiving instead of shopping,
or feel guilty because you didn’t overspend on people you love, but once that
initial feeling passes, you’ll discover what you love most about the holidays
and every day.
Compare that with how you feel after
going into debt to do Christmas or the exhausted feeling of battling the malls
and superstores from years past and you’ll quickly find that simplicity is not
a sacrifice but a blessing.
To help you further
simplify, choose a simplicity challenge now instead of waiting for the new year
or a better time.
§ The Minimalist
Game. Find a friend or family member. Someone who’s willing to get
rid of some of their excess stuff. This month, each of you must get rid of
one thing on the first day of the month. On the second, two things. Three
items on the third. So forth, and so on. Anything can go! Read more about
this awesome challenge from my friends Joshua and Ryan.
§ 100 Thing
Challenge. Live with 100 personal items for a set period of time. Read about
challenge creator Dave Bruno‘s
personal challenge in The 100 Thing
Challenge and then create your own.
§ The Reverse 100 Thing Challenge. The point of the 100
Thing Challenge is to live with 100 things. The Reverse 100 Challenge invites
you to dump 100 things before the end of the year. If you’ve always thought
that the 100 Thing Challenge is extreme, and that it would be impossible
to only live
with 100 things, then giving away only 100
things should be a breeze.
§ Project 333. Reducing what was in my
closet motived me to reduce all of the other stuff in my life. This minimalist
fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3
month will keep you away from the sales all season long.
§ No virtual shopping. You don’t even have to
get dressed to go into debt spending for the holidays. Just turn on your
computer, select a deal in email or surf your way to spending on anything for anyone.
If shopping online is a bad habit for you, stop it. Boycott one click shopping
for the rest of the year. You’ll shop less when you have to physically hand
over your cash, wrap your own gifts, and stand in line at the post office.
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