On paper, I am the embodiment of a financially responsible person — I paid off my student loans, and bought my first house all on a teacher salary. But those feats also hide the fact that there was a time in my life that I was overdrafting my account to buy sneakers and eating Costco samples for dinner because I didn’t have money for groceries. I was a consistent overspender who constantly talked myself into “little treats” to make myself feel better. I was trapped in an endless expensive cycle.
Holidays, in particular, were the worst. Every year, I was filled with anxiety and dread because I’d spend an excessive amount of time and money trying to buy the perfect outfits for parties and the perfect gifts for loved ones. Instead of enjoying my time with them and living in the moment, I was preoccupied with trying to curate an illusory holiday vibe. After years of this, I was mentally exhausted and embarrassingly broke.
Instead of enjoying my time with them and living in the moment, I was preoccupied with trying to curate an illusory holiday vibe. After years of this, I was mentally exhausted and embarrassingly broke.
I finally decided I wanted to do better, but didn’t know how to start. So I googled: “How to celebrate the holidays when you’re broke.” Most of the results focused on budgeting and side hustles. I didn’t want to do either. I wasn’t earning enough money to budget, and I wanted to be able to celebrate the way I wanted to. I’d also never budgeted before. How was I supposed to give meaningful gifts on a budget?
Knowing I still had to try something, I put together a loose attempt at a budget. After painfully combing through my finances, I realized that I had about $300 dollars remaining after my expenses were paid, and if I cut out some extraneous expenses for a while, I could put an extra $200 towards the holidays.
Although I was accustomed to spending three-times more every year, I sat down with that budget, and made three lists. The first was the names of people I wanted to buy gifts for. The second covered any activities, parties, or dinners that would require spending. The final list was the “maybe pile”— events that I hadn’t yet committed to, and people I possibly could buy gifts for.
Instead of immediately running to the mall like I usually would, I sat with the first list. There were seven people on it, and I was aiming for around $35 to $40 per gift. YouTube and Pinterest helped me generate ideas that were within that budget. I also really thought about what brought each name individual joy. This helped me think creatively about what I would give them. My youngest brother, for example, has a deeply rooted love of music, so I gifted him a few records that came out the year he was born. That gift would …read more
Source:: Refinery29