Christmas Tips From Dave Ramsey

I pulled this right off of his newsletter. We were just talking about this in class. Here it is.


Top 10 Christmas Shopping Mistakes

We’ve all paid “stupid tax”—making costly decisions with zeros on the end. A lot of those decisions happen when we’re caught up in the emotion of the Christmas season and procrastinate a little too long.
Make this year different!
Here are the top 10 Christmas shopping mistakes and how you can act differently:
Not prioritizing.Instead of getting stressed out with all the parties, baking and shopping, in addition to your normal daily life, set some priorities before you’re bombarded with a million requests. Think about which things are “must do” and which are “would be nice to do.” It’s all right to say no to keep yourself sane. Shopping for gifts is more fun when you’re not completely stressed out.
Not using a budget.Before you make a gift list and head to the mall, set aside a reasonable amount of money for gifts. Make a commitment that you won’t add $20 to the fund every week just because you saw something cute that your niece would love. Get budgeting advice here.
Using credit cards.Once you have your budget finalized, stay away from credit cards! You will still spend 12-18% more if you use plastic, and you’ll be paying it off come 2009! Doesn’t paying with cash sound more freeing than having a credit card balance looming over your head? You bet.
Buying for everyone.Do you really need to buy gifts for every family member and friend you have? That can get overwhelming and expensive for everyone. Talk with them and work toward an agreement to draw names for gifts or donate money to a common cause.
Not listening.Listen to the hints your loved ones drop about what they need or want this year. Maybe your Aunt Sally mentioned that she would love someone to help her in the garden, or Cousin Bob keeps losing guitar picks. A thoughtful gift like this will mean a lot.
Not having a thought-out list on paper. If you think you can spend time in “Christmas retail world” without getting distracted by all the shiny toys, you’re in for a big surprise! You’ll be more likely to buy impulsively if you do it that way. Write down what each person you’re buying for would like and stick to the list. Stay focused!
Not shopping around.“Shopping around” doesn’t mean you have to spend 24 extra hours running from store to store to save 10 cents. Take a look at your gift list and do some comparative price-checking online before you head out into the retail and traffic madness. This will save you money, time and stress!
Waiting until the last minute.Procrastination is not the most appealing gift out there. Don’t find yourself stressed out on Christmas Eve just because you didn’t invest a little bit of time to plan.
Forgetting to plan for next year.Throughout the next year, look for outrageous sales on things your loved ones will need. If you time the sales just right and clip some coupons, you could land a major discount on something you were going to buy in a few months for a birthday or wedding gift. Remember to have a list and budget for this, too.
Forgetting why we celebrate.If this season becomes all about shopping and gifts, you’ve missed the whole point. People—not things—matter. The miraculous birth of a baby who changed the world is what matters.

Curb Holiday Spending

It is truly amazing how many articles, news stories and blogs you find now - all about budgeting, all about saving money. When we all first walked through the doors of our preview lesson many of us were interested in saving money, but we were weird. Now being weird is normal. Amen to that!

I don't know about you, but many of our debts stem from spending too much at Christmas and falling into the trap of "I am tired, I waited until the last minute to go shopping - I just need two more things and I am done." I was a teacher, I had virtually no time to plan Christmas and no time to pay attention to prices. I would wait until the last minute and spend one long, miserable day shopping. I am not exactly the shopping type, so I would choose a few stores and just attack my list. Only to find that I spent way too much and lost my holiday spirit, due to being stressed or worse yet, being around other grumpy, stressed shoppers.

This article basically outlines what we have already been taught from the class, but thought I would pass it along.

In addition:

1. www.woot.com An online one day, one item sale site - great deals, check it out every day for steals on anything from wine to electronics.

2. www.amazon.com Many of you use this anyway, but for us - I check out several websites and price around. This site offers free shipping at times and other holiday deals.

3. www.craigslist.com Okay, I used to stay away from this site due to the racy crowds, but you can find a good deal on slightly used items. (We post some of our stuff there and its free, unlike Ebay).

4. Keep your receipts and check periodically on prices - you can take the item and your receipt back and get the difference! I do that quite often! And make sure you do the work for rebates - these companies count on you to be lazy or wait until it is too late to turn in the paperwork! Don't forget!

Blessings!

Week 9 Totals

The numbers are in and they are awesome! I can't tell you how proud I am at how well you are all doing.

Money Saved $46,251

Debt Paid $80,629

Keep Chasing That Cheetah!