The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: How To Minimize Financial Stress During The Holidays

Today, I’m talking about practical ways to reign in your gift giving and spending on gifts. 

I think this year especially, many people feel pressure to make up for lost time during the pandemic and may want to really go big this year, but we want to be especially careful with gift giving because it really adds up. 

So I have a few ideas for you to reign in your spending and gift giving this year: 

• Don’t buy gift cards - give cash instead. 
• According to an article in USA today from September and a new survey from CreditCards.com, nearly half (47%) of Americans have one unused gift card, voucher or store credit, totaling $21 billion nationwide.
• On average, a person has $175 in unspent gift cards, vouchers and store credit, a $61 jump from 2021. 
• "They’re not going to get more valuable over time," Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, said in a statement. "In fact, it’s the exact opposite, as inflation eats away at the value. And the longer you hold on to these unused gift cards, the more likely you are to lose them, forget about them or have the store go out of business."
• Set strict limits - limits for kids (my kids limit is 3 gifts for each kid + a few small things for their stocking) - start discussing it in Sept/Oct so they can really think about what they want the most
• Adults - forgo the white elephant parties and the gifts for friends/adult family. Most of us have too much stuff to begin with and chances are, unless it was a gift specifically requested 
• Less presents to wrap - I hate wrapping presents!

I hate wrapping presents. I absolutely hate it. If it didn’t make me feel like a failure as a mother, I would just throw all of my kids Christmas presents into one big gift bag, throw some tissue on top and put it under the tree. 

But unfortunately, I know that a lot of the fun and magic for kids on Christmas morning is tearing off that wrapping paper. So I begrudgingly wrap presents every year. 

• Secret Santa
• Make a list of all the people you plan to give a gift to and make sure it’s really important to you to continue giving them a gift, and that you’re doing it for the right reasons - not just because they get you something or you feel obligated to keep gifting to them
• Scale back or get more creative with your gifts. Experience gifts have gained a lot of traction over the last several years and for good reason, I think. Most of us have too much stuff already, it’s hard to find just the right thing for our friends and family, and it’s more meaningful anyways to make memories with those we care about most, rather than getting them one more present this year. 
• Get creative with your gifts: Cards, cookies, a meal, a movie & a bottle of wine at home, a coupon for something you can do for them in the future (i.e. bring them a meal) 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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