The holiday season is upon us, but what happens when you run into a financial emergency? Did you spend too much on gifts? Are you still scrambling to find last-minute frugal gift and entertaining ideas? Is an unexpected emergency room visit straining your finances? What can you do when your holiday threatens to be less than happy?

We'll discuss some of the difficulties that come with the holiday season -- or that can arise during any financial emergency. We'll look at some of the last minute solutions to your last minute holiday financial problems, and talk about what you can do to prevent it from happening again.

Show notes: http://moneymastermindshow.com/episode30/

Some facts and important questions discussed in this episode:

- Shoppers around the country say they are planning to spend an average of $861 for gifts this holiday season, up from $801 last year (source)

- A Bank of Montreal survey shows Canadians polled expected to spend an average of $1,517 on holiday spending (source)

- Time.com reported that only 13% of consumers actually save money throughout the year in anticipation of the holiday season.

- Is having a budget an important part to surviving the Christmas holiday?

- Is it important to plan your Christmas spending, up to a year ahead?

- Has the focus of Christmas become too commercialized? Should we be calling it "Giftmas" instead of "Christmas"?

- How can we put the focus of the holiday season back on the giving, and put less emphasis on getting?

Links, Tools, and Programs To Help You Avoid Christmas Financial Disasters

- Christmas Budget Calculator http://www.mychristmasbudget.com

- 100 Frugal Christmas Gifts http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/100-frugal-creative-homemade-christmas-gifts/

- Can You Save Money By Shopping Ahead Of Time? http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-holiday-savings-1124-biz-20141121-story.html

Ways To Give Back At Christmas

Operation Christmas Child

Angel Tree

Toys For Tots

My Two Front Teeth

Panelists In This Episode:

Special Guest: Phil Taylor | PTMoney.com

Special Guest: Kraig Mathias | CreateMyIndependence.com/

Special Guest: Matt Giovanisci | MattGiovanisci.com

Special Guest: Joe Saul-Sehy | StackingBenjamins.com

Special Guest: Harlan Landes | http://twitter.com/luke_landes

Glen Craig | Free From Broke

Kyle Prevost | Young and Thrifty

Miranda Marquit | Planting Money Seeds

Peter Anderson | Bible Money Matters

Tom Drake | Canadian Finance Blog

For a quick bio of each of our show participants, head on over to our panelists page.

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