Don't Let Christmas Destroy You

I just saw yet another commercial for a title loan company. In the spring and summer they tell you to take out a title loan to take a nice vacation. In the fall and winter they tell you to take one out to buy Christmas gifts. Credit card companies tell you the same things.  They make it look like free money.  They all make it sound so appealing.

How appealing does losing your car sound to you?  Is losing your car or going deep in debt with credit cards worth buying a lot of presents that many won't even remember by spring?

Why do so many people feel that they have to go into debt to buy Christmas gifts? Are they afraid their family will no longer love them if they don't give them lots of gifts? Are they afraid they will look like cheapskates to others? Well, I have news for any of you who think that.  If it takes gifts for your family to love you, they don't really love you. And who cares what others think of you?  We, as a whole, tend to think that others have it so much better than us financially. We see others with nice houses, nice cars, expensive clothes and jewelry, taking cruises, etc., and we want that too.  What we don't see is that most of those people are drowning in debt. Many of them worked for many years to be able to afford their lifestyle--they've earned it.  We live in an "I want it now" society. Where people used to scrimp and save, most of us want the nice things without having to go without. I'm no less guilty than anyone, but I am learning.

I am definitely not against giving gifts for Christmas and other holidays.  I love to receive gifts, and I love giving them even more.  However, I refuse to go deeper in debt to buy gifts.  It really isn't even an option for me, since I have gotten rid of all credit cards.  It is totally laughable to me to even consider a title loan on our car. I'm sure they make it sound like a no-risk deal, but have you ever seen the parking lot at many title loan places?  The title loan place here in my town has lots of used cars for sale.  Where do you think they got those cars? They got them from people who were not able to pay back their title loans. In case you haven't figured it out yet, when you take a title loan, you are signing a contract saying that if you do not pay them back, on time, they get your car. That's it, plain and simple.

Ok, so what do you do if you don't have the money to buy all the gifts you would like to buy?  First of all, you might want to explain to the people you give gifts to that you just aren't going to be able to be as generous as you would like to be this year, and that you need to limit gift-giving to immediate family.  You may be surprised.  Oftentimes others would like to stop exchanging gifts because they can't afford it either, but they did not know how to bring it up.

If you have any talents you could make gifts.  Can you sew, do woodworking, cook?  A lot of people love these kinds of gifts.

One of my favorite hints is to not try to do all your shopping at the same time.  I like to buy gifts throughout the year. Many times I will see something that would be perfect for someone, so if I have the money I will buy it right then and save it for Christmas. Usually all I have left to do by December is to buy a few stocking stuffers.

Finally, you are much more important to your family and friends than any gifts you can give.  Don't feel like you are less of a person if you are not able to buy Christmas gifts.  I'll never forget Christmas a few years ago.  We had no money to speak of, but it turned out to be a good Christmas.  Our Christmas dinner was turkey TV dinners.  Our gifts were "Mom" and "Dad" grab-bags that we bought at Dollar Tree.

Christmas is a time to remember the birth of our Savior, and to spend time with those we love and who love us.  Presents  are nice, but not nice enough to go in debt for.