99. Curb Your Holiday Overspending

In this episode of the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast, financial coach and money mindset specialist Laura Sexton discusses practical strategies to avoid overspending during the holiday season. Laura addresses common reasons for overspending, such as marketing influences and emotional triggers, and provides actionable tips for setting spending limits, planning ahead, and getting creative with gifts. She also emphasizes the importance of financial communication with friends and family and suggests prioritizing meaningful experiences over material possessions. 

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Transcript

Laura: 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. I'm Laura Sexton, your trusted financial coach and money mindset specialist. Join me as we explore the world of money and money mindset while also paving the way for a lasting legacy that extends far beyond money. Together we'll eliminate stress, amplify freedom, and ensure you stop paying for your past so you can start saving for your future. If you're seeking peace in your finances, more margin in your budget, and a legacy that inspires generations to come, you're in the right place. Hey, accelerators. I'm so happy to be back with you this week on this accelerate your legacy podcast. Now, friends, the name of the podcast is going to change and it's going to change Because, Accelerate is kind of hard to spell, but just to be completely honest I want to make sure that this is something that you can share with your friends, something that you are getting not only practical advice on, but also able to spend a little bit of your time. And I want you to have a little piece in this. So if you'll jump over to my Instagram, I have a poll running on what we're going to rename this podcast. I want you to be a part of it. I want you to have some say in what we're doing. I always want to know what kinds of tips and tricks you were looking for. I always want to know what kind of information you would like to learn. This is your podcast. And anytime somebody is like, I need help with this thing. Like a couple of weeks ago when we had how to save money on groceries, that was you guys asking about that. And this week we're doing how to avoid overspending on Christmas gifts. You guys asked about that. I did do a series on Instagram and if you didn't check it out, that's okay. We're going to talk about some of those things today. So my accelerators, I hope you were having a lovely holiday season, but I know that there is pressure around holiday gift giving. I know that there's excitement around holiday gift giving. It can just be a very confusing time of year. So, maybe you know this, maybe you don't, but this year, Americans are projected to spend 1. 3 trillion, that's with a T, trillion dollars on holiday spending. They're going to spend 1. 3 trillion dollars! Wow. The craziest part about that is that the average American spends over 900 on Christmas, and yet they don't have a thousand dollars set aside for an emergency. They couldn't cover a thousand dollar emergency if they wanted to, but they have 900 to spend on Christmas. I personally am a horrible gift giver. This is not my spiritual gifting and it's not the thing that I am best at. My husband is a wonderful gift giver, but here's the problem. He's also the spender in our relationship. When those powers combine, we can have a bit of a mess on our hands. So I wanted to talk to you just about some practical ways to avoid overspending while still creating meaningful memories this holiday season because family and Jesus, that's what it's all about, right? It's not about the gifts, but let's talk about why we overspend. During the holidays. There are many reasons why we will overspend and one of them is the marketing tactics. Friends, we had the craziest Black Friday I have seen in a very long time. I don't know if there are more fights happening over the giant TVs at Walmart or if it's just because we have more phones readily available. But oh mylanta, Why are we still doing this? Why is this a thing that we are still doing? I thought we had evolved as a society. Apparently we have not. The holiday sales are crazy. There was an outlet mall near me where somebody spent an hour looking for a parking spot because it was just full on blowout, absolutely crazy holiday sale for Black Friday. There will be more sales coming. It just is what it is. So keep on the lookout for that. Know that you are being marketed to. They're trying to find the way that's going to get you to make the purchase. Knowing that kind of makes it feel a little icky and maybe we can step aside and be like, Oh, you know what? I don't think so. Really want to be marketed to you. I'm not going to buy that thing just because I see the ad. Another thing to be afraid of is buy now, pay later offers. They always say it's an easy payment. They're never honest. They never say, well, it's a hard payment because sure. You put that one shirt. on Easy Payments and they're what, 3 each? But when you do that 12 times and your Easy Payments are 36 a month and then you do that 3, 6, 9 times and you are looking at a world of hurt. And if you go over those four Easy Payments they're able to tack on Exorbitant fees and fines. Another reason we overspend during the holidays is just social media influence. If you are on social media, you are being marketed to. There are going to be ads and sponsored posts inside your feed. Every time you scroll every fourth. And it feels these days like it's every third one, every second one, every other one. They're everywhere. People are trying to get you to buy their products and look, I want you to spend your money with me too. I would love to work with you. I'd love to do some one on one coaching and get you to a place where not only are you not, overspending during the holidays, but you're not overspending ever again. Another really big overspending issue during the holidays is our emotional triggers. Now let's be honest, I put a post up this month that said you're buying them gifts, not their love. You don't need to let guilt prompt you to buy something. Your generosity should only go so far. Yes. I love a generous person and I love generous giving. I think it's something that we should all strive towards, but if your generosity is putting your own home at risk, you are doing the wrong thing. Be generous when you have the money for it. Keeping up with social expectations. That's another trigger that we have. Let's slow down society around us may have an expectation. That's all well and good. My expectation for you is that you do what you value and what matters most for you and your family There is a hidden cost of overspending and that hidden cost it's financial stress. It's long term impact on your financial goals. It's not sleeping at night You don't need that. I have a client that is so stressed out about their finances right now that they are losing their hair. If that is something that scares you, please don't do it. Like, we don't need to be stressed financially because we got excited about Christmas. And most people are paying for Christmas well into March, April, and May. If you were still paying for Christmas in spring, guys, we have to do something new. The good news is that you can create a memorable holiday without emptying your wallet. So let's dive into that. Here are some practical strategies to curb your holiday overspending. First one, you know what it is if you spent any time with me at all. Set a spending limit. That's right. I'm giving you permission to spend your money on the holidays, as long as you set a limit. Determine what your holiday budget is overall, before you go shopping. Allocate a certain amount for each person on your list. If you make a plan ahead of time, that's the second practical step plan ahead, make a gift list and stick to it. That is going to help you. You make the list, you allocate the amount for each person and you determine what you're going to spend your money on before you go shopping. We have gone past shopping early. At this point, because we are getting closer and closer to Christmas. That's okay. But remember just because you see it doesn't mean you need to purchase it. We have planned ahead. We know what we are going to buy. So just go ahead and avoid those last minute impulse purchases because that's not on the list. You are Santa. You have made a list, check it twice, but don't add to it. The third practical strategy is to get creative with your gifts. DIY or personalized presents are absolutely fabulous. Offering experiences or acts of service instead of a physical item can actually go a really long way. I know for me, if somebody wanted to sit down and go, Hey I'm not buying you a gift this year, but when your baby comes, I am going to come over and clean your house. Or I'm going to bring you a meal. I would take that coupon a hundred times over. And what's really cool is our Girl Scouts did something similar to this. We have Daisy Girl Scouts, kindergarten and first grade, and they wrote down something they were willing to do around the house as part of their friendly and helpful pedal. If they earned, they came up with some really creative things. So my kids put laundry and dishes because that's their two chores, but some of them came up with some creative things that they could do around the house. Let your kids. Do this for you. Let them come up with an active service. They can do around the house because that's so much better than something they can purchase at a store. Fourth practical strategy to help you curb your holiday overspending is to pay attention to cash back apps, coupons, and holiday discounts. As long as you do it intentionally. These are great ways to save. Now, cashback apps could be things like Rakuten. There, I mean, I can't even begin to list all of them that there are. They're great to a point. Most of the time, you are not actually going to get a lot of cash back. And I don't want you doing, Oh, well, I get cash back on my credit cards. Nope, nope, nope, absolutely not. But these secondary apps that do give you cash back or points for taking a picture of your receipt. There's nothing wrong with that. Coupons and holiday discounts, as long as you use them intentionally, will help you save money. Also, my friends, take advantage of second hand sales. Take advantage of small business deals. Small businesses could really use your help right now. This is kind of make or break for a lot of them. So focus in on those as opposed to big box stores and take advantage of any second hand use items that you can. I used to be very anti this and it's because I grew up Not having a lot of money. And so secondhand was a necessity sometimes, but now I love it. And I think it's so smart, so frugal. There's so many things that we just throw out as a society and we don't put a lot of love and care into. And so I love being able to use them secondhand. I love repurposing things. And I think it's so great to not just throw things away, but to reuse them. Or give them to somebody else that could use them that may be where we were not too long ago. Practical strategy to curb your holiday overspending. Number five is just to communicate with your friends and family. Look, you can have purposeful gift exchange. I know last week we talked about Secret Santa, things like that. That's great. Set spending limits with your group, set spending limits with your friends. Propose doing a gift exchange as opposed to buying a gift for every single person. So secret Santa, gift exchange, everything with a spending limit. That is a great way to do it. And most people are going to be really thankful that you suggested it because they were thinking it and they just weren't brave enough. So go ahead and suggest that say, Hey guys, this is what I think I need to do for me this year. Is that okay with all of you? And you'll be surprised how many people are like, yes, absolutely. I'm so glad you said something. And again, focused on shared experiences rather than material things. It's not just about spending less though. It's about giving with intention and with meaning. So here's how quickly. How to handle the pressure to overspend. You got to set boundaries with yourself and with others. Tell your friends, Hey, I'm not going to be spending a whole bunch of money on Christmas gifts this year. They're going to be thankful that you said that because they're going to be given the freedom to also not spend a whole lot of money. Reframe the focus of your holiday. Prioritize connection with the people around you over consumption of goods and consumption of food for that matter. Because your worth isn't measured by the price tag of your gifts. You were buying gifts, you were not buying love. You were buying gifts, you were not buying affection. You were buying gifts, you were not trying to win somebody over. It's never, a present's never going to win somebody over. You are worth so much more than how much you spend on a Christmas gift. If you feel like you were pressured into overspending, you And you need somebody to blame for not going above and beyond, go ahead and blame it on me. Say, look, I talked to my financial coach and she said I can't spend that much money this year. Blame me. I will take it. Give them my phone number. I will happily take it for you. You don't have to do this alone. Friends, when it comes to money, you are never by yourself. I am always, always with you. So while you're feeling the pressure to overspend, remember that there are practical things that you can do to not setting the limit, planning ahead, getting creative, leveraging savings and communicating. Just go ahead and communicate with your friends and family. Feel free to embrace a more thoughtful budget friendly approach to this season. The greatest gift that you can give your loved one is your presence, not your presence. They want you to be around them more than they want your stuff. Accelerators, it would be my honor if you would subscribe to this podcast, if you would share it with a friend if you would take a minute to give me a five star review. But also feel free to check out any of my additional resources. I mentioned having my Christmas in July budget tracker. I also have a lot of other free resources at my website that I would love for you to download. And again, if you are struggling with your money, check out my money mastery program. I would love to have you as a part of that. Moving into the new year 2025, this is the time to take control of your money and embrace the life that you have. That you want I'm also doing career coaching. So if you're like, I kind of want to change jobs before I get to work with you. No, no, no. Let's do that too. We will get your income up, your debt down, and your legacy started. All right, accelerators. That is it for this week. Go out and make a difference. For questions or encouragement, reach out to me on Instagram at Accelerate Your Legacy or explore the resources listed in the show notes. I will be back with you next week. Until then, build your legacy with intention. Thank you for investing your time with us today on the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. Remember, your legacy isn't just measured in dollars and cents, but in the tools, habits, mindset, and reputation you leave behind. Don't just listen to the show, but take action on what you've learned. Share this wisdom with a friend who can benefit and help us spread the word by rating and reviewing the podcast. For questions or encouragement, reach out to me on Instagram at Accelerate Your Legacy or explore the resources listed in the show notes. I will be back with you next week. Until then, build your legacy with intention.