Time To Prepare

1/3 of Americans take on debt during the holidays.

And unfortunately, that debt tends to be high-interest debt (20%+).

Which means if you want to avoid paying for this Christmas next May, you need to start thinking about how you’re going to avoid holiday spending now.

Because consumer marketing is coming for your wallet.

So the goal of this email is to help you visualize where you’re likely to spend money, give you some ideas where you can save money, and even give you a challenge that will help you feeling proud come Jan 1st.

The 6 Holiday Expenses That Wreck Most Budgets

1. Gifts
The biggest budget-buster every year. Between kids, spouses, extended family, and all the “oh yeah, I should probably get them something too” purchases, gift spending snowballs fast.

2. Holiday Travel
Flights, gas, hotels, airport food — everything is more expensive during the holidays. According to NerdWallet, Americans planning holiday trips expect to spend about $2,586 on travel this season.

3. Food & Holiday Meals
Hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, or even small gatherings adds up. Groceries are already expensive, and holiday menus amplify that cost.

4. Decorations
Trees, lights, wreaths, ornaments, table setups — people buy “just one more” every year. It feels small in the moment, but adds up over time.

5. “Deals” That Aren’t Deals
Black Friday and Cyber Monday pressure you into buying things you never intended to buy. A sale isn’t a savings if you didn’t need it.

6. Higher Utility Bills
Colder weather means higher heating and electricity costs. It’s not glamorous, but it makes a noticeable difference in December and January.

6 Ways To Save

1 - Gifts

You don’t have to get everyone something. And if you feel pressure, just tell people, “Hey, please don’t get us anything, I’d rather just spend some time with you this holiday season.” That will take pressure off them, too. Additionally, we’re putting a limit on how much everyone is allowed to spend on each other in our family. Putting a limit really forces you to be creative and thoughtful with your gift giving. At the end of the day the way to save money here is obvious: you just have to commit to doing it.

2 - Holiday Travel

The Federal Aviation Administration predicts Thursday, Dec. 19, will be the most crowded day to fly, followed by Friday, Dec. 27, and Friday, Dec. 20. Avoiding these days alone could save you 30-60% on your travel.

3 - Food & Holiday Meals

Aldi’s has a Thanksgiving Feast bundle that serves 10 people for $40. Or, consider getting 3 Costco Rotisserie Chickens in place for Turkey. People won’t notice the difference.

4 - Decorations

Consider planning a Neighborhood Decor Swap where everyone brings old decor and swaps. Or if you really want to go buy something, consider Goodwill or Dollar Tree. You might think I’m Scrooge reading all of this, but at what point do you make some sacrifices to get your life on track??

5 - “Deals” that aren’t Deals

Just don’t spend money! Boom!

6 - Utility Bills

If you live somewhere cold, consider getting a space heater and only heating the areas you are spending time in. Keep the rest of the house at a much lower temperature.

The 40 Day Financial fast

If you really want to start the new year off right.

Try a 40 day financial fast.

No eating out, no Starbucks, no impulse purchases.

Cancel your subscriptions.

Spend time in meditation, prayer and/or journaling every day.

The goal is usually to:

• Break bad spending habits

• Build gratitude

• Save a chunk of cash quickly

• Prove to yourself that you can live on less

• Clarify what you actually value

And try to save $50 every day.

You’ll end up with $2,000 saved.

You’ll realize how many purchases were just emotional and not necessary.

You’ll get clarity on what’s a need vs a want.

And most importantly, you’ll build so much momentum going into 2026 that it’ll be much easier to make that the year you finally max out your IRA or get out of debt.

That’s it for this week.

As always, please email me if I can ever help.

Dan