financial freedom

Let’s start off by getting your mind focused positively on your finances. There can be a lot of negative emotions around money so it is very important to instill positive thoughts by reciting at least 10 positive affirmations about money like:

1. I am worthy of making more money
2. I welcome an unlimited source of income and wealth in my life.
3. I use money to better my life and the lives of others.
4. My actions create constant prosperity
5. I am the master of my wealth
6. Money expands my life’s opportunities and experiences.
7. Money creates a positive impact in my life.
8. Money comes to me in expected and unexpected ways.
9. I am always searching for additional streams of income.
10. I constantly attract opportunities to create more money.

Recite these affirmations every morning out loud every day for the next 30 days to help train your brain that money is something that is good for you.

Did you ever open a gift and just stare in disbelief? That this person would see this item and think of you? When you opened it you immediately thought of a friend or family member it would be PERFECT for. Consider re-gifting it to someone who would LOVE it. Isn’t that what gift giving is all about? To give something to someone that is right for them and makes them smile. Some people may feel funny about re-gifting an item. Although it really doesn’t matter where it came from, especially if you would’ve bought them the same gift if you had seen it.

 

Stores can be very crowded the last few days of the year. Many people have the days following Christmas off and with the stores trying to get rid of inventory before the end of the year sales stores can be busy. The mornings right after opening time tend to be the best time to get in and return your items quickly. Sunday mornings tend to be the least busy, followed by Monday and Tuesday mornings. Being an early bird has other perks too. The store clerks are generally more kind, relaxed, and patient in the morning. Be kind and give a smile at the store clerk. You will find the return will probably go a lot smoother and you just might even get the gift of a smile back!

Check the store’s return policy carefully. Chances are there is a finite number of days for you to return an item. Hopefully, the store’s policy is to give you the full value of what the giver paid for the gift. Some stores may only offer you the after Christmas heavily discounted sale price.  Get to the store as soon as possible so you can receive as much for the item as possible. The longer you wait, the lower the amount you will receive.

First, if you are comfortable asking the giver where the item came from so you can get another color or size, then do so. If not, you have some homework to do. I suggest starting with an internet search by scanning the barcode with a smartphone app or type in the code of the item to find out where it is sold. That will give you prices and some stores to go to. If the store won’t return it for some reason or it was purchased online, then post it for sale online! You already know what to price the item at, so go on eBay and post it for sale.

If you receive a gift receipt with your gift be thankful because this is the best of all possibilities! You know where the gift came from and best of all you can prove it with the gift receipt to the store. If you were expecting to get cash back though, you may be disappointed to find they only offer store credit. If you didn’t need or want the item, consider saving the credit for something you would’ve bought from your spending plan so you can allocate that money elsewhere (hopefully to pay down debt or save).

Do you have a pile of unwanted Christmas gifts that resembles the Island of Misfit Toys? Get organized and get some value out them! We have compiled some tips to help you get something in return for those gifts that just aren’t the right for you. These suggestions can help turn your unwanted gifts into the treasures that the giver had intended them to be! Stay tuned for all 6 tips!

You saw some new, hot Christmas decorations in the store and you just have to have them to complete your holiday décor. So you look at the price…oh my…well I really, really want it…the price is a little high but Aunt Norma is coming and I think she will really love it. Who knows how many more Christmases we will have together so I better get them now…It really isn’t THAT bad so…you buy it. Does this sound familiar?

BAM! You lay down the full price of $300, run home, and put up those decorations. A week later on Christmas day, all your guests, especially Aunt Norma swoon over your new decorations. You feel a sense of pride and happiness that you made everyone’s Christmas better by buying those decorations.

A week later while you are returning that ugly sweater that Aunt Norma gave you, you see all the Christmas decorations are 90% off! Wow, that is a great deal! It couldn’t possibly include the decorations I bought a few days ago for $300…could it? Your stomach gets tight and your head is down with your eyes peeking tentatively around the corner to the display and sure enough that 90% off sign is prominently displayed on the decorations you just bought. UGH! Really?

Here is a tip, these discounts happen every year. Just after Christmas prices get slashed and you can buy wrapping paper, bows, gift tags, and of course decorations at a fraction what it cost just days earlier. So in your spending plan set aside a fund to make these purchases just after Christmas so you can be ready for next Christmas and keep a lot more money for your gifts!

When you are standing in the store with a full shopping cart, a maxed credit card, and no cash just days before Christmas what are you going to do? The stores make it so easy to “Buy Now, Pay Later”. These deferred payments are like lay away but in reverse. The store offers you credit so you can take all your gifts home now and make small monthly payments throughout the year. No matter how your wrap up paying for something later it still creates debt. The stores will do whatever they can do to get you to buy, buy, buy!

Many stores make it so easy by offering to charge your credit card for a fraction of what you owe for your purchases every month without interest charged by the store (but remember if you don’t pay off that credit card in FULL every month you WILL PAY interest and/or penalties). That way the store gets their money and your credit card company can chase you for the payment if you don’t pay.

Let’s put some numbers to it to see what a deferred payment plan might look like. If you spent $300 on gifts, you might agree to pay $30 for the next ten months to pay that off. That sounds reasonable and doable, but when you consider that you will make your final payment sometime in October and need to start Christmas shopping again soon. If you didn’t start saving money for your Christmas spending in January because you needed to make your $30 monthly payments on presents from last year, you are right back where you started. Standing in the store days before Christmas looking for a way to buy your gifts. It can become a vicious cycle.

Break out of the cycle by creating and following a spending plan so you make unemotional decisions during your holiday shopping. Click here to get some resources to start your spending plan today!