I find Christmas shopping stressful. First, I do not enjoy shopping. I never have. I do not enjoy crowds, especially crowds of holiday shoppers. You will not catch me at a mall on a week-end from November onwards. Online shopping has made things easier, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Last week I ordered an item for in store pickup. The system showed that it was available, I could add it to my cart, and I received a confirmation of my order. Yet, when the store tried to fulfil my order, the item was no longer in stock. Thus my order was cancelled. A few days later I wanted to order two items from another store, neither of which were available for in store pickup, thus incurring a shipping charge of $8.00 on a $21.00 purchase. This seemed absurd to me, so I added some other items (which will likely be returned) to my cart in order to hit the $99 minimum for “free” shipping. The order was then shipped in four different packages. I don’t know what is the retailer’s agreement with Canada Post for shipping, but this does not make economic sense to me.
My second challenge is that my family members are difficult to shop for. My oldest son, Big W, is not materialistic. He never has anything on his wish list. I took the boys to visit Santa and, despite considerable prompting, he couldn’t give Santa any gift ideas. The boys wrote letters to Santa; all Big W could say was that he didn’t know what he wanted. Shopping for him requires much reflection and a lot of creativity – but I think that I’ve had some great ideas this year. Mr. Schultz is a different story. He is a shopper! He also never has anything on his wish list, but only because he has already purchased the item before it made it to the list. What do you buy for the man who literally has everything???
A few years ago I adopted a simple framework for Christmas purchases. As I shop, I’m choosing items from four categories: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. I find that it helps both for idea generation and also for keeping the volume of purchases under control.
The cost of holiday giving can also be a source of stress. CPA Canada recently released the results of their Holiday Spending Survey. Holiday spending is expected to be slightly down in 2021, with Canadians planning to spend $555 on gifts this year, a small decrease compared to 2020 and 2019. Non-traditional gifts are being planned by 43% of Canadians, including handmade gifts (20%), re-gifting a previously received present (10%), or a promise to do something special (9%). According to the survey, 48% of Canadians normally set a budget for holiday gift spending. And 37% of those surveyed have been saving money in 2021 for holiday gifts. These are both good strategies for managing holiday spending and minimizing financial stress.
I recommend to students that they should included a line in their budget for gifts – holiday and otherwise. And then each month, as they are able, to set aside the budgeted amount in a savings account. When the holidays arrive and it is time to make the purchases, the expense has already been accounted for, and the cash is available to make the purchases. The last thing that you or your loved ones want is for you to make your holiday purchases on your credit card and need to pay them off over time (plus interest!) long after the holidays are over.
Best of luck as you wrap up your holiday shopping!
Life Lessons 