{"id":4290,"date":"2012-12-19T05:32:55","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T13:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/?p=4290"},"modified":"2012-12-19T05:33:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-19T13:33:00","slug":"enjoying-december-without-paying-for-it-in-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/enjoying-december-without-paying-for-it-in-january\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoying December Without Paying for It in January"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most people would say Christmas is one of their favorite times of the year, bringing the joy of reunited family, traditions, festive decorations, scrumptious treats, and the pinnacle event \u2013 exchanging of gifts. Everybody expects to spend some money in return for enjoyment of the season, but if you aren\u2019t careful, you can find yourself caught up in the \u2018giving\u2019 spirit with your <a href=\"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/responsible-spending-makes-the-holidays-bright-and-affordable\/\">credit card stretched to the max<\/a> when January rolls around.<\/p>\n<p><b>So I spent too much. Is it really that big of a deal?<\/b><br \/>\nYou might think it\u2019s not worth spoiling your enjoyment to worry about how much money you\u2019re spending in December, because you\u2019ll just catch up later. Well, that\u2019s true. The problem is you\u2019ll be catching up <i>much<\/i> later. Many people admit to getting their credit card back on track just in time for the next holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>Year-long debt, steep interest, and a poor credit score are not only a high price to pay for one holiday, they\u2019re really unnecessary to the enjoyment of it. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to come out of the holidays debt and stress free.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Set up a savings account specifically for Christmas spending, and contribute to it on a weekly\/bi-weekly basis. <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many banks offer Christmas savings accounts which require minimal deposits to open and don\u2019t require minimum balances. Because these accounts are designed for the short-term, you won\u2019t earn much interest, but at least your Christmas spending money will be \u2018out of sight, out of mind\u2019 instead of in your checking account where it inevitably gets spent. You won\u2019t miss the small deposits, and will have a pleasant surprise when you realize how much you have to spend, without guilt.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you don\u2019t need a special bank account to set aside money all year long. A jar, your mattress, or your kid\u2019s piggy bank can work just as well as long as you remember to save, and don\u2019t touch it until Christmas.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Do your Christmas shopping all year long instead of Black Friday to Christmas Eve. \u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is another way to spend responsibly which is just as fun as a guilt-free several-hundred-dollar shopping spree. Many people prefer this method because it also releases the stress of time constraints, long lines, traffic, and exposure to cranky shoppers as all the world descends on the stores the last few weeks of December.<\/p>\n<p>By buying key items when they are out-of-season you can also get better deals. Christmas decorations are at least half-price <a href=\"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/take-advantage-of-holiday-sale-prices-to-save-on-everyday-items\/\">after the holidays<\/a>, and winter wear hits the sale racks around January.<\/p>\n<p>Vacations are a great time to pick up things for Christmas \u2013 souvenirs from interesting places make unique gifts, and when you\u2019re relaxed, you are more likely to make clear-headed choices.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Make your gifts: it really <i>is<\/i> the thought that counts. <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/homemade-holiday-gifts-that-you-can-start-making-now\/\">Hand-made craft items<\/a>, framed art or family photos, home-made cookies \u2013 these are the gifts which we love to receive, because they are personal. They are also the most inexpensive, costing not much more than a little time and effort.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not the crafty type, consider giving the gift of service. Write out coupons redeemable for snow shoveling, house cleaning, massages &#8212; you name it.<\/p>\n<p>No matter how you decide to spend more responsibly this holiday season, you won\u2019t regret it. When January comes and all your friends are lamenting about their debt, you can share new tips of your own on how they can plan ahead for next Christmas, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most people would say Christmas is one of their favorite times of the year, bringing the joy of reunited family, traditions, festive decorations, scrumptious treats, and the pinnacle event \u2013 exchanging of gifts. Everybody expects to spend some money in return for enjoyment of the season, but if you aren\u2019t careful, you can find yourself [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[94,111,45,75,85,510,100,120,14,23,39],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}