How To Save Money During the Holidays

It seems that each year, the holidays bring not only fun and family gathering but they bring financial stress as well. To head off this stress, it is a good idea to plan a Christmas budget now during the fall months, so that when the holiday shopping is in full swing, you won't be stressing out over overspending.

There are many categories of holiday purchases that we all make every year. It is a good idea to make your holiday budget comprehensive enough to include all the ways that you spend money on holiday preparations and Christmas related purchases. Here are a few ideas about how to set up your Christmas Budget.

Start early - ideally you should start in January for each holiday season. Many of us don't think about Christmas that early. If you are like most of us, October is when we start to think about the winter holidays. If you do start early, you can take advantage of those after Christmas sales to make purchases of holiday stables like ornaments, gift-wrap, and party supplies.

Make sure you sock some holiday savings away each month throughout the year so that you can have a Christmas Spending account that won't dig into your regular household account during the holidays. The last thing you want is to take money away from paying your monthly bills in order to buy presents.

Living On A Dime - Save Money And Get Out Of Debt

You can open a Christmas Club account at most financial institutions including credit unions that you can designate an amount such as $25, or $50 to come out of your paycheck each month and deposited into this Christmas fund. You can even set up auto-transfer for each pay period.

Shop for Christmas year-round. There are many sales events that you can take advantage of throughout the year, saving you money.

Make up a master-shopping list for Christmas that includes each person you need to buy gifts for along with some gift ideas. Keep this in your wallet or purse all year, so that you can refer to it while passing sales items.

Don't forget about the values you can find online. You can comparison-shop to discover what stores have the best deals. When actually making purchases online, don't forget to take shipping into consideration when comparison-shopping for price.

Major stores will often have Internet discounts that are just for their online customers, so check Websites of stores that you frequent most often for these deals.

Save money by baking or making presents for relatives who may appreciate the extra thoughtfulness of these personal gifts.

There may be some people on your list who really do not need or want more "things", but may be happy with the gift of time (running errands for them, or doing yard work, or household chores).

Keep a pocket notebook handy all year and jot down in it whenever someone mentions something they need, or something they see that they would like. When you notice sales events of these items you can then purchase them at a savings. This handy notebook will also assure you that you are indeed buying gifts that the recipients will truly enjoy getting.

All About Rudolph and Santa's Other Reindeers

Maybe it's the undeniable alliterative appeal of Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeerthat makes him the most known or popular of all Santa's nine flying reindeers. It certainly doesn't seem as easy to come up with a similar catchy descriptionfor the others - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen - as named in the song.

The story of Rudolph whose glowing red nose made him a standout, first appearedin 1939 when Montgomery Ward department stores distributed about 2.4 millionbooklets with the poem in the form of a story about "Rudolph the Red-NosedReindeer." It was written by Robert L. May, who worked in the store'sadvertisement or marketing department, to be used to attract more people intothe store. When the booklet was reissued in 1939, sales soared to more than 3.5million copies. But it wasn't until a decade later, in 1949, that the storyreally gained immense popularity when Gene Autry sang a musical version of thefable. As a Christmas song, it is second only in popularity to 'WhiteChristmas.'

Rudolph, the ninth reindeer whose lighted nose guides Santa's sleigh through thenight, is now known worldwide as the song has been translated into more than 20different languages and an animated television movie has also been based on thestory. Rudolph and his noticeable nose have also become the subject of jokes and sparked more interest in reindeers which has led to much research into Santa andthe flying reindeers who pull his sleigh through the sky.

Along with the catchy rhythm of the lyrics, Rudolph's story is also appealingbecause of the moral lessons it contains. As the story goes, Rudolph was ostracized by the other reindeers, which laughed and teased him about his shiny red nose. But on a foggy night, when Santa must have been concerned that he maynot be able to deliver his Christmas gifts around the world, Santa spotted himand kindly asked if he would step to the front as the leader to 'guide my sleigh tonight.' His shiny red nose would after all be very useful in lighting the way, Santa thought. From then on 'all of the other reindeers loved him," and rightly predicted that he 'would go down in history.'

Among the moral lessons the story can impart is that an attribute that is perceived as negative or as a liability can be used for a positive purpose, or, become an asset. It also makes the point that an individual should not let the negative behavior of others define him or her and limit expectations of what can be achieved. And it also illustrates how quickly opinions and attitudes about a person can change.

The question still lingers however of where Rudolph came from. He is commonly regarded as the son of Donner (or Donder), one of the original eight reindeers. But the Snopes.com site rejects this however, saying that he dwelled in a reindeer village elsewhere and it was there that he was seen by Santa who had already started on his Christmas Eve journey to deliver gifts. And in a more
modern evolution of the story according to Wikipedia.com, an animation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) introduced a son, named Robbie, of Rudolph. That son has now become the tenth reindeer.

It's also interesting to note that the idea of Santa's sleigh being pulled by reindeers was originated in the poem, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas.' That poem tells the story of St. Nicholas, who is Santa, calling his eight tiny reindeers by their names, as previously mentioned, just before he came down the
chimney of a house to start filling the stockings from a sack full of toys he carried on his back.

5 Holiday Survival Tips For Retirees

The holiday season can be exciting and fun, but it can also be exhausting or lonely for some. Retirees need to keep in mind some simple but helpful tips for making the season more enjoyable and less stressful.

1.Keep your focus on the reason for the season. The holiday season – no matter what your religious faith – is a time of celebration and spiritual refreshment. The beginning of a new year can be a time of new commitments, new beginnings and new opportunities. The season offers a reminder and a chance to reorder our priorities and make the most of each day. Adjusting our perspective in light of spiritual teachings can bring brightness and hope into our daily lives throughout the coming year.

2.Pace yourself. Many people arrive at the actual holiday too exhausted from preparations to actually enjoy the day. Many people find it helpful to limit the amount of time and energy spent on any part of the preparations for the holiday at a given time. Some people structure their days to shop for two hours, then rest for one hour, and then do another task. It is also important to pace yourself in terms of activities and events. Sometimes, what we need most is control over our time and activities. If you are becoming overwhelmed by the array of events and activities and you find that your schedule is filling rapidly, you might do well to make some choices. Limiting your activities to the most important events might help you pace yourself and prevent the exhaustion that can drain the fun from everything.

3.Don’t be alone unless you want to be. The holiday season can be very sad and depressing for those who find themselves alone. If you don’t have family or friends nearby with whom you plan to spend part of the holiday, you can still spend the day with others. Check in your community for gatherings of others who would otherwise be alone. Or – better yet – find a community opportunity to help others on the holiday. Most communities have programs that offer meals to the homeless and needy. You can be with others and feel wonderful about the way you spend the day by volunteering to help with preparation and serving of the meals.

4.Don’t lose sight of the budget. Overspending during the holidays is very easy. But it can create a lot of stress in January when the bills start to arrive. It is so much fun making purchases of gifts for children and grandchildren that the budget can easily be forgotten. Be honest and realistic about what you can afford to spend on gifts and entertaining. Then stick to the budget. Keep in mind that a modestly-priced gift that fits the recipient can mean more than the most expensive new thing available. Some families manage spending by setting clear limits on the cost of gifts for the adults in the family. This allows them to spend more on the younger children. Be creative in thinking about holiday spending and try to keep your focus on the right gift for each individual rather than the most expensive.

5.Don’t lose sight of your dietary needs. Many of us have special dietary needs as we grow older. Whether we are just eating smart or we are watching sugars, fats and cholesterol, many of us need to maintain a healthy diet – even during the holidays. In most cases, it is okay to splurge a bit at a holiday dinner or party if we adjust our diets during the rest of the day to keep our overall diet within bounds. Remember that making yourself sick by ignoring your dietary needs will not make the holiday more enjoyable for you or those around you.

I hope these very practical tips will help you get the greatest possible enjoyment and renewal from the holiday season. By keeping things in perspective and monitoring spending and diet, you will probably enjoy the holidays more. Pacing yourself and keeping a view to the meaning of the season in your belief system will help you avoid exhaustion and renew yourself as the New Year begins.