'Tis The Season

‘Tis The Season

Happy Monday everyone!

October 1 is history friends and that means that we are racing at the speed of light toward that “wonderful” holiday season!
I put that in quotes on purpose! You may or may not agree but for me personally, the holidays are a point of stress. I worry about money, about gifts and food, about parties and about traveling, and so on and so on!

I realize that the holidays should not be a pain point for us but it is every year and I would really like to change that. More than changing that mindset for myself, I would really like to make sure that I don’t pass it on to my kiddos. There is A LOT going on at the holidays for everyone and to think that it’s not going to be a time of year that is packed with events and parties and shopping and all things expensive is just a dream, but I do think we can find a way to lighten the load and teach that to the kids instead!

Here are my thoughts:
It’s October. We have about 3 months until we have to cross the finish line of Christmas. What if we start preparing and planning to cross that finish line NOW instead of a month from now? Or in my case, usually, 2 months from now?! Yes! I admit it! I don’t even begin thinking ‘Christmas’ until December 1st.
BUT this year, that is going to change. This year we are taking on that wonderful old saying,

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

Everyone knows this is true and it may be something that you tell your kids on a regular basis but do you SHOW it to them? If not, here’s your shot!

Here are your action steps:

1. Sit the kids down and ask what they would like for Christmas. Tell them that your family is going to start planning for Christmas because, you guessed it, “failing to plan is planning to fail!” Get them to at least start their list.
2. Talk to the kids about who else they would like to buy for this year. Do they usually buy for other friends, their siblings, you and your spouse? Talk about setting a budget for this. How much are they going to spend on each person?
3. Talk to the kids about a project that they are going to be a part of. Do they have a project at church that they would like to contribute to? Would they like to donate some items to Toys for Tots? Would they like to make Christmas cards and deliver them to the assisted living facilities? Do they want to ‘adopt’ a family in need?

Now, here’s where the true money talk comes in!!

4. Talk to them about where the money for these projects and gifts is going to come from. Encourage them to help fund some of the things they would like to do for the holidays. This is a great time of year to start a little business to help pay for their Christmas desires. Could they start a little e-comm store? Could they make some Christmas ornaments and sell them on your Facebook page? Could they rake leaves for neighbors or plant some fall shubs for them? ANY ideas they may have to earn some cash would be awesome! Afterall, one of the big missions we have as Wealthy Kids parents is to teach them how to earn!

In an ideal world, this is what this looks like:
1. Kiddos make a list of what they would like for Christmas and give it to you so that you can begin planning and be a really great example.
2. Kiddos make a plan for the people they would like to buy for and set a budget for that. 3. They also pick a “project” or way to give back and plan a budget for that as well.
Now they have a number to shoot for!
4. Next, they make a plan to figure out how to earn either all or some, (if you’re going to help them) of that money.

I don’t know about you but when I make a plan and have an idea of what the future may look like, it takes an enormous weight off of my shoulders. When those stressful times start to gain on me, they don’t really catch me off guard because I have already thought about them, written some things down and made a plan for the cost. That’s what I want the holiday season to feel like this year - a little easier. And, I want to show my kids that if they take the right steps they can be prepared as well. And when you’re prepared, life just gets a whole lot easier!

Cheers!
Amanda