COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS – WISE WOMEN’S CLUB FOR JANUARY

No one wants to think about the next Christmas when we are in the middle of January.  Most people do not even like to talk about it until after Thanksgiving of the current Christmas year.  On the other hand, no one likes it to sneak up on them or on their budget.  This year I will be posting on the 25th of every month until December some tips for preparing yourself throughout the year.  I want the Christmas Spirit to be in our hearts all year and this will help you have an abundance of the Spirit in December.  So what are some SIMPLE things can we do NOW to start that preparation?

So for December 25th – January 25th (You may need to do a bit of catch up), I suggest we just enjoy the memories we have created and be sure to thank those that blessed us with gifts of any kind.  I am BIG on thank yous, gratitude and the way that we can make it easy is by using Sendoutcards.com.  By using this company, I can not only save money but time.  We take a picture of ourselves and of our children individually with each gift, place that photo on the front of the card, type our message in our handwriting and push send.  Sendoutcards.com does the rest by printing, stuffing, addressing and mailing all for about $1.70 including postage. Doesn’t have to be fancy.  The system created by this company gives you templates and all sorts of creative ways to dress up the card and it’s user-friendly. It’s also a great way to keep a record of gifts from year to year.

The next thing I want to do right after Christmas, is to do a quick review.  Did it goes as I expected?  Did I enjoy the season? What did I like and what do I want to change? Was there enough money?  With the planning form which you have the opportunity to receive from me for FREE,  you can download a “Reflections” sheet that will allow you to document those questions and more.  This is how my sheet looks this year.

I realize that I planned better this year than last.  There is certainly room for improvement and especially in the money category.  I was able to make it through without credit card debit and right on target with my budget but there was some sacrificing to make that happen and so I want to plan a little better this year in regards to money.  I also want to have enough tucked away for my after-Christmas shopping when all of the great sales take place in January.

So how will I do this?  This is a great idea that I snatched from a user on Pinterest.  I will be putting aside money each week which will grow week by week.  See pictures for examples and you may visit Pinterest for additional examples.  After putting mine together, I found this is the one that I liked best and I also loved her Financial Planner. Click HERE. I am doing both methods of dollars and quarters.  One is to add a $1 in correspondence with what week of the year it is and the other method is a jar with adding a quarter with each corresponding week.  If you do the dollar version you will have $1,378.00 at the end of the year.  The quarter version gives you $344.50.  That’s a nice little nest egg with just some small weekly sacrifices which compound over time.

So that is all I have been doing for the past month and also your assignment for January  if you choose to be part of our Wise Women’s Club for this year. We sure hope you will join us. This is going to be fun and make your life so much easier.  One final tip that may be a little too late but worth taking a mental note.  I will post next year as a reminder.  You can buy the Christmas Hersey Kisses on sale after Christmas at a great price.  Divide the red, green, and silver kisses.  Next, paackage the red and silver together in a sealed plastic baggie for Valentines and the same for the green for St. Patrick’s Day.  That saves you money!  They will usually store in a cool place or you can always pop them in the freezer.

WATCH FOR US NEXT MONTH WITH LOTS MORE IDEAS….FEBRUARY 25TH!!