Every year, I tell myself that I’m going to scale back on holiday spending. And every year, I manage to spend the same amount as, if not more than, the year before. This year is going to be different. Even if I am looked upon as a Scrooge, I simply must cut back and stick to my plan. So how am I going to do this? … I have put together a list of 10 things to do to reduce Christmas spending, which I plan on following. I thought that, given the current economic situation right now, it might be a good idea to share the plan.

1. Set A Budget And Stick To It

It’s easy to say it, easy to build it, but not so easy to stick to it. For me, budgets are like diets. I’m usually pretty good at sticking to them at the beginning, but once I decide that I’ve done a really good job, I like to reward myself and cheat a little bit. But, not only do I feel guilty afterwards, I feel weak. Same goes for budgets. Sit down one night and seriously decide how much money the *entire family* can afford to spend on gifts. It’s much easier to stick to a budget if the entire family is on board (similar to dieting — if you’re all eating the same foods, you’re less likely to falter.) When you come up with the *magic* number, write it down. Stick it on the refrigerator. Tape it to the bathroom mirrors. Give yourself a daily reminder that you must keep to that number. Even if you receive extra cash in the form of bonuses, lottery winnings or even a raise, do not go over that number. Incidentally, when I found myself over on last year’s budget, I actually returned gifts!! Now, that took a lot of willpower, but I was so proud of myself!

2. Give A Family Gift Rather Than Individual Gifts

This is one that we have done in the past, and it’s a great way to reduce costs for gift giving. For example, if you were to purchase a individual gift for a family of five, spending approximately $30 per family member (not including any taxes) you would spend $150. If you have three or four families that you exchange gifts with, this can add up quickly. Why not consider giving a family gift, for example, a DVD board game, or a family pass to a local zoo? Oftentimes, these will cost $50 or less. Multiply that by four families, and you’ll potentially save $400!

3. Send Electronic Greeting Cards

Although this is not something that I personally practice — I still have an unyielding need to send the traditional cards — it is a great way to save some holiday cash. The cost of some of these holiday greeting cards can be outrageous, so I usually compromise by going with a middle-of-the-road quality. And, if I’m really lucky, I can usually find them on sale after the season has ended for the next year’s delivery. On average, I will spend around $20 on my cards. Even though my Christmas list has been pared down over the years, I still send over 50 cards a year. At Canadian postal rates, this equates to almost $30 in postage. If I was to switch the gears and send electronic cards, I could save an additional $50 in holiday spending. I’m working on this one. However, if you are willing to go the e-Card route, 123 Greetings is a great option. It’s free, and you are allowed to send one card to up to 100 recipients at a time (all you need is their email address). You can even store your Christmas list on their server for future deliveries.

4. Pay Cash For Everything

Avoid the temptation to pull out your credit card for any holiday spending. Save your credit for emergencies only! Not only will you avoid going further into debt by financing your family gifts, you will save any future interest that will inevitably accrue against your purchases. This is something that might need to be started at the beginning of the year. Use your budget amount and divide it into monthly contributions. Set the money aside each month, and come Christmas shopping time, you will have the cash on hand.

5. Consider Handmade Gifts

A homemade gift can be made with your kids, in bulk, and inexpensively. For a great resource for ideas, go to FamilyFun.com — there are wonderful ideas for quick and easy gifts that kids can make, last-minute gift ideas, and even gifts for pets! If you’re felling a little more adventurous, and have a little extra time on your hands, some of the handmade gifts found on Martha Stewart’s webpage are beautiful and unique.

6. Keep Your List Short

Only give gifts to those you really care about. Don’t buy gifts for your co-workers, dentist, paper boy, and the guy down the street that gave your car a boost four years ago. If you want to extend your holiday wishes, a card is sufficient. Keep your gift list to family members, and if your family is quite large, consider starting a “Secret Santa” tradition. Many families are even omitting all adults on their list and only exchanging gifts for children.

7. Shop In Unusual Places

Most shoppers flock to traditional shopping malls because they are convenient, and usually have an abundance of stores where you can find a gift for everyone on your list. Why not try online shopping? Not only can you price compare with other retailers at the click of a button, but many online retailers are offering free shipping for the holidays, which can save you both money and gas! Also, check out some of the local boutique stores. This is typically the time of year where they expect their business boost, and they are more apt to reduce their prices for unique gifts. Additionally, boutique stores oftentimes provide free gift wrapping — another saving to you! Of course, you can also check out eBay for some items that are difficult to find in stores. Just be sure you are not overspending just to get that “in” toy, or “gotta-have-it” video game!

8. Give The Gift Of Time

Do you know of someone with children that could use a night off? Offer to watch the kids for them for an evening. Or, maybe you know of an elderly person that could use some help around the house. Offer to clean their home, cut their lawn, or simply spend an afternoon with them going through some old photos. Offering up your time costs you very little, but can be a treasure to someone else. You can even print out a *coupon* with your offer and slip it into a holiday card to give it that *real* gift feel.

9. Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

I’m always amazed that we, as a society, purchase products strictly for the purposed of puting them to the curb, whether it is in the trash or the recycling. Christmas wrapping paper is no exception. Many people begin opening gifts with the intention of either recyclying the paper, or even saving it to be reused the following year, but in the flurry of excitement (at least in our house), the good intentions seem to lose the battle. My brother-in-law is the only person I know that actually saves the paper from his gifts (it’s painful watching him carefully peel the pieces of tape off one-by-one — I’ve since switched exclusively to gift bags for his gifts.) If you have some sewing skills, a simple fabric gift bag using scrap bits of fabric is a great way to save a tree! The bag can be kept by the recipient, or can be reused for another gift. Another idea is to use butcher paper (the brown wrapping paper used for wrapping meat) which can be purchased in huge rolls, for little cost (compared to traditional wrapping paper). Some paint, glue and a little imagination, and you can create some beautiful paper for your gifts. In fact, my sister-in-law wrapped on of my husband’s gifts with paper that she had painted a primitive snowman on. Not only did I not throw the paper away, but I framed the “art” and it now gets hung up every year as a Christmas decoration!

10. Don’t Glut On Your Holiday Dinner

A topic that is usually missed when discussing holiday spending is the food and drinks that are consumed. It’s very important to put yourself on a grocery budget, as well as a gift budget. Convenience foods (pre-packaged or frozen) can cost more than if you made the recipe yourself. Only make enough food for the number of guests you are expecting, and maybe one or two leftover meals. I have been guilty of this for years, and my traditional holiday meal used to have 11 — yes, eleven — vegetable dishes. I also used to go on a hunt for the largest turkey I could find so that we could have leftovers for weeks. If you are only expecting a handful of guests, consider purchasing just a turkey breast or two. Sure, you won’t be able to stuff it, but most stuffing recipies don’t even need to go inside a bird. And, you’ll spend less money on hydro (or gas) to cook the meal because it doesn’t take hours! When it comes to alcoholic beverages, don’t feel that you are responsible for providing an entire bar menu for your guests. A nice bottle each of red and white wine, and a choice of lager or ale is sufficient. And, don’t feel shy about asking guests to BYOB — that way, if someone has a particular preference, such as your Uncle Bob who you know enjoys a Bloody Cesar every so often, you won’t find yourself buying the vodka, tomato juice, tobasco, celery, lemons, and special cesar spices simply for one person to have one drink.

There are literally hundreds of ways you can cut back on holiday spending, and these are just a few of the simple, yet effective ways to reduce your costs. By cutting back on your spending, you can also alleviate some of the stress that goes along with parting with your hard-earned money. Hopefully some of these items struck a chord with you, and gave you some ideas on how you can make your Christmas a little more affordable.

1. Set A Budget And Stick To It

I said it. I built it. And I stuck to it. Okay … so maaayyybee I went a eentsy-weentsy bit over … but a less-than 10% overage is pretty good in my books. How did I do it? I took my list from last year, cut it in half, and forced myself to adhere to the number — no matter what. I bargain hunted, I only bought items on sale, and when I found a really, really great deal, many people on my list received the same gift.

2. Give A Family Gift Rather Than Individual Gifts

I’ll admit this was a toughie for me. I did give one gift that was ‘supposed’ to be a family gift, but alas, it was more for him than for her. I felt guilty about this, so I ended up buying a few extra things just for her. Sort of counter-productive, don’t you think? However, I did manage to combine a few gifts for the kids by purchasing games they could play together rather than buying individual gifts for each child in the families.

3. Send Electronic Greeting Cards

Sigh … I tried. I really, really tried. But I just couldn’t do it. I guess it is in my DNA to send traditional cards. I did manage to find cards at a 50% discount, and I also purchased my stamps at Costco — they charge a few dollars less than the post office. Finally, my mailing list was reduced to the bare minimum which also saved a few more dollars.

4. Pay Cash For Everything

Except for the one time that I forgot my Interac debit card, I did not pull out my credit cards to pay for any purchases this year. There was a brief moment where a cashier was trying to coerce me into using my card to collect the useless points on the purchase, and after a mild argument, I finally relented and coughed up the credit card. After doing so, I immediately pulled out my debit card and paid the entire balance. THAT felt great!

5. Consider Handmade Gifts

For the past two decades I have been making cookies to hand out as gifts for friends and family, and unfortunately this year, I did not get an opportunity to do my traditional baking. Soooo … I’m thinking that there might be some Groundhog Day cookies in the near future.

6. Keep Your List Short

This year, I pains me to admit that I did not give a gift to the mail carrier, the crossing guard or the paperboy. It still haunts me, but I’m slowly dealing with the anguish. But, guess what? … I still get my mail, I am still escorted across the street and the newspaper still lands on my doorstep every morning. Okay, so maybe the paper lands more on the lawn than the porch, but I can safely say that none of these individuals are miffed at the lack of gift receiving on their part. And for the extended family members that did not receive a traditional gift, I’d like to say “thank you” for supporting our decision to reduce our expenses this year. I know you all felt ‘weird’ about the whole thing, but it’ll get easier — trust me.

7. Shop In Unusual Places

This year, I went into about six stores that I had never stepped foot into before. I probably walk past them on a weekly basis, but because they are not part of the mainstream, big box, retail world, I avoided them in the past. As it turns out, I was able to source many gifts at a much lower cost than I would have if I had shopped in the larger stores. Ironically, when I went back to one of the stores to pick up a second gift similar to one I had purchased a few days before, they were out of stock. So I left! … I ended up not buying the second item, thus saving a few dollars that I didn’t need to spend in the first place.

8. Give The Gift Of Time

Normally, I do not have extra time to give away, so this isn’t usually on my list. But, I did give my father a haircut a couple of days before Christmas. It not only saved him time and money, but it was a great opportunity for Dad and I to spend some quality time together — something that we do not do often enough.

9. Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

I am proud to announce that I did not spend a dime on Christmas wrapping paper this year. I am ashamed to admit that it is because I had so much left over from years gone by that I didn’t need to. Now that the truth is out there, I will say that I used up most of the paper on hand, and next year, I’ll have an opportunity to make some homemade paper. I also took advantage of gift bags this year, which can be used again and again.

10. Don’t Glut On Your Holiday Dinner

This year, our holiday dinner went WAY off the beaten path. In fact, we did not even cook a turkey! Gasp!! You see, our family usually spends about 3-4 hours together before the kids are off to bed, and in past years, 2-3 hours of that has been spent preparing, cooking, eating and cleaning up. We decided this year to do a simple, one-dish meal, with easy serving and cleaning. We also kept the menu to three items (salad, side and main), and omitted dessert completely. This year, I also had the foresight to make my own wine in the summer so it would be ready for the holidays. Instead of spending $15 on a bottle of wine, I was proud to serve our own brew, which only cost about $3 per bottle.

Looking at all of these ways to cut back on holiday spending, I am very glad (and so is hubby!) that I managed to fare as well as I did. Our stress level was reduced, the holidays were just as exciting, and our bank balance thanks us. I used to think that making Christmas “affordable” would be painful, but it seems that it’s actually a little bit fun.

Recently, my husband cooked up a batch of eggs for some egg salad. The first egg he cracked open and peeled had a yolk that was somewhat gooey for his liking. He picked up one of the unpeeled eggs and proceeded to place it in the microwave. Shaking my head, I strongly warned him not to do it. He politely told me that he knew what he was doing.

“3” beep “0” beep “start” … hummmmmmmm … beep – beep – beep …

Those were the last few sounds my husband remembers hearing before removing the egg from the microwave. The next sound we both heard was somewhat akin to the report of a shotgun. Ironically, the egg behaved in just about the same manner. Let me explain … according to Wikipedia, a shotgun blast is described as follows:

“The shot pellets from a shotgun spread upon leaving the barrel, and the power of the burning charge is divided among the pellets, which means that the energy of any one ball of shot is fairly low. In a hunting context, this makes shotguns useful primarily for hunting birds and other small game … Shotguns are also used for target shooting sports such as skeet, trap, and sporting clays. These involve shooting clay disks, known as

clay pigeons, thrown in various ways.”

When the egg exploded in my husband’s hand, it separated into about a million pieces, making it quite useful for the hunting bird who laid the egg to use my husband for target practice. Even though it was not an egg from a pigeon, I still say it was revenge.

In all seriousness, please don’t ever put an egg in a microwave. Read this article from NewScientist for the dangers of doing so.

Recently, my husband’s employer began “releasing” a number of their employees. Laid off, let go, downsized … whatever term was used in each situation, the bottom line is the same. People lost their jobs. So now I am constantly on edge about my husband losing HIS job, constantly looking over his shoulder to see if “he’s next.”

Every time the phone rings and I see his number on the call display, my heart skips a beat. Is this it? Is this the call where he tells me he’s been let go? We’ve been lucky so far, but after a meeting today with his supervisor, he was told that things “do not look good.” The fear, for me, has become a reality. It’s almost a guarantee that his position will be eliminated in the next few days, weeks, months – no one knows for sure, but it’s no longer just a suspicion.

So what should we do? … Instinct tells me to flip out. We have a mortgage, utilities, credit card bills, college funds, car payments, FOOD for cryin’ out loud!!! Trust me, I WANT to flip out. But, I have a family that needs me, and they need me sane.

So, I’ve decided to plan. Plan for the inevitable. Plan for the worst. Plan for tomorrow.

Tonight, we’re hauling out the resume and dusting it off, slapping on a coat of polish, giving it a brand new shine. Networking, putting the feelers out there, outright applying for other jobs is the next step. This is how he got his current job in the first place. The difference this time around is that he has steady employment while looking for another position – a sense of security (albeit very small) that we did not have during the last job hunt.

Am I scared? Sure! … But I keep telling myself that they may be able to take away my husband’s job, but they cannot take away what he can offer another company. He is intelligent, honest, hard working and reliable. He has valuable skills, knowledge, and experience. He has integrity, dignity and a work ethic that makes me proud. These are the things that he gets to bring with him. No one can take them away.

No one.

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2″ in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full?

They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous — yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar – effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children—things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.” “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. “Take care of the rocks first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.”

At least we had some time to plan for it because I had already hauled out the resume, dusted it off, slapped on a coat of polish, given it a brand new shine.

On that day, I began my new job as a recruiter, slash resume expert, slash job application girl, slash headhunter. Our networking had gone viral – emails were sent, calls were made, jobs were applied for.

It’s now been exactly four weeks since that day, and there are many pokers in the fire, as it were. He’s been on interviews, phone screening interviews, panel interviews. And everyone is saying the same thing – we’re going to make a decision over the next couple of weeks.

I’m just getting tired of the “hurry up and wait” crap.

The dam is about to burst. Something’s gotta give. And, I’m hoping that in the next day or two he gets an offer than he cannot refuse.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have many, many, many pet peeves. This just happens to be the pet peeve of the day.

I have a popcorn husk stuck – and although I might describe it as between my teeth, that’s not exactly true. It is stuck between my tooth and the inside gum beside it. And I cannot get it dislodged! I have tried brushing, flossing, gargling, swishing, toothpicks bread,, gum chewing and tongue Olympics, and nothing seems to work.

Soooo … searched the Internet and found out that this is a very common problem indeed (and not one that I am unfamiliar with – I am also a popcorn junkie).

But one thing that I found to be particularly interesting is one person’s ingenuity – Gregory J. Rosen of Long Branch, NJ, invented a tool, currently under US patent number 6640815, that is described as a “consumer usable popcorn kernel and/or husk removing dental instrument.” … Now how ingenious is that?? Check it out on Google’s Patent Search here.

Patent number 6640815

Here’s what the patent states.

“A dental instrument including a plastic handle with a generally planar pick at at least one of its ends, with the pick being of a plastic or emery board composition of given shape and angulation, with a rasped surface about edge portions of the pick so as to fit within a user’s mouth on either the inside or outside of the gingiva, in serving as an emergency dental treatment relief device in dislodging popcorn stuck in the teeth.”

But I have yet to find one that actually exists. I could always switch to “hulless popcorn,” but even that seems to be non-existent (although some have come close). So, until I can actually find these … sigh … I guess I’ll just have to switch to Jujyfruits.

An ear candle is something like a long, hollow cone that has been soaked in beeswax or paraffin wax and then set aside to harden. During ear candling, the “ear-candle-ee” lies down on one side, while some supposedly trained person sticks the point of the cone inside your flippin’ ear! … Oh, wait, it gets better! … The trained “therapist” then sets the cone on FIRE and it is left to BURN FOR A FEW MINUTES!! … Are you freakin’ kidding me?

Don’t know about you, but my mother always told me never to put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. And, not once did she ever suggest I set my elbow on fire!

Apparently, the flame is supposed to create warmth and a mild vacuum effect, which in turn gently draws the ear wax out of the ear canal. Some people also suggest that ear candling can cure a wide range of medical issues, like ear aches (hmmm…Tylenol), sinus infections (hmmm…. sinus rinse), sinus pain and pressure (hmmm…. Advil) and vertigo (lie down, fer cryin’ out loud).

According to an article in the The Journal of Laryngology and Otology, “Ear candles: a triumph of ignorance over science,” the study found that “A critical assessment of the evidence shows that its mode of action is implausible and demonstrably wrong. There are no data to suggest that it (ear candling) is effective for any condition. Furthermore, ear candles have been associated with ear injuries. The inescapable conclusion is that ear candles do more harm than good. Their use should be discouraged.”

The US FDA import alert states that: “CDRH considers the product to be dangerous when used according to its labeling, since the use of a lit candle in the proximity of a person’s face would carry a high risk of causing potentially severe skin/hair burns and middle ear damage.”

Furthermore, Health Canada’s Medical Devices Regulations state that certain types of medical devices, including ear candles, require a licence from Health Canada before anyone can sell them for therapeutic purposes. Do you know how many licenses they have issued to date? Zero.

So, the next time you think you might want to have hot wax lit on fire while sticking out of your ear, I’d like to wax poetic for a moment. It is illegal. It is dangerous. It is stupid. And for anyone offering this service, not as a therapeutic practice, but for “entertainment purposes only?” That’s a load of crap.

For the most part, I maintain a fairly regular, albeit not so healthy all the time, diet. I tend to stay away from the white starchy stuff, but I’ll admit that I am a sucker for deep fried stuff and cheese (which is probably why my doctor slapped my wrist a couple months ago for cholesterol levels.) My promise to him was to lose weight, exercise more and change my eating habits.

Which I did. Successfully.

However … (yes, of course, there must be a however) over the holidays, I decided to say, “screw it,” and not deprive myself of the two things that I simply cannot avoid at Christmas time.

1. Egg Nog
2. Shortbread

If my calculations are correct (and again, not a mathematician or dietician) then I estimate that I consumed approximately ½ litre of egg nog and just one measly freaking pound of shortbread cookies. On New Year’s Day, I stepped on my shiny new scale (a gift from hubby – which is okay ‘cause it was by request from me), and Holy-Mother-Father-of-Christmas, I had gained 6 pounds!!

So here’s what I plan to do. This afternoon, when I go to the bank, along with the cheque I need to deposit into my account, I’m going to sneak in a few bars of shortbread. If the theory pans out, I should have approximately $1,239,011 by the time the Easter Bunny breaks into my house and leaves a whole bunch of chocolate – which, by the way, I’ve heard rumours that chocolate yields compound interest as well.