Ashley Stieb | Live a Life By Design

Primed and Ready to Spend

Posted on August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

For the past year-and-a-half, scientists raced to develop effective COVID-19 vaccines and governments and companies worked to make vaccines available. Today, seven vaccines are approved in 176 countries. More than 2 billion doses have been administered, and about 14 percent of the world’s population has been vaccinated. It’s a remarkable achievement.

While there is a lot of work left to do, the Centers for Disease Control offered new and more lenient guidance for fully-vaccinated people in May, and restrictions across the country are being lifted. The result has been a surge in social activities we used to take for granted. According to the latest Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index:

“…Americans’ reemergence is moving full steam ahead. A majority have dined in a restaurant or visited friends and relatives in the past week – and these numbers continue to climb each week…At the same time, Americans are reporting small improvements to their mental and emotional health.”

One unexpected side effect of the pandemic is Americans spent less and saved more than normal. As a result, credit card balances are lower and personal finances have improved.

You know what they say about money burning a hole in your pocket.

Americans are ready to spend some of their savings. While some remain reluctant to venture far from home, others are ready to travel. The 2021 Summer Travel Index showed:

63% of survey participants planned to take a trip in the next three months
74% planned to travel in the United States
13% will travel abroad
29% have weekend jaunts planned
28% will be traveling for 10 or more days

People who aren’t ready to travel are spending, too. Morning Consult asked Americans what they were excited about doing as the economy reopens and found that 46% were ‘very excited’ to return to a ‘normal’ routine. The list of activities includes eating at a restaurant, socializing, attending parties or weddings, going to the movies, visiting amusement parks or museums, and attending concerts and sporting events.

While having extra money inspires many people to splurge, it’s important to keep a level head. Spending has risen sharply during 2021. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, spending increased:

20.6% in January
14.7% in February
27.7% in March
14.9% in April

While the idea of ‘revenge spending’ may be appealing, very few household budgets can withstand sustained increases in spending without significant increases in income. So, as you break free from pandemic restrictions, it may help to keep some basic principles in mind:

Decide which savings habits you’d like to keep. During the pandemic, Americans saved a lot of money. The average household saved about $245 by not going out to eat, $1,400 by not vacationing, and almost $5,700 by not making major purchases, according to the Covid-19 & Finances Survey. Consider whether and how much to continue saving.
Be aware of how much you are spending. When people have extra money saved, it’s just fine to splurge on something fun, especially after a long stretch of missing out on traditional everyday activities. Decide the amount to spend and then track how much has been spent.
Eliminate things that are not needed. During the last year, many people prioritized spending differently. Optional expenses, like dry cleaning, house cleaning, commuting, and happy hours, were eliminated. In some cases, the result was an increase in savings. Review your financial priorities to see if they have changed.

Many people experienced financial insecurity during the pandemic lockdown. As a result, emergency savings accounts and other types of saving have become more important. If your financial priorities have shifted, be sure to talk to a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Spending less and saving more may help you build wealth and improve financial security.

Related Podcasts

The Millennial Perspective: The Struggle is Real

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

You know the feeling when you can never seem to get ahead in life? You feel like you are always a few steps behind and when you feel yourself catching up, it seems like something slowly pushes you back again? Sometimes that’s what it feels like to be a millennial in today’s economy. We are pushed to attend college to get a good job later in life, but is that the reality we find waiting for us once we’ve walked across that stage?

The number of millennials who have graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree and continue struggle financially is larger than you may think. According to a survey conducted by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), only 35% of millennials feel that they make just enough to cover their expenses and 63% state they would have a difficult time paying an unexpected expense of $500. While only 6% of millennials feel that they make enough money to cover their expenses and have disposable income remaining. This indicates that a good chunk of millennials aren’t saving any money because they possibly cannot afford to for a number of reasons.

This struggle to get ahead of your finances leaves some millennials feeling as though college may not be worth it. Why spend tens of thousands of dollars receiving an education, only to be left with a job that not even be related to your degree and outrageous monthly student loan payments? In the past, having a bachelor’s degree, even if you weren’t working in your preferred field, meant you would make more money. This standard has begun to shift, in many cases, and a master’s degree is the new norm. So, another 2-3 years of school preventing you from working, another tens of thousands of dollars for another degree and you still have no guarantee that you will work in the field you have studied or that you will make a decent wage. Seems pretty unmotivating, don’t you think?

So, does this mean that not going to college and immediately jumping into the workforce is better? This, of course, depends on the type of work you are pursuing. There are a number of jobs that do not require a degree that pay well and allow you to live comfortably. However, at the same time, there are plenty that do not. This means that even if you don’t go to college, you still run the risk of struggling financially even without a student loan payment depending on the types of jobs available in your area.

Of course, nothing in life is guaranteed, and we know this. Though, sometimes, it feels like the odds are never in our favor when it comes to finances and getting started in life when compared to the generations before us. I have no doubts that Generation Z, Gen Z for short, will experience similar or worse issues. All we can do is work towards changing this standard and hoping for the best for our children and so on.

Related Podcasts

Millennial Perspective: Walking the Tightrope of Life

Posted on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

Do you ever feel like you are teetering too close to one side when trying to balance your life? For many millennials, this may include work, family, social life, and school. It can be a lot to handle sometimes. So, what can we do to help ourselves get balanced? Well, there are a lot of things to consider and to try. The process of finding balance may include a lot of trial and error. However, when you find the right match, it will have been worth it.

Planning the activities in your life may be the most common way to balance life. When it is all on paper, or on a virtual calendar, you can see the balance more clearly. Let’s say you have to work from 8 am – 5 pm every Monday through Friday. Pencil that in your calendar, long term. Now you can work around it and add family time, social time, or school, whatever is relevant to you. Remember, just because you have empty spaces around that set block, does not mean it has to be filled with something. Prioritize your time in a way that allows you to get through your to-do list and makes you happy and comfortable. Be sure to leave yourself some down time too because we all need to take a breather occasionally. Don’t forget that life has a tendency to take an unexpected turn. In this case, you may need to move things around, but this way you can look at your calendar and make time for everything in advance with a little less stress.

Boundaries can also be helpful when trying to balance life. It can be rather difficult for some people to “unplug” these days, especially with the growing number of work-from-home jobs. When you are working at home it feels strange to take a day off or even just clock out at closing time. Some people even have this struggle in a traditional office setting. This is where your boundaries come into play. You must draw that line of when you stop working and pick up the next part of the day, which for many is family time. This can also be flipped. Many people may run into their family life interfering with your work life. For example, when I was a little girl, I would walk home from school, and I would often call my mom as soon as I walked in the door. I would tell her that I made it home okay, but being the chatty person I am, I would usually carry on a conversation for several minutes. This is where I crossed the boundary into my mom’s work life and brought her family time to her job. My mom is a very kind woman and, of course, never told me to stop calling. However, as an adult that now works full time, I understand how that could have been frustrating at times.

It is okay to tell people “No” sometimes. You cannot make everyone happy. Learning to say no gives you the power to manage your life in a way that works best for you. If you are planning to work on schoolwork, but your friends asked you to go out for the night, say no. You can meet up with them at a time that is better for you. If you are in the middle of something and a co-worker asks you a small favor, say no. Even if feels uncomfortable to say at times, it is okay. Once you give “no” a chance, it will feel more natural over time, and it can be key for reducing stress and balancing life. It also means that when you say “yes,” it will hold more power!

Remember that there will always be something to do as long as life goes on. So, next time you feel yourself getting off-balance, try some of these methods. We, fortunately, get to dictate our own lives, so why not make it a little easier on ourselves? No matter what strategy works for you, finding that balance can lead to less stress and a better quality of life.

Related Podcasts

Millennial Perspective: Steps to Protect Your Financial Health

Posted on June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

Way, way back at the beginning of the Common Era, Epictetus offered some advice that remains relevant today:

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

In 2020, a lot changed – and Millennials are reacting. We’re adapting to pandemic conditions, hoping for economic improvement, positioning for financial market uncertainty, and coping with a lot of stress from the unknown.

One way to address stress is to take positive action by conducting a year-end review of your financial plan. That may not sound like it will reduce your stress but taking control of something you can control may really help. You’ll be able to start the next year with confidence, knowing exactly what you need to do to protect your financial health today and tomorrow.

These three steps can help you get started

1. Assess your work and income situation

Coronavirus has rapidly changed the business landscape. Some companies are at a standstill while others are busier than ever. Last year, Gartner Research reported:

“Dramatic changes in customer demand are putting organizations under huge stress: Sharp declines in demand present serious financial challenges to many businesses, while those facing demand surges and resource shortage risk disappointing and disengaging customers.”

Think about your industry and your company. Will coronavirus have a short- or longer-term impact? How could your income be affected? If it could be affected, are there steps you need take to reduce income risk? What are they?

2. Review your spending and expenses

There is never a bad time to review spending and expenses. This allows you to make sure your spending plan is working for you and is ready for the future. If your income will be significantly different in the near future, your spending plan may change.

Typically, a spending plan keeps spending and saving aligned with income. If your income will be lower in the future, you may need to reduce the amount you spend and save. If your income increases, you may be able to increase the amount you spend and save.

If you cannot find a way to align income and spending, talking to a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ may be a helpful option. They should be able to review your spending and expenses from a professional standpoint to help you set the best course of action.

3. Evaluate your financial plans

It’s important to review your current financial plan to see whether and how progress toward your financial goals will be affected by changes in spending and saving. Sometimes, looking at current spending and saving decisions through the lens of your financial goals can help you decide how to modify your plans.

For instance, when income falls, some people choose to save less, knowing it will push their financial goals further into the future. Others decide to spend less so they stay on track to reach their goals. Often, people decide on a combination of reduced spending and reduced saving. The choices you make will depend on your circumstances.

2020, and 2021 so far, have been years for the record books, often in unwelcome ways. The way you react to what has happened may significantly affect your financial health and well-being over the short-term and your ability to reach your financial goals over the long-term. Do not be afraid to seek help from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to better understand what your financial health looks like.

Related Podcasts

The Millennial Perspective: Financial Literacy

Posted on May 13, 2021May 13, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

As I get older and the more I work in finance, I find that many younger clients around my age are in the dark on many practices and basics of money management, such as investing, creating a budget that works specifically for them, and saving money. This all boils down to a concern about the education we may or may not have received about financial literacy in our school days. This also brings up the concern for the generations that will follow us and the advice they are receiving around this subject.

Without this knowledge of how money works in the real world and how it should be managed can set a lot of people up for failure. There are plenty of programs available to purchase that will teach you different ways to pay off your debts and manage your money. However, those programs can be expensive and are often sought after when it is too late. Currently in the United States, only 17 states require financial literacy courses in their curriculums. While Oklahoma happens to be one the states that requires this course, depending on who may teach the course and what their background in finance may be, the information may not be conveyed in a manner that is thorough and engaging.

These are the kinds of courses that need to be taught by someone with experience in economics and finance with a curriculum that is designed to allow students to make their own choices based on real life situations. They need to be able to get a glimpse of what real money management and decisions are like, so that they can learn from the lessons and apply it later in life. For example, my senior year of high school, my school offered its first ever “Financial Literacy” course. The course was 16 weeks long, was considered an elective and was not required, and was taught by the World History teacher. He did not have any kind of professional financial background and the most I learned in that class was how to write a check and that 10% of what we make is ours to keep. We did not learn about the importance of saving money, we did not learn about the stock market or how to invest, we did not learn about retirement, and the list goes on. The thing is, I already knew how to write a check because that was still a fairly common practice at the time. Also, telling a room full of teenagers that 10% of what we make is ours to keep without any kind of real context or any kind of knowledge about building a budget that works for us is dangerous word play, especially in today’s economic state.

I cannot speak for every student in that class or in the classes that followed, but I can tell you that I definitely gained a confidence in that class and just knew that I had it all figured out. Well, I did not, and it is something that I have struggled with for all of my adult life. Who is to say that if I had a better, more qualified, teacher or if I had learned lessons that would really benefit me in the real world that my situation would have turned out differently? This is something we will never know, but it doesn’t negate the fact that these lessons are a cornerstone and should be handled as such. These are the types of lessons that should not come at a cost to anyone, especially at a point in life when the cost could break you. These lessons should also not be solely placed on the parents to teach. In a lot of cases the parents are also not professionals and while they might have some great advice, they may not be able to paint the bigger picture outside of their own personal experience.

Of course, the wise thing to do for those in my generation that did not receive the ideal financial education, is to seek the advice of a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ who is also a fiduciary. A lot of times, these professionals will offer complimentary consultations to help you get on the right page to managing your money in a way that is designed for you and your specific needs. This can be far more beneficial that buying into a cookie cutter, for-profit program that may or may not work in the end.

Related Podcasts

Millennial Perspective: Planting Roots in a Pandemic

Posted on April 2, 2021May 13, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

As a millennial, buying a home is already hard enough. Trying to save up enough money for an average 6% down payment, trying to determine how much home we can afford, trying to find the time to house hunt, and battling debt to income ratio. Now we are dealing with a seller’s market with some of the lowest interest rates we have seen in years and a pandemic. Many of my fellow millennials are trying to take advantage of these low rates, but it has been a bumpy ride for a lot of us. Throughout this article I will recount my personal experience buying a home as well as the experiences of others in my generation in the past year.

Let us rewind to March of 2020. I know, this is not the best month that we have all had, but it was certainly looking like it was going to be for my husband and me. We had found a home that we both loved at a price point that was perfect in a buyer’s market and we were prepared to take this giant step towards this milestone. We settled on an offer with the seller, signed a contract, and we were on our way. Then the pandemic hit.

Our situation completely changed. We were no longer in a place where we could get the home. Thankfully, our sellers, lender, and realtor worked with us and we were able to essentially pause the whole process. It was only supposed to be two weeks, right? Then two weeks turned into a month, then two months, and so on. When we finally got back to a place where we could proceed, my husband and I ultimately decided that the time was not right and we needed to wait until COVID-19 blew over, so we ended our contract.

Ending our contract and losing the opportunity turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we also decided to move closer to family. Not being able to see anyone and not knowing if we may ever see them again due to a deadly virus makes you think about where your heart is meant to be. We packed everything up a few months later, moved across the state, and devised our new plan. We would rent for another year and look at plans to build our dream starter home the following summer. Then the market flipped, and construction costs rose nearly 130%! It was back to the drawing board for us.

The small community we are now living in is growing and many houses on the market are new construction. Since this was no longer a viable option for us, we would need to find a completed home, but any homes that were listed were typically off the market within 24 hours, were pocket listings, or they entered bidding wars which drove the price up tens of thousands of dollars. This made our search a little tricky. Thankfully, an opportunity to buy a perfect home fell into our laps. We are now back on track to buying our first home. It feels that we got lucky.

I have seen many of my friends post on social media or reach out with the news that they have also found a home. It is great news, and it makes me happy to see so many people in my generation finally able to reach this milestone. I have discussed experiences with several of them and their stories sound very familiar. They spent countless hours searching for homes on sites like Zillow and Realtor.com with little luck. When a home is found and an appointment is secured to view it, it is off the market. You do not get a lot of time to think about the investment you are about to make and practically must sign an offer within hours of viewing the home. The whole task can be very daunting compared to last year’s market. However, with today’s low rates it is something that we simply cannot pass up.

All this to say, hang in there millennials. The timing for buying a house is perfectly imperfect right now. Do not get yourself down if a home falls through. It just means that something better is waiting for you around the corner. Buying a house is a huge step and you do not want to get roped into something that you will regret. Keep searching and the right opportunity will come to you!

Related Podcasts

The Millennial Perspective: Climbing Everest

Posted on March 5, 2021May 13, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Do you wonder how much of that weight may be lifted without the stress of growing debt? Me too! I’ve always said, “We live in America so we will always carry debt. That’s just the way it is.” But should it be? It doesn’t feel like the mindset I or anyone should have when looking at our lives. A vast majority of our country has some sort of debt. With all of the factors of life that affect Millennials differently than other generations, this can feel especially defeating.

If you combine the average student loan debt, credit card debt, mortgage debt, and car loan debt among millennials you’re looking at about $285,000 total. That’s a big, and kind of scary number. This isn’t to say that every millennial has debt in each of these categories. So, let’s break that number down. On average, millennials have about $30,000 in student loan debt, $5,000 of credit card debt, $232,000 in mortgage debt, and $18,000 of car loan debt.

Let’s imagine you have debt in each of these categories. If you had a car loan with a balance of $2,000 with a low interest rate, the average amount of student loans, a credit card balance of $7,000 with a high interest rate, and you just bought a new home. Which of these debts would you want to pay down the fastest? Your first thought may be to pay the credit card off first because it has the highest interest. However, let’s imagine you have enough in your bank account to pay off your car immediately. Even though it has a lower interest rate, you are most likely paying more each month on your car payment versus your credit card payment. One of the best ways to handle this situation is to pay off the car and rather than adding the additional money you now have each month to your cash flow, stick to your budget and stack the extra funds on top of what you are already paying on your credit cards. Now you have eliminated one debt and you will be paying more on your principal balance of your credit cards and will be able to eliminate that debt much faster than you would have originally.

If you can continue to stack your debt, AKA snowball your debt, then you may find that a mountain that once felt like an endless Mount Everest now feels more manageable. Setting a plan to help you start that exhibition and properly manage your money is the key to success. There’s no need to change your entire budget and live off Ramen until your debts are paid. This is just one of the philosophies when it comes to paying off debt. Several others exist, but the important thing is to pick a plan and go.

Living slightly below your means is a good way to pay off debts, but living very far below your means just because of debt may tarnish your quality of life and your relationship with money. Money is a means to an end, not the end all, be all. It is always wise to seek the advice of professionals, such as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to help you create a plan that works for you and ensures you maintain your quality of life. You don’t have to be uncomfortable to be comfortable.

Related Podcasts

The Millennial Perspective: Who To Trust?

Posted on January 29, 2021May 13, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

Millennials have been through the ringer in their short time on this Earth. Many of these events have had big effects on the financial system and institutions in our country. There also happens to be an extremely large gap in financial literacy in U.S. schools. As a result, we find that a good portion of millennials lack trust in said system, institutions, and even the educated professionals working in them. So, what reasons do we have to distrust these professionals and is there any chance of gaining or regaining that trust?

Think about how you handle your finances. Do you take advice from family and friends, or do you use a service, such as wealth management? When it comes to managing finances, a lot of millennials will turn to their friends and family for advice. This could be for a number of reasons, the most common reason you may come across is the cost of using a professional service. I’ve already discussed in previous articles why millennials can’t afford many of the things older generations could at our age. We make less money and things cost significantly more. So, would this be considered an “essential” cost for our generation? Probably Not.

The way we see it is, we simply don’t have enough money to manage, so why would a large portion of us spend money to manage what’s not there to begin with? We likely know that it may be helpful to work out a personalized budget with someone who is certified to do so. Knowing this, why would millennials still stick to family and friend advice versus a professional? The stigma.

There is a stigma working against financial professionals and it’s been determined that they are all in it for the money. They’re just salesmen that are out to make a buck and who cares about your personal finances. This just simply is not true in many, if not most, cases. It’s also why financial literacy is so important. With proper education, trust in the professionals can be built from a young age. You can learn what to look for when searching for a certified professional to know you are getting help from someone trustworthy. A good place to start, is looking at credentials. Are they a “CERTIFIED FINANICAL PLANNERô”, someone certified to have knowledge to help navigate finances? Are they a “fiduciary”, someone legally obligated to do what is best for the client? If so, these professionals would be a good option to help you with your finances and get on the right path.

Another reason millennials may not trust the financial systems in our country has become particularly relevant this past week. You may have heard about the chaos ensuing on Wall Street with a social media platform called Reddit, various stocks, such as Game Stop, and a trading platform called Robinhood. From what I have seen personally, not many of my fellow millennials know a lot about how the stock markets work, but they all seem to agree that Wall Street gets richer while the poor get poorer. So, a crew of Reddit users wanted to fight back and raise the stock of some soon-to-be shorted companies. As a result, these stocks went up in record numbers. Game Stop rose almost 2,500%! In the midst of all of this, Robinhood shut down trading shares for these particular stocks on January 28, 2021. If you had already invested in them, you could no longer invest more and if you had not invested in them yet, you may have missed your chance. The whole point of the Robinhood app is to allow the “common man” to participate in the stock market freely. As you can imagine, this made a lot of people angry. They felt as though the app created to help them was now working for the other side. There is a lot more that goes into this whole story, but to sum it up, the action that Robinhood took to stop people from trading these stocks is a solid reason why millennials don’t trust the financial system in our country and feel like the system works against those who do not already have a large sum of wealth.

I’m not saying that millennials should change their view of the financial world completely, but it’s worth educating yourself on certain things so that you can have a better understanding of how it all works. We all have different financial journeys. What works for your family and friends may not work for you. Do not be afraid to ask for help to build a plan that is designed for and works for you. There are professionals out there that want to help you and it is absolutely worth setting up a consultation just to talk things through and find the right fit for you.

Related Podcasts

The Millennial Perspective: Ending New Year’s Resolutions for Good

Posted on January 8, 2021May 13, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

“My New Year’s resolution is…” I cannot tell you how many times I have said that phrase and I do not think I have ever really fulfilled those resolutions. Goal setting is a fundamental part of life, but it can also be a source of great disappointment and anxiety due to the restrictions we often place on ourselves to achieve these goals. Because of this, myself and many others are switching things up this year. Sure, we all have baggage that we carry with us into the new year that we would like to resolve, but sometimes the way it is stated is not helpful or healthy. Rather than setting resolutions we are setting intentions.

Instead of saying, “I need tolose 20 pounds,” or, “I need to go to the gym every day,” try saying, “I will do my best to lose 20 pounds,” and, “I will do my best to go to the gym every day.” We are not robots. We cannot be perfect. Setting such grand expectations for ourselves can lead to undue stress and with everything else going on day-to-day, why should we cause stress for ourselves? Remember my article about stress last year? Worry about the things you have control over and do the best you can do when you can. Besides, stress can often disrupt our day-to-day actions and the make your goals even harder to achieve. I am not saying you should not set goals at all because you must have something to work towards. Goals are the end game, the bigger picture. Intentions are the day-to-day actions you take to work towards that goal, like mini goals.

I have found that writing my intentions down every day, or however often, helps to serve as a reminder. Again, you must keep in mind that nothing is perfect. Your day may not go exactly how you want, and those intentions might change as the day progresses, and that is okay. If I wake up and intend to take a walk outside, but the forecast suddenly changes, as it often does in Oklahoma, I am not going to beat myself up about it because I cannot control the weather. I will just scratch that off my list and do laps in my living room! Or I can take it as a sign that it just was not meant to happen today, and I will use that opportunity to do something else on my list instead.

It is okay to slip up sometimes. It is okay to skip a workout and eat the cookies at the work luncheon. You can do these things and still reach your goal. There is no need to beat ourselves up when we give into to a few temptations here and there or just simply have a dreadful day. Changing the way our minds think of the things we wish to achieve is huge. It can turn your whole attitude towards an action around. If I say I need to do something that makes it feel like it is a chore and a burden which, in turn, makes me not want to do that thing. When I recognize that I cannot be perfect and messing up from time to time is inevitable, then it feels more like motivation. I am more motivated to do the things I intend to do to achieve my goal when I take a positive and realistic approach. That is what setting intentions to achieve a goal is all about. So, give setting intentions a try this year. Change it up and see how it works for you. You might surprise yourself and be thankful you did it in the end.

Related Podcasts

The Millennial Perspective: The Spirit of Giving

Posted on November 25, 2020May 13, 2021 by Ashley Stieb

The holidays can be stressful for anyone, and being a millennial already comes with its own stressful baggage like expensive student loan payments and lower-paying jobs. Holidays can be a little tricky with these constraints. Gift exchanges, a tradition for a lot of people, may be nearly impossible for some. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to invoke your inner “Scrooge” and fail to participate in the giving spirit of the holidays. Below are my top five tips to alleviate stress and enjoy the act of giving when money is tight.

BE the present* – Sometimes just being with family and friends for the holidays is enough, especially if you live far away from home. I can’t tell you how many times I heard, “you don’t have to get anything for us. Having you here is all we really wanted.” So, if it is fiscally, and physically, possible, try to make it home for the holidays and spend time with your loved ones and friends.
Give the gift of time* – If giving makes you feel good, but your budget doesn’t allow you to buy gifts for everyone, try volunteering your time to give back in other ways. Work at your local soup kitchen and help serve those in need, volunteer to work with a toy drive or a food pantry to provide meals and toys for Christmas day.
Get crafty – If you want to give your loved ones something special during the holidays, try making them something! Think back to your school age days when you would make cards and masterpieces for your family in class. You don’t have to make a macaroni noodle self-portrait, unless you want to, but there are plenty of easy crafts out there that even the most artistically challenged can handle. Pinterest is a great tool for finding fun and easy crafts that your loved ones are sure to cherish for years to come.
Be kind – Some people may be less fortunate than others and you never know what your neighbors are experiencing. Because of this, it is important to be kind. A little bit of kindness can cost $0 and it can go a long way. Give someone a compliment, hold the door for a stranger, or ask someone how their day has been. Anything will do and sometimes the kind, little things can make someone’s whole day. You might be surprised by their appreciation!
Get focused – If the year has not quite gone the way you had hoped, sit down and make a plan for next year. No one said you must shop for the holidays in November and December. Why not shop all year? This way you can give the gifts you want to those you love and you don’t have to drop a fortune all at once doing so. Make a budget and/or set a goal. If you set a budget and want to take advantage of the savings that “holiday shopping” can have, then make a savings goal and plan so you can be prepared when you hit the stores in the Fall.

No matter how you choose to give during the holiday season, there is no sense in adding stress to your life when it already has enough. To many people, the holidays are not about the gifts, but rather spending time with your loved ones. The holidays are meant to be enjoyed and those closest to you will appreciate you and understand your situation. Remember, kindness is the only gift that is worthless until it’s given away. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

*When making plans for the 2020 holiday season, please refer to the CDC guidelines pertaining to social distancing, PPE, and large gatherings with people outside of your immediate household.