Home   |   Company Info   |   Feedback   |   Free Consultation

How to Keep the Holidays from Putting You in a Hole

As the end of another year approaches, most of us begin gearing up for the Holiday season and with it a massive advertising push to shop until you drop.  As soon as you’ve put away your Thanksgiving leftovers, the stores are opening late night to get people lined up for Black Friday.  Then for those who didn’t find what they wanted or are looking for more deals, Cyber Monday is right around the corner.  Never mind that many of the great discounts are only markdowns from a heavily marked up price, but the message that is sent in an overwhelming fashion is to spend, spend, spend.

It is this time of year that in a very short period of time many people paint themselves into a corner that they have to try escaping from for the next several months.  Then once the holidays wind down and we begin the new year, we realize we’ve done it again, going a little (or maybe a lot) overboard, and we go about making New Year’s Resolutions to do better going forward.  While we may feel some regret from the damage done in the aftermath, it’s a cycle that’s repeated year after year.  But it doesn’t have to happen again if you make a commitment now to do something different.

As financial advisors, we often preach about the importance of watching spending, saving money, budgeting, planning, and other principles to try and help our clients build habits for greater financial security.  Your habits control your actions, which make the difference in how well you run your finances.  With that in mind, my church, Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church in Marietta, GA is going to begin 2012 doing something new and potentially very powerful, a 21 Day Financial Fast.  The fast is a kickoff to an overall commitment to financial literacy as well as strengthening and empowering our members financially.  The fast and the principles we will focus on come from the book, “The Power to Prosper” by Michelle Singletary, a noted financial authority and writer for the Washington Post.

Usually when people think of fasting, it is a fast from food, which provides a focal point for spiritual growth, and from a practical standpoint an opportunity to change habits.  As opposed to a resolution, which often ends up being a short term adjustment, a fast can help to change your mindset and instill a new way of life that is sustainable for the long term.  As it is often said, it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so this 21 Day Financial Fast could make a big difference in people’s lives.  Some of the key principles discussed in the book are:

• Spending out of a sense of entitlement vs. being content with what you have

• Budgeting, saving, and investing as keys to building for prosperity

• Family financial issues like couples working together and teaching responsibility to your children

• The damage that is caused by debt and misuse of credit

Ultimately the book and the fast is about becoming a better steward of your finances so you can remove much of the stress we feel while trying to accumulate things, and instead have greater financial peace and peace of mind because you are in a more favorable financial position that allows you to take care of your family and even give to others.  Taking this journey as a Fast is a way of making a positive change through a deeper commitment, because you are accountable beyond yourself.  I would like to invite anyone who would like to participate in this 21 Day Financial Fast to join us and see what kind of change it could make in your life.  I would also invite you to attend the Financial Empowerment Conference we are holding on February 11, 2012.  For details on either the fast of the conference, please contact me.

If you can see how taking a different approach to your finances could benefit you, as you see the retailer ads in the end year media blitz, you can choose not to be drawn into digging a hole for yourself these next few weeks.  Let this be the year that you did not follow the crowd but instead made decisions that will allow you to position yourself and your family for financial peace and freedom now and in the future.