Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas Aftermath

3 more sleeps 'til Santa comes!
I'm really excited, mostly because I know that, this year, my little boy will have a better understanding of the whole thing and I just can't wait to see him opening his pressies on Christmas morning.  

That's where the excitement turns to a tiny pang of guilt... this is one spoilt little boy.  At this age it's so easy to over buy, and we certainly have.  I imagine all parents - especially those with only children, like us - tend to want to buy all those toys that we loved and all those toys that we always wanted too and that is how we ended up with a trolley load in ToysRUs... we managed to cull a little and shelled out a well earned and slightly under-budget $120 for our spoils.  
The problem is, our little man already has soooooo many toys (even after cleaning out before we moved) and will be further showered with pressies and attention all Christmas day, and every other day.  When we get back from visiting family and finally get to unpack our new home, some serious culling will occur in the econo-family household, all excess items will be sold or donated and the proceeds will be returned to savings where they belong.
There is tip #1 for surviving the new year - clear out all the old stuff that is no longer needed and sell, donate or toss it.  This will not only earn you some pocket money but I've found that a good clean-up always leaves me feeling lighter.

The new year is a great time to get the finances in order, like most people, money always appears somewhere in my list of new years resolutions.  I recommend, spending some time browsing around your favourite budget sites (if this is a new idea for you check out my previous posts and favourite websites) and working out your needs and wants, getting it all out on paper and then start enjoying a life free of financial stress!

Check out: 
Simple Savings (particularly the free 2011 'war on debt' calendar in the downloads section)
One Womans Trash