We hope you had a great holiday season, whether you were traveling or staying home, and that you got everything you wanted!
For a lot of people, it’s back to the grind this Monday morning. That means it’s also time to get back into a "normal" (or reduced) spending routine, figuring out how to meet your financial goals for this year, and start tackling the bills from the holiday season.
If you’re stressed about how much you think you spent in December, you’re not alone. A lot of people get so busy in December that they don’t track or monitor their spending as closely as they should.
Here are a few tips to help reduce that stress:
1. Look at the numbers! Sometimes you’re stressed due to uncertainty, and knowledge truly is power. Check your accounts, including all of your bank accounts and credit card statements, so you really know what you spent. You may be pleasantly surprised that you didn’t spend as much as you thought. Or, you may learn that you have some work to do. Either way, knowing what you’re facing can help reduce your stress by removing uncertainty.
2. Create a January Reset Plan. Because December is so busy, you might have fallen into some bad spending habits, like picking up breakfast on the way to work, ordering in instead of cooking for yourself and more. Time to cut back on those things! You can use the money you save to put toward those holiday bills. Try to pause your non-essential spending for the next two to four weeks. You may realize that you don’t actually miss those extra coffees, and your bank account will thank you.
3. Create an action list. Doing little things can help you feel more in control. Some ideas:
- This is a good time to comb through your subscriptions and cancel one or two that you aren’t using. You can put that money into your CommonWealth One savings account instead.
- Call your credit card companies and ask about fee waivers, lowering your interest rate or payment options. You may qualify for relief programs that will reduce your payment or interest rate.
- Set up a savings plan, including putting a small portion of your paycheck into a savings account automatically. If you don’t see the money, you’re less likely to spend it. You can consider one of our special Vacation savings accounts, or a Holiday savings account to make the next holiday season a little bit easier. We can help you set this up at CommonWealth One!
4. Go back to school. We mentioned earlier that financial knowledge is power. Take a look at the wide variety of financial education options through your credit union. Good news: They are all free! This includes webinars, blog posts, short videos, calculators and more. You can find all of it on cofcu.org — click on the Learn menu option. Plus, you always have the option to set up a free meeting with one of our certified financial counselors, who can help you budget and plan for the future.
5. Be kind to yourself. Holiday spending is often emotional — there are impulse buys, family expectations and more involved. Don’t spend too much time feeling badly that you spent more than you should have. Instead, forgive yourself, create a plan to dig yourself out, and then create a plan to prevent it from happening next year. You might want to talk to a friend about it and use the buddy system to support each other!
We hope you’re having a great start to the New Year! We look forward to seeing you on a free webinar or in a branch sometime soon! We look forward to serving you all year at CommonWealth One!
