Giving Away $100. Tell Us Your Plan For Dealing With Holiday Bills.
Dec. 25, 2009
My friend Matt Jabs (@MattJabs) who writes the excellent site Debt Free Adventure and I were talking the other day and one of us said, “You know what, we should run a contest and give away $100 to one of our readers who can tell us how they are going to deal with holiday bills.” And I guess that’s how good ideas accidentally happen.
Now Matt and I don’t see eye-to-eye on all subjects, but friends don’t have to. But we were curious how our friends and readers of our individual sites that may also share different perspectives are planning to deal with the holiday bills.
I’ve been helping people for so many years now I know that January will bring the holiday bill shock. No matter how much you’ve tried to hold back, the bills are coming, yes they are. Maybe someone you know will be letting out the “I spent what?” retort about mid-January.
But Matt and I would like to know what your plan is for dealing with them? Are you going to pay them off quickly? Maybe you’ll cut back saving and focus on knocking the bills out? Or maybe you planned ahead and you don’t have any post-holiday bills arriving.
So Here’s How You Can Win $100
All you have to do is post a comment below on this article and tell me how you plan to deal with your holiday bills and post a comment on Matt’s post “Dealing with Holiday Debt and a $100 Giveaway“ and tell Matt how you plan to get back on your own debt free adventure by nuking the holiday bills.
I nominated Matt to pick one person that commented on both articles by January 15, 2010 and that lucky person will get $100 via PayPal on January 16, 2010 to spend, anyway they want.
Hey, maybe you’ll use part of it to pay off some bills. Nah, go blow it and have some fun, you deserve to.
Source: Giving Away $100. Tell Us Your Plan For Dealing With Holiday Bills.
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Tags: conest, giving away money
My answer to nuking my holiday bills is not creating any to begin with. I had a heart to heart with my family and decided that all of us being out of debt was more important than gifts.
Thanks for the great blog and happy holidays!
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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Wendy,
Congratulations for not falling into the debt trap.
Steve
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Used part of the Christmas bonus, only a small part I swear. Rest of it went to my Savings.
Derek´s last blog ..Gift Card Spending Guide
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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Derek,
Having a great emergency fund or savings account is an awesome gift to yourself. Congratulations.
Steve
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I don’t have any plans for dealing with holiday bills, because I don’t have any. We had an paid-for-with-cash Christmas!
Now I do have plans for that pesky student loan that’s been hanging around for too many years…
Lynnae´s last blog ..A Look Back at 2009
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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Lynnae,
Now putting that student loan behind you would be an awesome gift to yourself.
Steve
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What holiday bills? My husband & I have been married over 7 years & have never had a credit card since we got married. So, there’s never any bills from the holidays. Thank God. We’re on a very tight budget & spend as little as possible each year.
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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Lorie,
What holiday bills? LOL Good on you.
Steve
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We paid $375 for a laptop on a credit card. We plan to pay it off over 3 months from wife’s babysitting income.
Ken´s last blog ..UK Basketball & Money
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Steve Rhode Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Ken,
Isn’t it nice laptops are getting so inexpensive. Maybe she could use the laptop when she babysits and take it as a tax write off. :-)
Steve
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We cut down our gift giving this year – only a few people got gifts so we could stay in budget …. just over $100. Our gift to ourselves — paying off 2 charge cards! We couldn’t have done that if we would have went overboard on the presents! Hopefully our birthday gifts to ourselves will be paying off one of the two student loans.
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Started shopping early and with cash, so I don’t have any holiday debt. I spread my shopping throughout the year, starting in August. I just paid off my last credit card in December, so I’m going into 2010 with a whole new outlook!
The $100 would go in my emergency fund.
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As I shared on Matt’s site, I don’t recommend taking on additional debt for the holidays, but if you do, my recommendation is to pay it off (along with any other debt) as soon as possible.
If I won the $100 prize, I would probably use it to buy a new WP Theme for a new website project I’m starting this year.
Lakita´s last blog ..2009 Year in Review
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We have been debt free the last few Christmases, thanks to Dave Ramsey’s plan to prepare for Christmas (did you know it’s December 25 AGAIN this year?!) We use the envelope system and save a certain amount of money each month all year. Then at Christmas time, everyone we buy for is assigned an amount that we spend on them. We usually buy for the same people each year (kids, parents, charity, etc) so it makes it easy.
Our entire budget is based on the envelope system (we use the electronic Mvelopes version), but you can use old fashioned paper envelopes (my mother-in-law still does) or some type of a spreadsheet/log to divide your money into separate areas. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated.
I love being debt free except for the house. When you start to detach yourself from “stuff”, it becomes much easier to say no and focus on your long term goals.
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 11:30 am
Cindy,
Being free of money stress is a great gift to give yourself. I agree, the Mvelopes system works well for many people.
Steve
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We have a small amount of debt accrued from the holidays which is half paid. We paid for the first half the day before Christmas, and as soon as a check clears I will pay off the rest. (likely Monday.)
Why the debt? We planned to pay in all cash but had a few expenses pop up, and rather than dip into our mini emergency fund we decided to pay cash for our emergencies, and use a small amount of debt to fund Christmas and then pay it off with “extra” money we usually get around the holidays.
We kept our EF intact, and still paid our regular snowball amount, so I feel pretty good about the whole thing!
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Kelly,
Great job on making it through Christmas without much financial pain.
Steve
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We save each month for Christmas. We have done that for the last 10 years and it has been wonderful to not have to worry about the bills in January. I even came out a head this year and did not spend the whole amount of money budgeted for Christmas. I will put the extra toward our education fund as we have two children attending college. Thanks for the chance to add to that fund.
:)
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Kim,
Smart plan indeed.
Steve
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Well Steve, my wife and I have chosen to go the debt free route every year – and for everything! The only debt we have is our house. However, if we were to win the $100 I think it would be a great opportunity to pass it along to our kids, explain to them what money is, how it can be used, examples of what would be good uses, and ask them to decide how to spend, save or invest it themselves.
DiscipleshipGuy´s last blog ..Materialism and it’s effect
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 7:22 am
An excellent teachable moment. Good thinking.
Steve
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Great idea! I don’t have any holiday debt. My family and I did a Chinese auction with a $20 limit for Christmas this year. It was the most fun we have had in years, sitting around laughing at each other and watching my 86 year old grandmother get excited and sing Christmas songs!!
I do have a goal for this year however. I am jumping in head first with the goal of paying off my car loan this year. My goal is NOT to eat out at all this year, record the $ I save when others ask me to go out and I don’t or I go and don’t order in a small journal, and then use that money to make extra payments on the car loan. I did this for the first time yesterday after church when my friends asked me to go out to eat and watch the Panthers’ game. I went along, took some raw almonds to eat, and did not order. My friend spent $20 so my first day was a success ($20 I will apply to my car loan). Yay!! I know there will be some exceptions when I must eat out so I am allowing myself $120 for the entire year (all cash) to use for those times. Thanks for all you are doing to help people get out of debt.
Shannon
Shannon Lutz
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With times as tough as they are, we are thankful to have learn a lesson or two about holiday shopping to limit gifts to the kids. We don’t have any holiday bills (and boy, that’s a nice feeling). Any big ticket items are carefully shopped for and saved for. Good luck to all the folks starting their financial diets as the new year begins.
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Renski,
So, it’s just another gift, the lesson of life, and that one is nearly free. Good for you.
Steve
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I’m fortunate in that I don’t have any holiday debt, so I’d plan to pay down an extra $100 on my mortgage since that’s my only remaining debt. My plan is to pay it off in the 7 years or less so I’m debt-free when my oldest daughter is ready to go to college!
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No new debt on my end for the holidays- all purchases were paid off! But that does not mean I am not still paying of previous years’ holiday debt! I have a plan of action in place though to conquer all debt within six years, when I’ll make my final student loan/car payments!
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Shannon,
Now that day will be one for a great big party.
Steve
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I plan on getting out of my debt by being very strict with EVERY single purchase I make…all the little dollars can add up so much if you don’t spend them…I’m keeping track of how much I make, make sure I have enough for major bills (car insurance, payments, etc.) and get that darned credit card paid off as soon as possible!
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Harrison,
That’s a great plan. Go for it.
Steve
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Harrison Burnham Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
in addition, I plan on paying it off as soon as possible, although the money i spent was able to be spent because I don’t have any out-of-the-ordinary bills commin up for these first few months of the year, allowing me breathing time to get caught up and get out of the red and in the green
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I got a few gifts that I wasn’t overly fond of this year, so I am keeping the good one’s, taking back the one’s that just don’t do it for me. I am using that money to pay of the debt I had, plus a little overtime at work. The funny thing is that some people end up paying for their own gifts that way, but hey what better way to use that tacky sweater you got this year.
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Jeremiah,
Smart move on the regifting strategy to reduce debt.
Steve
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Nice discussion!
This year’s holiday debt will be dealt with in our house as quickly as possible, even if that means going out to eat less, shopping less, etc., until it’s paid.
Plan for next year:
Try to get our siblings to agree to a Kris Kringle (aka Secret Santa) system for the children.
Use gift cards we received this year to buy supplies for handcrafting special gifts for next year. I used Rememberthemilk.com and iCal to put myself on a crafting schedule over the entire year.
Remember to use our talents. Many people don’t realize their hobbies and talents are useful and possible money-makers. Independent, part-time contracting or “moonlighting” is the new black (as in, “in the black!”). I personally am going to try to take on more writing work and handcraft more baby shower, birthday, and special occasion gifts.
If I won the $100, part of it would perhaps go toward an Elance.com membership, and the rest toward more supplies for crafting and writing. It would be the gift that would keep on giving!
Christine Cavalier´s last blog ..Google Missing Golden Opportunity to Win Friends, Families.
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Hey Purple Car,
Long time since our Seesmic video days, huh? Glad to see all is well.
Awesome plan to maximize talents. Sounds like fun.
Steve
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We did a pretty good job of not going into debt for the holidays. We went over budget a bit, but that will be paid off this week. We’re firmly on the envelope system and almost completely off cards of any type.
Jason´s last blog ..Bribes vs Rewards
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Jason,
You using the Mvelopes system?
Steve
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Jason@LiveRealNow Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
I’m not. I’ve considered it, but right now, actual envelopes seem to be working well.
Jason@LiveRealNow´s last blog ..Budget Lesson, Part 2
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I didn’t get into debt from the holidays! yay!
I do want to pay off my car loan this year though.
Mrs. Money´s last blog ..Considering Adoption
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Mrs. Money,
Congratulations. It feels awesome not to have a car payment.
Steve
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I’ve been unemployed since September, so i didn’t incur debt for christmas, not that i ever do. It’s pay as you go.
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We have been working on becoming debt free since July. Still working on it! We did pay cash for the Christmas gifts, cut way back and made/built some of them ourselves. I am however still trying to catch up and make ends meet after paying for what we did pay for. It will be great when it happens and I know it will one day. Thanks to sites and helpful tips like yall’s we keep motivated!!
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I was very careful buying Xmas gifts this year. I tried to buy inexpensive but thought filled gifts. Honestly I didn’t feel that anyone really liked my gift.
Still as you say the bills are coming. I am planning to live like a church mouse this month and maybe next.
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I have very small debt in January, so it will be paid off hopefully by Feb. The goal is not to have any debt at all.
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The holidays were extra rough for me this year, but very blessing. I purchased an engagement ring that was definitely way too much, and I proposed to my now fiance down in St Lucia over the Holidays. We stayed for a week which was my Christmas gift to her this year. I visited several jewelers to make sure I was getting a good deal, but everytime it seemed like I wanted to spend more and more on a gift that wasn’t even for myself. To get out of this mess which is several thousand dollars, I’ve already started withholding $200 of my normal $450-500 that I save each paycheck and putting it into a high interest savings account so I can pay this ring off while it is 0%. My resolution this year is to do no more 0% offers or 90 days same as cash.
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Well I was able to pay cash for my 4 nights staying at a cheap hotel for the holidays. So that was good. But then, I had to get a new car battery & starter. I put that on a Discover check with a special low interest rate through April.
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We had a tough year in 2009. Lots of medical issues plus some help needed by our youngest son to get started in the real world. Feeling sorry for myself, I spent more than we could afford. Now that the bills are coming in we have taken the following steps:
1. No spending other than necessities for January
2. Eat out of the pantry and freezer
3. Look around for items to sell on E-bay/Craig’s List.
We will repeat #1 for February if needed. We made the mess and we will take these steps to get out. We are already saving for NEXT Christmas.
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Wow, I feel like a loser when I read these posts! I have debt, unfortunately due to making 25% less income than I was 3 years ago and having it happen suddenly without warning (salary cut at work that they still haven’t given back). So, the holidays were no different. I spent a lot less than in the past, but still spent some on credit. A temp Christmas job helped me make some higher than normal payments to my CC cards this year though.
However, I’d like to be out of debt by the end of the year. So:
I cancelled my gym membership
I cancelled 2 other monthly things I was a member of
I am only allowing myself to order lunch 1 day a week
and I will be starting a part time job in a week of which all the money will go toward paying off these cards.
I would LIKE to get a 0% interest card to consolidate them all on, but lets see if that will happen this year. But in the meantime, I’m going to try to “snowball” the payoffs. I have 2 cards with small balances that I will pay off shortly, then roll those payments over to the one with the highest interest, then pay off the lowest interest one off last. and only buy stuff that i can buy with cash!!!!
This $100 would really help! :)
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We started our Debt Free Adventure in June 2009 and are sticking to it. We paid cash only for Christmas this year and will continue to do so. We are working on our plan and will be Debt Free by 10-2012. Yay!
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snowflaking away at my Christmas debt – will throw all $100 at it if I win! thank you!
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I’ve got a little bit of debt from the holidays, but I am planning to apply a portion of my tax return to it. Also, I’ve been selling a bunch of unwanted presents that I received on eBay/Half, and putting the money toward paying out the holiday debt.
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Steve Rhode Reply:
January 14th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Ernest,
Selling unwanted presents. Good one.
Cheers.
Steve
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I could sure use the help I’m a fulltime med student and can’t even pay my car registration and my Bank Of America account is -350.00 due to their errors and fees…yikes..help!
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And the winner of the $100 Holiday Debt Giveaway Challenge is…………..
Karthik!
We will be contacting you by email then delivering $100 into your PayPal account today (Saturday, 1/16/2010.)
Congratulations! Make sure to use the money wisely. ;-)
Matt Jabs´s last blog ..Credit Financing and Deferred Billing – Kate Answered
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Steve & Matt, thank you so much for hosting this giveaway! Like I mentioned in Matt’s post, this is going straight into the vacation fund my wife and I are saving up for a dream trip this year.
Appreciate the great work you two do! Keep it up.
Karthik´s last blog ..Panasonic SDR-SW21 Shock & Waterproof Camcorder (Green) $297
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