Over the next twelve days I will be writing about the twelve debts of Christmas. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the holidays, no matter if it is financial, emotional, mental or simply exhaustion these posts are for you! So let’s get started.

1. The first debt is to yourself. You have likely committed to too much for too many for too long. So many friends and even myself in years past get to Christmas only to find that all of the preparation was hollow. The gifts are shortly discarded, seeing the family may not be all you thought it would be, so you get to December 25th or 26th and realize that Christmas has come and gone. It is all over, but you have exhausted yourself and your resources and committed yourself to paying for the holidays well into the new year.

TAKE A STEP BACK. Just for a minute think about what you are doing.

1. Why are you overspending the money you have to spend. Instead of spending freely what you can you spend grudgingly what you do not.
2. Do your family and friends care for you so little that they would want this stress on you? If the answer is ‘no’, then you have to assume they would still love you even if you were under budget!
3. Are you willing to continue to have a stressful holiday season for the rest of your life? There is no holiday that will magically be ‘better’. If you don’t change, you can’t expect anything else to change.
4. Commit to change! If you plan to continue what you have been doing, then please stop reading now. If you are tired of the status quo and would like to reclaim your JOY at Christmas, then check the Family Holiday Ground Rules post where we will discuss setting your ground rules for next year and (if you have them) getting your spouse or partner on board!