Speech, Speech,

Last month, I was asked to give a speech on financial stress to the employees of Union Hospital. Without hesitation I agreed. Why, because I love the topic of personal finance and this time of year financial stress it at the personal financial list.

In the first part of my talk, I'm going to share 7 practical ways to lesson financial anxiety during the Christmas season. Here are those tips.

1. Make a list of everyone you will be buying for this Christmas and put a dollar amount beside their name. Total the list. Is the total within your budget? If not, you must adjust the amount down.
2. Consider a gift exchange and remember to set a dollar limit.
3. Be creative. Make up certificates that say "This certificate is good for . . . ." Giving the gift of your time is worth way more than something purchased.
4. When you go shopping, go alone. A tired spouse or child may encourage you to impulsively buy so you can get home sooner.
5. Don't wait until the last minute to do all your shopping. This puts stain on your wallet. Spread your shopping out over weeks if not months.
6. Don't use a credit card. You'll be paying for Christmas for months to come and doing so could mean that gift ends up costing you 2 to 3 times as much as the original purchase price.
7. Jan 1, start planning/saving for next Christmas. If you spent $1,5oo this year then you need to save $136 a month from Jan thru Nov in 2008.

If you have read this post down to here, please say a pray for me for todays speech. I'm hoping that a door will be open and a life will be touched by what I share today.