Due to the cost-of-living crisis, money has been a major worry for many working professionals these past several months. It’s no secret that the holidays are an expensive time of year, leaving most of us feeling the pressure to spend more than we really have.
The “silly season” is just around the corner, which is an exciting time of fun and celebrations, but also often causes us to spend money impulsively. Although we are looking forward to our gifts and holidays, the best gift we can give ourselves and our families this festive season is to make good financial decisions. December is a funny month.
Our moods change as if there are absolutely no issues in the world. Business organisations spend a much higher ratio of their budgets to force extra purchase. Credit card offers never end. Due to these and many other influences naturally brought forward by the festive season, we spend carelessly in December on unnecessary items, which is tantamount to throwing money away. Don’t forget that your spending behaviour and discipline in December will determine your financial trend for the New Year. Always be cautious when you are tempted to buy goods that could later see you falling into debt for months or even years.
Vacation is a must to achieve the purpose of living. A positive, well-managed vacation can make you happier and less stressed, and you can return with more energy at work and with more meaning in your life. Positive vacations have a significant effect upon energy and stress.
However, if you will gain energy or drain energy out will depend on how wisely you plan your vacation and knowing your budgets to support it. In other words, most of the happiness gleaned from vacation is dependent upon the stress level of the vacation.
Poorly planned and stressful vacations eliminate the positive benefit of time away. The less the stress, the more likely you will experience a positive benefit from the time off.
Guard against promotional traps
Many of the well-known stores, shops and companies have annual holiday sales, deals and promotions this time of year that seem like opportunities too good to miss. However, these money-saving tactics can increase levels of distress when it comes to Christmas shopping, creating urgency and making consumers feel like they are going to miss out if they don’t indulge straight away. Limiting the time that you spend surrounded by these stores, or on your favourite websites will help to reduce the number of times you are directly targeted and keep any overwhelming thoughts and adverse shopping tendencies at bay.
Making a list of the gifts that you need to purchase and taking one big shopping trip or spending a few hours online shopping is a good way to work around this. Never try to show-off or compete against your friends and relatives. If you do, you will be the loser. Social media is also jam-packed with people sharing highlights of their lives – especially during the holiday season.
While it’s usually not anyone’s intention to make people feel bad when they post their life updates, too much social media consumption can make us feel left out, down, or even inadequate.
Your health
Make sure you find more space for exercise and to have more sound sleep. Go for medical check-ups if you haven’t done it this year. Help your parents with the same. Engage in religious activities to calm your mind and develop spiritual strength. Have a couple of days where you do not have anything planned to do but wake up and decide if you want to do anything for the day or do nothing.
All these will help you relieve one year of stress responding to all external challenges. 2024 will not be any easier, so a good break from day-to-day usual career related chaos will help you compete better.
Give back
Giving back to people, the community or the environment is a truly rewarding and fulfilling thing to do at any time but it is especially valuable at Christmas and into the New Year.
It’s said that committing your own time and energy to anyone in need creates something called the ‘Helper’s High’, which focuses on the act of giving. Giving stimulates your brain’s mesolimbic pathway, elevating happiness and heightening self-esteem.
Giving back also creates a larger purpose of life and when we invest our own time or money into something or someone, it creates meaningful connections which aids poor mental health by tackling loneliness, supporting your wellbeing and helping to build a stronger resilience.
There are a large number of companies, charities and organisations looking for support, donations and assistance this time of year and it’s worth spending some time on Volunteering Matters to find an opportunity that suits your schedule and availability.
