Absolutely! Turns out that we spend more, when we have more weeks to spend. Ever found presents hiding in your closet after the holidays are over and you realize that you completely forgot that you even bought it?! I am ashamed to say that I have and this has got to work in retailers favour when we are stockpiling Christmas presents in August. (Thanks, Costco!)
The whole thing leaves me feeling a little robbed of the Christmas spirit when we haven't even celebrated Halloween with our kids and the Christmas decorations are already up at the local grocery store. Don't even get me started on how disrespectful I feel this is to our veterans when the big push of decorating, retail product, and musak comes on November 1st for most stores, ten days before Remembrance Day.
I found one company, which specializes in online coupons spoofing the early retailing phenomenon running a campaign in the States saluting “OctoNovemCember,” which features a hybrid holiday character called Pumpkin-Headed Turkey Claus that has its own Twitter feed. (I can't make this shit up....)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/media/calendar-says-october-retailers-say-its-christmas.html?_r=0
Panicky posts from my good friends on Facebook are starting to appear that have them worrying about Christmas baking and holiday gift buying. Suddenly, we too are starting to feel the holiday dreadsies after waking up to the first of the worst Merci commercials on TV this morning. Is this really what the season is all about?
When did the Birthday party celebrations get so out of hand that the average Canadian family goes into debt every December to share in the season of giving? I don't have much of a background when it comes to religion but I can almost guarantee that maxing out the plastic is not what the original intention Christians had when they chose this date for Jesus' birthday.
The emotional buying we do to show our family and friends how much we love them through retail runs deep at Christmas time, especially though horrible marketing campaigns that bombard us at every turn. It has become ridiculous and if you don't believe me, watch some of the commercials from last year that encourage us to spend, spend, spend.(If you want to see the best and worst of ads from last year in the States....follow this link. It doesn't include the Merci commercial we have in Canada, which I would put at the top of my hate list for holiday advertising but it proves my point. http://www.adweek.com/video/advertising-branding/campaign-trails-best-and-worst-christmas-ads-137201.)
The average Canadian family will spend over $2000 on Christmas this year. The breakdown for Holiday spending in 2011 for what we are spending is: gifts $600, trips $360, entertaining $300 and other items $150 per person. It is a frightening picture for the Average Canadian Family that is overspending already in any given month and where the spending becomes double what a single person would spend. Given our ability to pay it back, and most of it ending up on credit cards, I don't even want to calculate what our holiday spending spree is costing us in compound interest.http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/12/20/bmo-bonus.html
| Holiday spending in 2011 | ||
| Type | 2011 | 2010 |
| Gifts | $582.70 | $613.50 |
| Trips | $359.80 |
$356.50
|
| Entertaining | $307.30 | $203.80 |
| Other |
$147.50
| $131.80 |
| Total | $1,397 | $1,305 |
| Source: BMO | ||
....then why does holiday buying blow our budget.....every year. I had no idea that we are supposed to be budgeting all year for Christmas. Remember that budget that I created for our family, that one that we are currently sticking too.....there's no room for Christmas in there, I completely forgot. According to the Royal Bank, we should be putting money away every week.
No wonder most Canadian families dred getting the bills in January. For us, we will need to re-evaluate the budget or eliminate spending all together for this year.
...then why are we stressed to the max. Would you believe that Christmas comes second only to financial problems at the top of everyone's stress and worry list? We are stressed by the financial burden of gift giving, decorating and entertaining. We have additional time constraints from extra obligations like holiday parties, kids school concerts, Christmas shopping, and family get-togethers. We have stress from unrealistic expectations and pressures we put on ourselves to make the holiday great and from dealing with relatives who don't. We travel through snowstorms and other bad winter weather leaving us spending more time in the car or at the airport than with our families. But best or worst of all, we drink more, eat more, sleep less, and exercise less.
No wonder January feels like the worst hangover ever!!! Most Christmas holidays are a disaster waiting to happen before they even begin and yet, every year our intentions are to make it the best its ever been.
...then why are the kids making lists from the Sears Catalogue Wish Book. Is it possible to have a "Buy Nothing Christmas"? Every year we watch the Grinch who stole Christmas, which has a very Anti-Consumerist Message,
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”
The last two years we cut the budget on spending for our own family at Christmas, including me buying my own gifts. This saves Andrew from coming up with something, me from feeling guilty if I have to fake my excitement at his gift or from having to feign surprise at what Santa brings me and we save some money.
One great way that we have changed for the better is by using our Air Miles points for family time as a fantastic way to create Christmas memories instead of getting Christmas stuff. It was one of the best decisions we made and long before we started a budget. The last two years Air Miles has paid for us to go to Crystal Palace in Moncton for a really fun weekend away.
“Putting away $10 a week during whole year adds up to $520,” says Demers.
RBC product manager Maria Contreras suggests putting away $25 a week and you’ll have $1300 by the time the holidays roll around. Put that cash in a high interest savings account or a TFSA and you may even get a few extra bucks to spend by the end of the year."
Another way to keep spending low is to cash in reward points. But no matter how you cut back — gift exchanges, set limits with others on presents — the best way to make sure you can spend that thousand bucks and not wrack up credit card debt is to save." http://www.moneyville.ca/blog/post/895232--will-you-spend-the-average-1-137-this-christmasNo wonder most Canadian families dred getting the bills in January. For us, we will need to re-evaluate the budget or eliminate spending all together for this year.
...then why are we stressed to the max. Would you believe that Christmas comes second only to financial problems at the top of everyone's stress and worry list? We are stressed by the financial burden of gift giving, decorating and entertaining. We have additional time constraints from extra obligations like holiday parties, kids school concerts, Christmas shopping, and family get-togethers. We have stress from unrealistic expectations and pressures we put on ourselves to make the holiday great and from dealing with relatives who don't. We travel through snowstorms and other bad winter weather leaving us spending more time in the car or at the airport than with our families. But best or worst of all, we drink more, eat more, sleep less, and exercise less.
No wonder January feels like the worst hangover ever!!! Most Christmas holidays are a disaster waiting to happen before they even begin and yet, every year our intentions are to make it the best its ever been.
...then why are the kids making lists from the Sears Catalogue Wish Book. Is it possible to have a "Buy Nothing Christmas"? Every year we watch the Grinch who stole Christmas, which has a very Anti-Consumerist Message,
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”.
Disregard that they get all their stuff back in the end, but could it be possible for us to actually find a way to celebrate our love for our family and friends in a way that didn't cost a penny and meant a whole lot more?
Leave it to some Canadian Mennonites, the best anti-consumerists in our country, who have devoted a whole site to the idea. You can check out the link to get started on creating some Christmas gifts without spending a dime in time for the holidays.
http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/alternatives/
...then why do we buy gifts for ourselves. One in two Canadians buy presents for themselves at Christmas!!!! I confess, I've done it. I love my husband dearly, but frankly, there have been a few sad years under the tree with items that I have no idea what inspired him to think it was gift-worthy. I have even had an empty stocking too, which was okay when we had babies, but the kids start to think Mommy is a very bad girl when Santa doesn't bring her anything.Leave it to some Canadian Mennonites, the best anti-consumerists in our country, who have devoted a whole site to the idea. You can check out the link to get started on creating some Christmas gifts without spending a dime in time for the holidays.
http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/alternatives/
The last two years we cut the budget on spending for our own family at Christmas, including me buying my own gifts. This saves Andrew from coming up with something, me from feeling guilty if I have to fake my excitement at his gift or from having to feign surprise at what Santa brings me and we save some money.
One great way that we have changed for the better is by using our Air Miles points for family time as a fantastic way to create Christmas memories instead of getting Christmas stuff. It was one of the best decisions we made and long before we started a budget. The last two years Air Miles has paid for us to go to Crystal Palace in Moncton for a really fun weekend away.
...then why do we have so much crap we don't know what to do with after the holiday is over. This is the one thing that motivated us to stop buying stuff for the sake of buying stuff. How much money is extra stuff costing us?
In Canada, we live in a country where it makes sense to have bigger houses, bigger kitchens, bigger garages and sheds, we pay for extra storage because we have too much stuff in our houses, we have basements and storage rooms, large walk-in closets and dressers, large refrigerators in both the houses and the garages, we have big dryers and big washers and even bigger beds with lots of pillows and blankets. Our SUV's are big and the stuff we have to go with them is even bigger...bikes, and kayaks and skis and sleds, we have trailers to attach to bring more stuff when we travel because we might not have stuff where we are going.
Most Canadian families have an unbelievable amount of stuff. And most of it, is not paid for......it's on credit.
Do we really need one more thing on credit this Christmas....given our current circumstances....I don't think so.If we do plan to buy anything, we will stick to our budget this year. I found this great article about where to buy and how to save when shopping this Christmas. Here is the link:
In Canada, we live in a country where it makes sense to have bigger houses, bigger kitchens, bigger garages and sheds, we pay for extra storage because we have too much stuff in our houses, we have basements and storage rooms, large walk-in closets and dressers, large refrigerators in both the houses and the garages, we have big dryers and big washers and even bigger beds with lots of pillows and blankets. Our SUV's are big and the stuff we have to go with them is even bigger...bikes, and kayaks and skis and sleds, we have trailers to attach to bring more stuff when we travel because we might not have stuff where we are going.
Most Canadian families have an unbelievable amount of stuff. And most of it, is not paid for......it's on credit.
Do we really need one more thing on credit this Christmas....given our current circumstances....I don't think so.If we do plan to buy anything, we will stick to our budget this year. I found this great article about where to buy and how to save when shopping this Christmas. Here is the link:
...then why are we still paying for Christmas gifts in March.
Atlantic Canadians on average spend more on Christmas than the rest of Canadians. I can think of a few easy reasons why this would be true...our tax is an outstanding 15%, everything here on average costs more from retail products to gas to groceries, and frankly, we are just wonderful people who love to give gifts. Not like those stingy prairie folk.....just kidding Mom!
Men spend more than women and the greatest amount of spending comes in the 45-65 age group. Hopefully that means that we will be getting some great gifts from Grandpa this year.
Those in the $60-$79 K range are spending almost as much as those in the 100K+ range of income since those with less always tend to be more generous...(or maybe not as smart, since a wise man once told me that it is not about how much money you make but rather how much money you keep.)
The average Canadian is using credit too with only 52% of Canadian spending with cash or debit. The average use of plastic for Christmas spending is 46% with that being higher in....Atlantic Canada, Ontario and BC. Those of us in the 60-70K range are also using the most plastic to pay for gifts.
More than 50% of those who use their credit card to pay for gifts, can't pay it off in a month, with some taking as long as 6 months to pay it off. Atlantic Canadians average time to pay of the debt is 1.6 months, lower than Quebec 1.9 months and BC at 2 months. Those in the 25-44 age range took even longer to pay it off with the debt sitting on the card for an average of 2.1 months.
Men spend more than women and the greatest amount of spending comes in the 45-65 age group. Hopefully that means that we will be getting some great gifts from Grandpa this year.
Those in the $60-$79 K range are spending almost as much as those in the 100K+ range of income since those with less always tend to be more generous...(or maybe not as smart, since a wise man once told me that it is not about how much money you make but rather how much money you keep.)
The average Canadian is using credit too with only 52% of Canadian spending with cash or debit. The average use of plastic for Christmas spending is 46% with that being higher in....Atlantic Canada, Ontario and BC. Those of us in the 60-70K range are also using the most plastic to pay for gifts.
More than 50% of those who use their credit card to pay for gifts, can't pay it off in a month, with some taking as long as 6 months to pay it off. Atlantic Canadians average time to pay of the debt is 1.6 months, lower than Quebec 1.9 months and BC at 2 months. Those in the 25-44 age range took even longer to pay it off with the debt sitting on the card for an average of 2.1 months.
Thinking about our holiday this year, I realize that all of it, is self-inflicted. The debt, the over scheduling, the expectations, the obligations, and the travelling.....its all gotta go if we are going to have a truly great Christmas this year. I am going to find our family a new reason for the season.
We are your average Canadian family and we spend too much money on Christmas.......
We are your average Canadian family and we spend too much money on Christmas.......
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