After retirement, holidays sometimes pose a financial challenge for a lot of people. The fact that your schedule has become more flexible might get you pressed into wanting to travel to visit family, host large parties, among other things. According to Stephen Heitzmann who is the CEO and co-founder of Altruistic Investing, the pressure for one to spend a lot during the holidays may make it very stressful particularly for those retirees who have to work with a strict budget.
The good news is, conscious spending does not have to affect your holiday spirit. If you succeed in setting your priorities, you’ll have several ways by which you can create special moments all through the season. Below are some guidelines that will help you stay on track financially during the holidays.
- Wrap memories into tangible gifts
If you succeeded in collecting ornaments over the years you spent traveling, this might be an appropriate time for you to pass on the treasures on to the coming generation. Wrap up the special piece and write a note to explain the historical background of the piece. Include where you got each of the prices from and also explain the meaning of the piece to you.
- Photos as tangible gifts
You can also give photos as gifts. According to Susan Hosage, senior consultant at OneSource HR Solutions, you can compile pictures as well as stories highlighting the early history of the family as it progressed through the memorable events. There are different online services like Mixbook, Snapfish and Shutterfly that make the creation of these photo books quite easy.
You can look around online for different discounts offers during the holiday season and make your photo book with home-sourced materials.
- Recipes As Gift
Before you bake the favorite pie, invite one of your grandchildren over to capture the process. Hosage said a lot of people wish they paid more attention to their parents or grandparents preparing their signature meals so they could make something similar during the holidays. You can also share your favorite recipe by compiling it into a mini cookbook.
Take out the time to write out the list of traditional recipes for your family. If you are unsure as to which recipes to include, you can sample the opinions of your family members and include the ones they choose to have on paper. Print them out and make copies which you can put into a folder and gift your children and even grandchildren during the holidays.
- Offer Your Time
If your place isn’t far from those of your family members that have little children, offer to babysit their children during the holiday events. According to a senior vice president at Freedom Debt Relief, Kevin Gallegos, gifting your time can actually means a lot more than tangible gifts and can be good for your budget. Shopping to get presents for neighbors could be stressful and eat into your resources. Organizing a holiday get-together can help you save money while still having a fun holiday. You can organize a caroling event if your intention is to help the people in your community and also volunteer at any local organization.
- Make Use of Available Decorations
A good way to cut cost and save money is to use pine cones and branches from your own yard as centerpieces. It is possible you already have a large supply of craft and so you can browse magazines or Pininterest to get ideas on different holiday-themed pieces. Sara Skirboll of RetailMeNot.com said you can gather all young ones in your family so you can make the decorations together. This will also afford you an opportunity to spend a good time with those you love while still carrying out the holiday decoration.
- Collaborative Work
Hosting meals for big groups can be quite expensive. So instead of having to bake ten different types of holiday cookies, Skirboll advises choosing the top 3 favorites and getting the guests to bring the other cookies. You can also inform everyone to come along with a dish to share as a group.
It is advised that when you are preparing for the group get-together you check dinnerware. Gallegos advises using china so you can avoid having to spend on paperware and plastic while also reducing waste. In a case where you require additional dishes and plates, you can ask guests or your family to bring things they can share.
