Why Are We Always Prepping For The Next Holiday?

Christmas is everywhere, even though Halloween was just one week ago.  There were decorations displayed for sale before we even went trick or treating and a lot of blog posts this past week were focused on saving money during the Holidays.  We always seem to be preparing for the next celebration without a pause.  And how do we prepare?  We do so, of course, by spending money.

I believe that the reason we prepare for holidays months in advance is because we live for these breaks from the monotony of long workweeks.  We crave the promise of more than a two-day weekend to relax and enjoy ourselves.  As a working mom, I know how quickly weekends are gone, lost to errands and tidying up the house.  There are few opportunities to catch up with family and friends, or pursue your own interests.  The problem is that we waste countless small bits of time with frivolous preparations for holidays, when those moments could be better invested in enjoying the now.  And, we waste our money purchasing “stuff” because we’re so anxious for those holidays.  These expenditures of time and money mean that we have to work longer to earn enough money to retire from our traditional jobs.  Never forget, every penny you spend has be earned somehow.  Make sure the purchases are worthy of the time investment.

I do love Christmas.  We will have a tree and some decorations and even a few strands of lights that we reuse every year.  We had a frugal celebration last year and plan on making most of our gifts this year.  However, the trend that I’ve noticed is that we’re making every holiday an extravagent event, much more complicated and expensive than they need to be.  It was probably more than one month before Halloween when I spied this “Deal.”

Cool dragon, but it makes me upset to think about who is buying these $100 seasonal decorations.  The purchasers are likely among the 160 Million Americans with credit card debt averaging at least $15,000. Shoppers think about it as a fun decoration.  They don’t think about the credit card interest.  They don’t think about the fact that this decoration is only appropriate for one month per year and that’s assuming, of course, that the cheap plastic doesn’t get destroyed by bad weather or rowdy trick-or-treaters.  With Christmas too, the decorations are getting more and more out of control.  Someone needs to talk some sense into Clark Griswold, who happens to be a perfect example.

Poor Clark dislikes his job and has a horrible boss.  All he wants is the biggest and best Christmas light display.  But do you remember the electric meter that was spinning away when the lights finally turned on?  He could probably buy that new pool with the amount of money he would need to pay his electric bill.  Clark gets obsessed with the idea of a “fun, old-fashioned family Christmas” as a way to distract himself from his tedious day-to-day existence.  But ultimately, he’s going to have to pay for that Christmas cheer with more time working away at his tortuous job.

Isn’t January a depressing month?  It’s because the holidays are over.  We’re left with additional credit card bills from proving our love for others with material items.  For many of us, frigid temperatures trap us inside of our homes.  And, we don’t have an upcoming celebration to distract us from the endless mediocrity of mainstream existence.

Call me a Grinch if you want.  I do enjoy the holidays.  My point is that we should be enjoying the time in between each one, instead of living in a constant state of anticipation for the next special occassion that provides us with a break from the doldrums of the everyday.  Once each holiday is over, there is no need to immediately start spending money on the next one.  You don’t need those special turkey placemats for Thanksgiving.  Instead, you can choose to leverage your income towards paying off debt and building up assets.  In this way, every day can be a holiday in the not so distant future.