213 – Money Saving Ideas For Christmas

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Money Saving Ideas For Christmas

Learn money saving ideas that come from the heart to spread true joy around the real meaning of Christmas.

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Christmas is a stressful time for most of us when it should be a time full of joy! It is a time to remember the birth of Jesus, giving back to others, and showing those around us love. Instead, it has turned into a time of stress and demand, always wondering what the best gift is to give, trying to find the best deals, and basically just surviving the season. All this is done while trying to maintain composure and put on a mask of joy.

Instead, what if we changed our mindset on gift giving to bring the true meaning of the season back to the front. In this episode, Bob and Shawn discuss unique, money saving ideas for Christmas and gift giving. These aren’t your typical “hit up the sales” ideas, but rather suggestions that come from the heart to spread true joy around the real meaning of Christmas.

Mentioned In This Episode

Bob (00:00):
If you ask me even right now to tell you what are five gifts that I got two years ago, I can’t do it. I mean, I can’t remember.

Shawn (00:18):
Welcome back to another episode of Christian Financial Perspectives. My name’s Shawn Peters. I’m joined as always by Bob Barber, and today we’re going to be giving you some money saving ideas for this Christmas and hopefully this will help some of you out there not be quite so stressed out because believe it or not, it is not all about money.

Bob (00:35):
We’re bringing this to you right before Black Friday. Is that what it’s called? Black Friday?

Shawn (00:41):
I mean, some companies are, I don’t know if those of you watching have seen this, but they’re even calling it Black November now. They’re not even pretending to call it Black Friday. It’s just no, no. Black November. All the sales start on November 1st.

Bob (00:54):
So we’ve got some great ideas for you, and I think you really want to take these to heart. The first one is just so simple. It’s a novel idea, by the way. Do not go into debt. I’ve seen this over and over. You can so quickly get into debt, but it takes you so long to get out of it. It’s amazing in just a matter of days or weeks, how far you can get into debt.

Shawn (01:15):
Now, I don’t know if it’s necessarily true from a physiological standpoint, but I feel the same way when it comes to the gym. And I’m sure some of you watching feel the same way. You go to the gym consistently and then you miss three days in a row and you’re like, I have added five pounds of fat. I’ve lost all my muscle and I don’t know how to do the workouts anymore.

Bob (01:34):
Wait until you get my age of 62. Okay?

Shawn (01:35):
Yeah. With debt, it’s kind of the same thing. At least the way that feels is you can so easily get into debt and it takes a lot longer to get back out.

Bob (01:43):
Make it a vow just not to use credit cards this season and just to use debit cards to buy those Christmas presents. It’s pay as you go. I mean, I know it’s a real novel idea here in America. We’re all about getting in debt, but you’re nearly guaranteed to go over budget if you use those credit cards.

Shawn (02:02):
And we have a good scripture for this one. Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

Bob (02:09):
Slave.

Shawn (02:09):
I know. We’ve used that one before, but it’s such a good version.

Bob (02:13):
It’s clear as can be. The second thing, now I know this is with everyone, but you make the list, you’ve got to make a list of every person and charitable organization you want to give to, and then you’ve got to think of it like a budget. How much am I going to spend for each person and organization on this list? Right?

Shawn (02:33):
Or better yet, if you can allocate that budget from the top down, so you make your list and then say, okay, this is how much that we can actually afford to spend in total. And then from that number, you kind of go down the list and figure out, okay, well how much can I spend for each person? And like Bob said, each organization maybe you’re donating money to.

Bob (02:53):
And there’s an app that my wife uses called “The Christmas List App”.

Shawn (02:58):
Oh, nice.

Bob (02:58):
And so that’s just how she stays on track. She knows having a husband that is in the financial world is watching every penny that goes out. I think we’ve got a good scripture you got for this one, right?

Shawn (03:09):
We do. Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower, don’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it.” That kind of goes right back into the how much do you have? Then make your list of who you might want to give money to, and make sure the numbers match.

Bob (03:26):
Yeah. Now this third idea is a really old fashioned idea. I don’t think people use this much today, but instead of having to buy a gift for every single family member…

Shawn (03:36):
Yeah, each family member just picks one name.

Bob (03:38):
Picks a name.

Shawn (03:39):
It doesn’t necessarily have to be using a hat. It could be maybe a digital version of picking a hat or whatever. But yeah, it relieves the pressure if everybody just has one family member. Because instead of thinking about what do I get for everyone, well just focus on that one person. And then if anything, especially depending on the year, sometimes the budget’s not as big as you’d like it to be, but if it’s all for one person from one person, you can get nicer things or you can do something more creative.

Bob (04:09):
Instead of spending or having to spend $10 per person or $20, you may be able to spend as much as $40 if it’s just one person or $50.

Shawn (04:19):
Exactly.

Bob (04:20):
And I hate to put pressure on my family members of having to buy a gift for everyone. We’re fortunate. I’ve been in business for 35 years and we can afford to buy presents for everyone, but I know many of the family members, they cannot do that. And this takes that pressure off. This is an old idea that’s been around for years. Like I said, it used to be…

Shawn (04:42):
You pull the name out the hat.

Bob (04:43):
You pull your name out and out of a hat. God never intended for Christmas to become a financial burden.

Shawn (04:49):
No. It was supposed to be a celebration of the gift of Jesus.

Bob (04:53):
That’s right.

Shawn (04:53):
And the birth of Jesus. So definitely wasn’t supposed to be a financial burden. It’s supposed to be something to celebrate and be excited about. Number four, choose time over money.

Bob (05:02):
Oh yeah. You can’t replace time.

Shawn (05:04):
Especially if someone’s love language is quality time. As the old saying goes, it’s the thought that counts. So for some people, spending that time together is much better joy than something of just getting a physical gift.

Bob (05:20):
I know I would rather have that, Shawn. I’d rather have time with my grandchildren, with you, with Jenna, and our other daughters. That is so much more precious to me than any gift that you could buy me.

Shawn (05:33):
And a good example of that could be if you’re valuing that experience, which even if someone’s love language isn’t directly quality time, there’s still something to be said for kind of everyone of doing, experiencing something together. So it could be that your gift is you still get a physical gift and it’s maybe less expensive, but it’s okay, “Hey, I bought this so we can play this game together, or we’re going to go do this sightseeing thing,” whatever it might be that’s technically a physical gift, but it’s to compliment some sort of experience with someone.

Bob (06:06):
I think we’ve got a good scripture for that one too, that goes with this from Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us consider how well you may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

Shawn (06:27):
Yeah, that’s right. Number five, think of something creative instead of buying an item from a store. Kind of ties back into a little bit to number four.

Bob (06:34):
Yes, it does. How about cookies?

Shawn (06:35):
Yeah, cookies. I mean, I will say my love language isn’t food, but as I thought it was as a guy, it kind of is.

Bob (06:44):
I’ve seen you eat, Shawn. Now wait a second.

Shawn (06:47):
Well, Bob, it’s not one of the official love languages, but it’s definitely one of my love languages.

Bob (06:54):
So last Sunday after church, we’re going to eat and they bring out this chicken fried steak. If you’re listening, you can’t see it, but you can see it on YouTube. It’s about that big.

Shawn (07:02):
It’s at least the size of your face.

Bob (07:04):
Exactly. And I saw you, you just looked so happy.

Shawn (07:08):
I mean, it’s hard to go wrong with that, right? So think of something that’s not just a buy it and wrap it, but something that you make yourself, again, kind of depending on the recipient’s level language on what you might get them, but you don’t have to just buy it and wrap it.

Bob (07:23):
And this next one. So we did, we asked the staff what are some ideas? And one of the staff members gave us a really good idea for Christmas. It’s not necessarily saving money at Christmas, but it’s spending money that you’re already going to spend anyway. And so the sixth idea is essentials make great gifts for stocking stuffers, toothpaste, and razor.

Shawn (07:43):
So some shampoos, combs, whatever.

Bob (07:46):
All that kind of stuff. And I think that’s a great idea. I mean, you’ve got to buy that stuff anyway eventually.

Shawn (07:52):
Exactly.

Bob (07:52):
So make it gifts at Christmas and then you have something to open.

Shawn (07:55):
Especially for the kids if you have younger, well, I mean I say younger kids, it could all be up to high school really, but you have a stocking you’ve got to put stuff in. Well, get some of the essentials because, and especially for the younger kids, they still get to pull a bunch of stuff out of the stocking, but it’s stuff that they need anyway or are going to need in the near future.

Bob (08:13):
I think my mom did that. I didn’t even know it. The stocking was so full and I’d start pulling stuff out. It was new socks that she would get my brother and I. Of course, boys go through socks and they’re pretty stinky.

Shawn (08:25):
Bob, those socks take up more space in the stocking.

Bob (08:27):
They do. Well, actually, she would put underwear in there, too. So I was like, okay, thanks mom. And I didn’t think about it. I was like, that’s good. I got something. I need this. And I was always getting a hole in my socks. So it’s a great stocking stuffer like you say, it really feels like it makes it full.

Shawn (08:45):
That’s right. The verse for this one is Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” So I mean like, okay, it’s important to God that He’s able to meet our needs and he does that. So it’s probably okay for us to do that for people we care about.

Bob (09:02):
This next one is a big one with me. You’ve heard me mention this many times. Consider whether the gift that you’re giving even be remembered a year from now. And if you ask me even right now to tell you what are five gifts that I got two years ago, I can’t do it. I mean, I can’t remember, but at the time I could. I remember that time, remember when we went to Hawaii and we spent all that time together? And not that you have to do the expensive gifts like that, but I remember that time over gifts and that was so memorable. It’s just junk really. It’s stuff that you give away – most of it.

Shawn (09:43):
It’s kind of two things. One, a lot of the things that we will tend to give if we’re not careful, yeah, it’s just junk. But even more so is don’t let that be a burden or cause you anxiety of like, “Oh no, I have to get the perfect gift,” because chances are almost nothing that we give to each other is going to be remembered a year from now and certainly not two to three years from now, with some rare exceptions. So I see that as a blessing. It’s not pressure of like, well, did you pick something good enough that’s going to be remembered a year from now? No, no. That’s kind of the point is it probably won’t. So don’t worry about it so much.

Bob (10:21):
Okay, I just thought of in the middle of this, I think of this step we’re talking is that another great gift to give is to give a gift in the name of someone to someone greatly in need. We’re big givers of Compassion International around here, and they need all the gifts that we can give them. If you could just give somebody a chicken or a goat, it just costs $25 or $30. That means that goes a long, long ways. And you could do that in someone’s name instead of giving a gift to them. So many of us, we don’t need more stuff, Shawn. We just don’t need it.

Shawn (10:56):
And we’ve got a scripture for this, Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves breaking in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Bob (11:10):
I think that goes with that last point that I just said. Definitely. Are we down to the last one? Number eight.

Shawn (11:16):
Okay. Does the gift need to be expensive to be appreciated? So as you consider a gift for the other person, consider whether or not you think it needs to be expensive to be appreciated. And if you think so, why do you think that? Is that something with your own heart that you feel like you’re not doing a good enough job if it’s not expensive? Or is it an issue with the person that you’re wanting to give a gift to? Are they being a little vain, conceited, or whatever you want to call it that it was like, “Wow, it doesn’t look brand name or it doesn’t look expensive. You must not care about me.” The gifts should come from the heart and the appreciation should not be based on the perceived dollar value.

Bob (11:55):
Well, you’ve heard me say this over and over, I always love it when Jenna, our oldest daughter, your wife, I mean, she goes to the trouble of going to the store and getting those things I like the coconut cookies and the nice drinks that I like, the Arizona tea, things like that. I mean, I like that. And that means a lot to me. And it doesn’t have to be tremendously expensive because it goes with me.

Shawn (12:21):
It’s not just you, Bob. I had to start doing that, especially going into college for my own dad. That kind of an idea, partially, because I don’t have a whole lot of money. But the other part too is once you get to a certain age, getting stuff for your parents, especially, is kind of hard because it’s like…

Bob (12:37):
It is.

Shawn (12:38):
…the only thing they don’t have is stuff that I can’t afford to buy them.

Bob (12:41):
Exactly right.

Shawn (12:41):
They kind of already have all the smaller stuff. So the only thing kind of left is food and comfort stuff.

Bob (12:46):
Exactly. And most of us grandparents, if we want it, we’ll just go get it anyway.

Shawn (12:51):
Like, oh, Bob already bought the tool that he’s been wanting.

Bob (12:54):
Yep, that’s right.

Shawn (12:55):
So the verse we have for this before we wrap up, Proverbs 17:1, “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.”

Bob (13:04):
That’s an interesting scripture to go with that. So that’s all we have for today. I hope these have been some good money saving ideas for Christmas. Remember, we know the reason for the season, the reason for the season is Jesus Christ and what he did for us. This was never intended to be a season about high debt and stress.

Shawn (13:23):
Yeah. Don’t get sucked up by the consumerism and debt materialism that can generate this sense of guilt if you didn’t make it perfect or you didn’t do something expensive enough, or whatever other nonsense is run around in your head.

Bob (13:38):
You always use that word nonsense. I love that.

Shawn (13:41):
As always, Jesus is the reason for this season.

Bob (13:43):
That’s right.

Shawn (13:44):
And should be reflected in how we respond this time of year. It was the greatest gift mankind has ever received, the arrival of Jesus to later then die for us on the cross. So it’s okay if you don’t get the perfect gift or spend a whole lot of money because that’s not what it’s about anyway.

Bob (14:00):
It’s the thought that counts.

Shawn (14:01):
That’s right. As always, thank you so much for joining us. God bless, and we’ll see you next time.

[DISCLOSURES]

* Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.