Last year at Christmas, my uncle, who lives abroad, surprised me with his response and his actions, but you know what? I learned a big lesson from it, which has been a kind of financial guide to me. He really was gifting many people both cash gifts and material gifts from Christmas Day till almost New Year.
Then I called him and said, Uncle, can I have my own Christmas gift as well? He said no, I am sorry! I have reached my limit and wouldn't cross that for any reason. I had an amount budgeted to sacrifice to people this season, and I am done doing so; please bear with me. Like a joke, my own uncle, making dollars abroad, sealed up on Nkem and didn't do anything about it, even with how close we are. But guess what? On the first day of this month of December, he sent me a cash gift with another amazing material gift, all for me this year for Christmas, and I was like, Wow, this man!
As much as he has the money, he has strong financial plans and policy, and I respected that and learned from him rather than being angry that he didn't attend to my Christmas gift request last year. This is to tell you that if you plan for this season and stay within your budget, you have nothing to worry about come January. I have read lots of entries, and I have been learning from others concerning Christmas and budgeting.
I will be traveling to my hometown this Christmas with my family, and since November, my husband and I have sat down to discuss the travel and the expenses around Christmas. We first plan for school fees and set it aside; we talk about feeding in January and then discuss an amount we are willing to spend this Christmas, which includes our transportation bill, and once we reach our limit, we lock up, no matter what happens over there in the village.
I have come to understand that if I lose guard trying to please everyone or spending beyond my financial capability, it will only lead me to regret beyond correction. The truth is that we can't make everyone happy...I don't think life is designed that way as much as we try to be nice to those around us. Striving to be sure that everyone that comes around you during the festive season goes home with something is stretching yourself unnecessarily.
As much as gifting is nice and I will always advocate for it, the receivers will still survive without your gift, so why try to be what I am not yet all to prove myself for the season? Personally, I love receiving gifts from people this season, and I love gifting others as well, but with a structured plan in a way that it won't affect me and my family. Let's say I spend excessive money this season making outsiders happy, and later start giving my children excuses why their fees wouldn't be paid on time or why I can't give them a decent meal in January. How does it sound, perhaps weird? Lolz.
It's the season of love, sharing gifts, and extending a helping hand to others, especially the less privileged, and it's necessary we observe all of these because God is love, and we should express love also to one another. The only difference is that we should not throw away wisdom in all our dealings. Even the Christ we are celebrating will not be happy with us for being foolish with our spending, so we can be guided and have a memorable Christmas celebration with our friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones.
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Image 1, while image 2 was taken from canva app