T minus 4 day’s till Christmas, and whether you celebrate or not, the holidays just seem to be a time when money is front and centre. Buying gifts, hosting parties, traveling to see family…it’s all part of the holiday fun but it can do some real damage to our bank accounts, and all those money fears come flooding in. Let’s talk about some of those fears and some thoughts on how to kick them to the curb.

I don’t even want to know…

Is this you? Are you avoiding looking at your bank account or credit card statement? Do you feel that if you don’t see the numbers that its not real? From my experience, this is the #1 thing that my clients feel and do when it comes to money. They avoid it…like the plague.

This reaction is pretty common. Out of sight, out of mind, right? If you don’t look at it, or open it, then you’ve got plausible deniability…it’s a good enough excuse for the President, so why not us right? But here’s the thing…we KNOW its there. We KNOW we need to deal with it. We’re just ignoring it.

But avoiding it does nothing but build the monster even more. I totally know the gut-flip that you feel when a statement arrives, or [gasp] a letter from the CRA. And every time you see it, or think of it, that gut-flip happens again, this time with a heat-flush that radiates from the top of your head to your feet and makes you heart race double-time. That’s how it shows up for me, anyways, but regardless, it’s a physical reaction and it sucks.

So how do you get over this? Well, my “dealing” strategy is to just make it routine. Whether its logging into your online banking, opening your mail, or (for me) recording a video for social, creating the habit takes a lot of the fear and anxiety out of it. Every Monday I make myself do social media stuff – record videos, take pics, all of if. All the stuff I hate. Now maybe Friday’s are your jam, or you do it on the 1st and the 15th of the month (so you can pay bills then too) – whatever you choose, schedule it. Literally, go put it in your calendar and treat it like any other appointment in there and don’t blow it off.

It will be better next month

Do you find yourself saying this every time you look at your bank account or your to do list? “Better” could mean you’ll have more money, more time, less work, more focus…whatever it is, I’m here to let you know that it’s not likely going to happen. Harsh, I know. But if you’re anything like me, the second you find a moment of peace, you’re filling it with more “things” to make you feel productive. We’re our own worst enemies.

Saying it will be better and hoping it turns out that way is one thing. Saying it will be better and actively orchestrating things to actually BE better is a whole other story. This happened to me last month. I was overwhelmed and unable to make any time to do the work that I needed to do. This time, though, I realized that it wasn’t going to be better unless I did something…so I hired a new team member. I have to say I felt a little lost those first few days with her there…now what was I supposed to do?? But after a few days of discomfort, I settled into my new routines and roles – getting my back-burner projects up and running in full swing.

Don’t sit back and hope for the best…make it better yourself.

Can I afford to quit my day job?

Oooff. That’s a biggie hey? While some of us have our businesses as our full-time gig, others are juggling a “day job” alongside their businesses. I get you! While I don’t technically have a side job, I’ve got 2 businesses that I run and so full-on appreciate the time and energy demands.

The holidays are a time to step back a bit and evaluate our priorities: where we spend our time, and whether we’re actually enjoying where we’re at. Now I’m not so arrogant to think that just because we might not find JOY in our work (or one of them anyways), that we actually have the option to quit. There are bills to pay!

However, if there is nothing but angst in what you’re doing, it definitely lights a fire to double down and make your “side-gig” something that CAN pay the bills so you can ditch your “Devil Wears Prada” job.

Holidays are SOOO expensive

I don’t know about you, but I am tapped this holiday season. Apparently, I haven’t planned for this spending surge. Here’s my thing, though…my language of love is NOT “things”. Personally, I would way rather spend time with someone, than buy them something (or have them buy something for me). A bottle of Prosecco and a Friday night is what I’m looking for.

So, this year, I’ve dug deeper on what my friends and families “language of love” is so I could maybe avoid buying gifts that might end up in the back of someone’s closet, and instead, get them something that the truly value.

Another thought…kibosh gift exchanges where you can. If all you do is stress about what gifts to get for someone, and they’re doing the same – is that really exuding the holiday spirit? We’ve got this situation going on with our extended family and I see three solutions to talk about for next year: 1) do a white elephant gift exchange for anyone at our big Christmas dinner, 2) only do the gift exchange for the kids – aka you age out at 18 yrs old, or 3) cancel it all together.

It might be a little touchy or awkward to have these conversations, but I promise that your friends and family will totally understand that your bank account can’t afford all the gifts.

There you have it…my pre-holiday money ramblings. I hope some of these resonate with you and gives you some strategies to move past them. Happy Holidays!! <3