Sheri here –

Did you realize that it is the beginning of October?  I sorta just got that message – duh! October is the beginning of the holiday season!  Oh my goodness, 2021 is just around the corner (THANK GOODNESS, a BIG sigh of relief).

Did you ever notice how once October starts, it seems like the year is over before you know it we are singing “Auld Lang Syne” for New Years!?

Or at least that’s what prior seasonal routines have indicated!!

Yet, these last months are to be savored, the holidays enjoyed – maybe in a new way.

It’s Time to Start Holiday Planning

Many businesses will start their 2021 planning right now, at this time of year, in the Fourth Quarter.

Maybe we need to adopt that thought for our personal lives for the Fourth Quarter – the Holiday Season.

While we have “normal” Seasonal Routines from prior years, maybe this is the year that we do it differently – rather than letting the holidays happen to us, we direct how it goes!

I started to see some people decorating their homes for Halloween the last weekend in September – it wasn’t even October yet!

What if, you take a few minutes and plan the rest of this Season.  That you made decisions about how the old routines, the old traditions might be different – might be new this year.

Certainly, travel and in person contact has been reoriented with physical distancing.  Money might be another subject that needs to be addressed earlier – the budget (oops is that a bad word in your mind?) for the holidays need to be re-examined.

What Is Important This Time of Year?

How do you make it special for your family?  How do you plan to get together with friends?  Ok, maybe you don’t want to think about it now; but, there will probably be differences.

OK, I get it, maybe you just don’t want to think about it – maybe this is a year that some people won’t be present for one reason or another.

This could be an opportunity to really look at your holiday traditions and choose what will make this year’s holidays special.  You can have a wonderful end to 2020 with some fore thought and creativity.

Take out a calendar and block some time for yourself, for a bit of planning by yourself, with your friends and your family.  What are some of the things that you want to assure stand out as special?  While this year they might be different, maybe even some aspects  are virtual.  A little planning now will help reduce both the anxiety level and the stress level for you and those around you.

By starting now, at the beginning of October, you can create a very special holiday season for you, your family and friends.  May it be filled with love, joy and happiness.

One of the things that always seems to loom large is the expectation of decorations, gifts, and entertainment – SPENDING!   In my “It’s October – the Start of the Holidays”  post last year, I included five Holiday Money Planning Tips that are still applicable this year.  Check it out here!

Have you started to think about any of the seasonal routines – the year end holidays?  What are you thinking – would you share some of your thoughts?  Leave a comment below.

Ciao,

Sheri

Sheri here –

What was your first thought when you really, really looked at the calendar and it sunk it that “It is October!”?

Did you think: “No way.  How did that happen? It absolutely, positively can not be.  Only yesterday it was New Years, no Valentine’s Day, no, no, no.”

Or

“You know what that means don’t you – tomorrow the year is over.”

Well, it certainly seems like it happens that fast.

Or

Are you more laid back, along the lines: “Hmmm, I guess it really is October.”

The days and years seem to be going faster and faster.

I’m more in the first category, the, really, it can’t be October already category.

Ready, Set, GO!

That means it is time to start bracing for the HOLIDAYS – both your finances and your calendar.  The planning window may have already closed!

Let me ask you: Are you 1) ignoring the holidays, hoping they will go away; 2) thinking about how you will manage the time and cost; 3) already behind; or 4) “I got this!”? Drop a comment below with your answer!

Halloween decorations are already popping up around town.  The kids are getting excited about what they are going to wear, and the festivities devoted to scary pleasures and sugary treats.

Then its November.  While we spend portions of November planning Thanksgiving dinner, everywhere you look are reminders that the December holidays are just around the corner.

But to me, November is a time of reflection, a time of gratitude and a time of giving thanks for all the blessings in life.  How about you?

In many ways, these next months stretch our pocketbooks, our patience and our time more than any other period during the year.

Now might be a good time to grab your calendar and a piece of paper and make a time and money plan, if you haven’t already mapped it out.  Ok, so, there are only a few weeks left; but maybe, you are still in time to save a bit of your sanity!

Holiday Money Planning Tips

To help you get started, here are 5 holiday money planning tips:

1. Make a holiday budget and STICK to it.
2. Consider giving gifts only to the children in the family, including the extending family.
3. Reduce the number of gifts that you buy per family member.
4. DIY (Do It Yourself) and make your gifts. Make it a family fun project.
5. Give precious memories for gifts; e.g. a photo book or a personal poem for a special person.

Do you have a favorite money saving tip or two for the holidays?

May you have a magnificent week, even if you are as stunned as I am that it is October!

Ciao and hugs,

Sheri

P.S.  If you need help planning your holiday strategy and want to talk schedule a call with me here!