Hello, my name is Ira Smith,
president of Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc.
First, the Ira Smith team hopes that you
and your entire family are safe, healthy and secure.
I want to assure you that Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc.
is fully operational during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Both Brandon Smith and myself
are available at any time to answer any of your questions.
We are holding all meetings either
by telephone or video chat, so feel free to shoot us a message.
Give us a phone call.
We would love to hear from you.
Today Brandon wrote about holiday spending.
How do I stop overspending during the holidays?
Black Friday, Cyber Monday.
Those sales are all over and you may not have completed all your holiday shopping yet.
Brandon provides his six favourite tips
so that you will not overspend and go into debt because of the holidays.
So I hope you can watch until the end
of the video because I know you will get value out of it.
In the blog below, Brandon talks about some differences
that are expected in holiday spending between Canadians and Americans.
He also talks about the results
of a holiday spending survey recently published by CPA Canada.
What I want to focus on is the portion
of Brandon's Blog that deals with his holiday spending tips.
Where it all starts is with a proper budget.
Holiday spending is normally divided into three parts: gifts,
food and entertainment in your home and clothing and other purchases you may
be making because of all the different holiday parties you will be attending.
Well, if everyone is following the recommended COVID-19 procedures,
the holiday parties are cancelled.
So you won't be spending there.
And if you're following the recommended health procedures,
the number of people congregating in a home will probably be down this year.
And so your food and entertainment budget in the home will hopefully also be down.
So that really leaves gifts.
But regardless of what areas you spend
on for the holidays, it all starts with a proper budget.
Make a list of everything you need to buy gifts and food and entertainment,
and then for gifts, list each person by name
and come up with a budget of what you are going to spend for each person.
You have to look at your income, your expenses, your savings,
your need for emergency savings.
And will you be having any large
items to spend on that are normal from year after year early in the New Year?
For example, if your auto insurance or home insurance
policy comes up for renewal every February,
that's a large item you're going to have to be spending on early in the new year.
So take all this into account. Once you have your budget set,
here are Brandon's Blog six favourite best tips
on holiday spending.
The first one is purchase with a purpose.
You've now figured out how much you can spend safely on each person.
So now go out and find that ideal gift for each person.
But keep to your spending budget.
Second, only buy with cash.
When you pay with cash, you feel it.
When you pay by credit card, you really don't feel it.
Paying by credit card may inadvertently
get you to spend more than you otherwise would have.
And you'll feel bad about it not only in December,
but when the shock hits you when you see your credit card statement in January.
So only buy with cash. Third,
consider a family gift to save money rather than buying an individual
gift for each person in the same household.
Think of a gift that the entire family would enjoy.
And it may very well be that the one gift for the entire family costs less
than what the individual gifts for each person in that same family would cost.
4. You have many talents and abilities give of yourself, not of your money.
There may be things that you can do
that are unique to you that others would enjoy. If nothing else give of your time.
Maybe there's a close friend or relative who needs to spend time with you.
You can visit with them safely.
Of course,
you can perhaps take them for a doctor's appointment or errands
that they need to do that otherwise would be difficult for them to do.
So think about giving of yourself, not your money.
Five.
Visualize your decorations.
If you do not have a box of decorations already from years past,
and you're worried about spending too much money on decorations,
keep this in mind. Decorations from a dollar store
will bring just as much joy
as expensive decorations from specialty shops.
Better yet, if you have any sort of creativity and artistic ability,
look at videos online of how to make decorations.
The cost of materials
will certainly be less than the cost of expensive decorations.
You will also get the added benefit of the joy, knowing that when you look
at all these decorations, you made them with your own hands.
That will give you an extra warm feeling and save you money.
And number six,
do you have reward points that are building up that may expire soon
or you just don't see yourself using in the foreseeable future?
Look at getting the gifts you need or some
of the gifts you need by using reward points.
The people you give those gifts to will enjoy them just as much as if you
spent cash and they will never know the difference.
So I hope you've enjoyed this holiday
spending Brandon's Blog. Again, the Ira Smith Team hopes that you and your
entire family are safe, healthy and secure.
Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc.
is fully operational.
Both Brandon Smith and myself
are available at any time for a telephone or video meeting.
In the meantime, for those of you that celebrate it, Happy Hanukkah.
For those that celebrate it, Merry Christmas.
And we wish you all a very healthy, happy New Year.