When Deidre Cross was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, the holiday season became the tipping point that sparked her journey to get out of the red.
“I would be the person that would still buy the presents and the gifts and stuff, spending money that I didn’t have,” said Cross, the founder of Ohh You Budget.
“I would go into overdraft because my credit cards would be maxed out.”
Eventually, Cross knew something had to change. She started talking to her friends and family about financial expectations around the holidays, and being honest about the fact that she couldn’t continue keeping up appearances.
“I could not afford it, to the point where it’s just like, we have to have this conversation.”
Experts say it’s common to be stressed about money around the holidays, but talking to friends and family about your budget — and maybe even agreeing to financial caps on gift-giving — can remove a lot of anxiety from the holiday season.
“We all know that money is a taboo subject, so it’s very hard to address that,” said Angela Iermieri, financial planner at Desjardins.
There’s a lot of social pressure to keep up with everyone else, she said, especially during the holidays when there are a lot of event invitations and gift-giving.
A recent survey by Coast Capital found 72 per cent of respondents are feeling heightened financial pressure due to the holidays. However, the survey found many still plan to spend on gifts, decor and parties as usual.
Yasamin Alami, a chartered professional accountant and assistant professor at University Canada West, said during the holidays, people often spend a lot of time worrying about money: who to buy gifts for, how much to spend.
Talking about that stress can do a lot to take the weight off, said Alami.
“I think it’s a really quick conversation, and maybe it is awkward, but having that quick conversation kind of frees up a lot of mental space and rumination over thinking about a gift and what the appropriate value is.”
Often it feels like you need to match the value of someone’s gift and “it becomes this moving target every year,” she said.
It might feel awkward at first, but you might be surprised at how people react when you bring up the topic, said Iermieri.
“Maybe everybody feels the same way, but just doesn’t want to say it,” she said.
“What’s important in all of this is to be honest with ourselves, if we want to be honest with others.”
Another survey, this one by Ipsos on behalf of Simplii Financial, found that financial constraints are keeping many Canadians at home for the holidays instead of travelling. More than half of the respondents who do plan to travel say they will be staying in their home province, while many are trying to save with cheaper flights and hotels.
