4 ADHD-Friendly Holiday Budget Tips | Stop Credit Card Stress | 88

0:00 Right. Hello and welcome to the Debt Rebel podcast. I am so thrilled that you're here. Today we're going to talk about four simple things we can do to set ourselves up for a financial win when it comes to our holiday shopping. Because let's be real, in the last episode we talked about Black Friday and we can talk about we can opt out of that. But you know what? It isn't always about just not doing the things that we enjoy and that and that bring joy to other people, right? Because gift giving is about bringing joy to other people, getting them a gift that they absolutely that they absolutely love, and just showing our love and our appreciation in that way.

0:39 And so I want to talk about four things that are really practical tips. I have helped them and I hope that they are helpful for you when it comes to holiday shopping. Hey there, I'm Jules, the budget nerd, and welcome to the Debt Rebel show. This is the place where working families like yours learn how to stop living paycheck to paycheck, crush debt for good, and build a life where money actually works for your family. In about 15 minutes I'll share practical family budgeting tips, tough love strategies, and the actionable steps to move toward debt free living without the fluff, the shame, or the confusion.

1:15 And I know a thing or two about this. My family and I have eliminated over $107,000 in consumer debt and that was after I got my degree in economics. So stay tuned. This is going to be a great episode. So grab that coffee, your planner, whatever you need to make this a great experience. Maybe a snack if you're like me. And let's make your money work for your family. So let's just dive right in. So First off is just making a list of who you're shopping for before you actually start shopping. Now, this one I thought was like, OK, seriously, this is so simple.

1:49 But you know what? There's always someone that I'm like, I hadn't planned on giving them a gift because I had, you know, written out this list of, you know, I'm going to get some stuff for my nieces, obviously for my daughter. I'll probably get something for my husband too. Although some years we have decided, you know what, we're not going to. And especially when we were really deep into our debt elimination journey, we decided we weren't going to be getting gifts for each other because it was so much more important for us to be debt free that whatever there was no gift that was going to be better than that.

2:20 And so you know what, it's deciding who you're going to be shopping for and being intentional with that so that you're not, you don't end up buying something for, you know, your neighbor's best friend because you saw the most you saw the perfect gift for them. But if they're not on your list and then you don't have to worry about purchasing a gift for them. So the other thing is right now you're going to you're probably seeing this already your inbox is just full of offers, coupon codes, promos, all kinds of things.

2:49 And there's, there's two things. This is unsubscribe from those things like is life or death, right? Because if you struggle with the temptation of seeing those things and then you go down the rabbit hole of shopping because everything is 35% off, then unsubscribe from those. The other thing that I like to do because I do want to see those emails every once in a while when I'm shopping for something specific because sometimes retailers will only provide promo codes to their e-mail subscribers. And also a little side note, if you're listening to this and you're not on my e-mail list, you should jump on my e-mail list because we're doing a 12 days of Christmas giveaways and promos and all kinds of fun stuff.

3:30 So trust me, that's an e-mail you're going to want to open. So, but is set up a separate e-mail address that's just for those, you know, you know, for, for shopping. So it's not necessarily about not getting those things. It's just putting them in a spot so they're out of sight, out of mind until you're ready to, you know, say you're going to go shopping for a specific gift and you know that it's going to be at a specific retailer. And then you can go in there and search and see what recent promo codes they have.

4:01 So the next one is to set a timer. And this is a really good one for online shopping because if you're like me, time blindness is really a big deal for me. So like, I have to set a timer or I have to like watch I'm, when I'm recording an episode like this, I have to watch and see like, OK, am I going over time? Because I can start talking or I can start shopping and the next thing I know it is like hours past my bedtime and I have a cart full of stuff that I should not be buying, right? So set a timer for yourself and give yourself a certain amount of time to shop up and it's set a timer.

4:38 And then when that timer goes off is step away. And so it's in this, in this scenario, it's not about not shopping and not doing the thing. It's just being intentional with our time and staying focused on the actual task at hand. So you're not, you know, doing scrolling because obviously that's super easy to do. And so setting a timer or sending those limits on your on your smartphone is really helpful too. So if that's, that's something that's a little another side note, something that I do that helps me stay on track.

5:10 And then the other one is choose a shopping deadline. Growing up, my mom usually had a goal of having all of her Christmas shopping done before Halloween. And I used to think she was crazy because I was like, why would you? Why would you do that? And now, now that I'm in that position, I'm like, Hey, this is really nice because she was able to enjoy the holidays with with ease and not have to worry about getting getting a gift because she already she had planned it out throughout the year. She had purchased things throughout the year and so knew who she was shopping for and then bought those gifts.

5:45 And then the hard part, I do remember getting gifts later on because she couldn't remember where she hit them. But is just choosing a shopping deadline for yourself. And then whatever that date is that you decide, that's your permission slip to just be done and focus your attention on something else so that you can enjoy, enjoy the holidays. It isn't so the holidays is not about not spending or not doing the things that bring you joy. It is being intentional and saying, are these things aligning with what matters most to me and my family in this season?

6:18 And if you're struggling with your finances, these are some great tips to help you so that you don't that you don't go to those credit cards and you don't feel that external pressure to buy all of the things or to spend all of your time shopping. And you can be present for your friends and family and enjoy the season and not feel that stress. So I hope that these tips were helpful for you. Again, just a quick recap is making a list who you are shopping for before you start shopping, Unsubscribe or maybe you create that separate e-mail for, for those retailers that you really want to stay in contact with.

6:57 But you're going to be getting bombarded with a lot of that stuff right now. So unsubscribe if that's not something that is bringing joy to your family or bringing joy to your life right now. And if it's causing a distraction or temptation. And then setting a timer and just giving yourself so much time to get your shopping done, especially if you're going to be doing it online and then creating a shopping deadline for yourself and saying, you know what, after this date, I am done shopping. And then that also when you're out, you're not more tempted to buy something because you've already you've already done your shopping.

7:31 So I hope those things were helpful for you today. And don't forget to make sure you jump on my website thatrebelpodcast.com com and grab your free debt Rebel starter kit because that will also get you on my e-mail list so that you can find out about the 12 days of Christmas. And I've got some really great stuff coming up with that. And so I'm excited to share that with with you this year. And also you might get a sneak peek of what is coming in 2026 because I have something really big coming and I cannot wait to share it with you.

8:07 Make sure you're on my e-mail list. That is the best way to stay in contact with me. I am on, I do have a social media presence, but I have found it is such a distraction for me that I haven't been able to spend as much time on there. So if you want to be able to get in contact with me more, you can get you can get on my website, thatrebelpodcast.com. You can jump on my e-mail list and we can exchange emails back and forth. So, all right, I am so thankful for you and thank you for listening. I hope that this holiday season, this Christmas is filled with so much joy and blessing for you and your family and that these tips help you just create a little bit more joy for yourself and your family this year.

8:49 All right, we'll see you in the next episode. Thank you for tuning into the Debt Rebel Show today. Ready to take your family budgeting to the next level? Stop that paycheck to paycheck grind and start living coming debt free. Head over to my website debtrebelpodcast.com. That's DEBTREBEL podcast.com to grab resources, tools and tips to make it happen. And don't forget, subscribe, leave a review. And if you know another family that will love hearing today's episode, it would be such a gift for both of us, your friend and me.

9:26 If you share this episode and remember your debt free life starts with one brave and I'm cheering you on every step of the way, we'll talk soon, Debt Rebel.