With so many Americans already focused on holiday gift shopping and planning, experts from Ramsey Solutions, based in Tennessee, shared insights and advice with FOX Business this week on how Americans can and should spend thoughtfully — and practice financial common sense.
‘Make a list’
“First, decide how much you can spend. Ask yourself: How much can I afford to save between now and Christmas?” said Rachel Cruze, personal finance and budgeting expert and a two-time No. 1 bestselling author.
Cruze is also host of “The Rachel Cruze Show.”
Ramsey Solutions personal finance expert Rachel Cruze advises consumers that once they make a list of people they’d like to buy gifts for this year, then “include a dollar amount next to each name and category.” (Ramsey Solutions / Fox News)
Added Cruze, “Make a list of the people you want to buy presents for (don’t forget parties and travel), and include a dollar amount next to each name and category.”
Then, she said, “subtract those numbers from the total you’re planning to save — and if you ended up with zero, you have perfected the Christmas budget.”
“It’s OK to have nice things — but don’t let those nice things have you.”
She elaborated, “This year, we are not buying gifts out of obligation — and we are not hosting big expensive parties based solely on tradition.”
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Instead, said Warshaw, “This year we are facing reality: The reality is this has been a hard year, financially, for a lot of people with inflation and student loan [repayments] coming back — and credit card debt keeps climbing.”
So — “’tis the season to practice the words, ‘No,’ or, ‘Not this year,’ with your kids and family members.”
Ramsey Solutions’ Jade Warshaw discusses the ‘student loan crisis’ and why the government should not be bailing people out on ‘The Bottom Line.’
Added Warshaw, “Instead of ending the year deeper in debt, it’s worth it to end the year strong by giving yourself the gift of freedom.”
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On this last point, she speaks with deeply personal knowledge.
She and her husband paid off over $460,000 in debt — and ever since, she’s been coaching others on how to pay off their own debt by “shifting their mindset, beliefs and actions around money.”
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