It’s that time of year again.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, or just want to take part in some of the incredible shopping deals this season brings, temptation is all around us.  We all want to be the person that gives the most memorable, thoughtful and all-around great gift (sometimes despite the cost that may come with such a burdensome task).  But is sparing no expense really the healthiest way to keep our debt low (especially as college and high school students where you may have limited income; most of which goes towards paying tuition and all of those miscellaneous expenses like books and the occasional pizza)?  Probably not.  It’s important not to get caught up in the spirit of too-much gift giving, or giving beyond our means.  If you are not able to pay for your purchase in cash (or at least pay your credit card bill when it arrives next month), it may not be the most appropriate gift to buy for your budget.  Really paying attention to any debt that you may be accruing now, and trying to find ways to combat that, will help you establish good spending habits as you get ready to enter the world of rent, mortgages, car payments, insurance, student loan repayment, grocery shopping and all the other expenses, such as the electric and cable bill that you may not be used to paying now.

So what’s a high school or college student to do? Get creative!  Great gifts do not need to have a great cost attached to it.  Think about the best gift you ever received; it probably had more sentimental value than dollar value.  One year, a roommate of mine made everyone in our suite a blanket out of old flannel sheets that she cut into squares and designed especially for each one us (it even included a picture of her with each person).  The cost was not great…she already had the old sheets, but I promise you we all used it, loved it, and I still use it (when I can get it away from my cats…they love it too!)  Think about things that you can do for your loved ones.  Maybe you can create a memory book for them, frame a photo of the two of you, bake cookies or even better, offer to cook them a full meal served by you where you can both spend some quality time together (let’s face it, with such hectic lives we don’t always have time to truly devote to catching up with each other). 

Plymouth State University has a blog offering suggestions for college students to make inexpensive gifts (and they even list the approximate cost associated with each item to make it even more user-friendly!)  Go to http://heart-and-hand.blogs.plymouth.edu/ to learn more.  And for some other gift giving ideas, check out this website.   Remember, holiday gift-giving does not need to mean large amounts of bills accrued by the gift-giver.  The recipient cares more about the thought than the dollar amount, and you can spare yourself the credit care debt with the interest that comes along with carrying said debt.  Be financially savvy this holiday season; your bank account will thank you!

Off to make something special for my loved ones,
Val