No January Regrets January 10, 2008

It’s January, and I can reflect on my Christmas shopping with a sense of satisfaction. This year, I did not max out any
credit cards or go over my budget. I did 90 percent of my shopping online, which definitely helped me to accomplish that goal. I find that when I’m shopping online, I’m less tempted to purchase more than what I planned. Perhaps it’s because my mother is not there telling me, “You know, that blue sweater would look really nice on you” and there’s no salesperson suggesting add-ons to the gifts I am buying. Whatever the case, it worked out really well for me this year. I will not be going to apply for loans or anything like that. I have a feeling, though, that literally millions of people aren’t so lucky. Or weren’t so frugal. Or cheap. Whatever you want to call it! All I know is that I’m applying last year’s Christmas shopping strategy to this year. Unless I decide to ignore the whole thing and fly to the North Pole, where I just betting, however ironically, that Christmas isn’t being celebrated at all.