‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the malls

Every creature was stirring, and running through the halls.

With time now so tight, to get it all right,

What will we do – shop the whole night?

It just never seems that it’s coming so soon –

This plays in our minds, a familiar tune.

Their Dad reads the list, as I check the tags,

We queue at the checkout and leave with our bags.

We do this again for each gift on the list,

But what would we do, if someone got missed?

We decide that it’s better, to buy all we can,

That’s how it goes, when you shop with no plan.

The big day arrives and we see their surprise,

The packages are wrapped with colourful ties.

But little do they know, that with each of their thrills,

Mom and Dad will be facing the bills.

The holidays pass with some fun in the snow,

We ring in the New Year, already in the know:

If only we’d saved and planned well ahead,

There’d be nothing to dread, no accounts in the red.

Years now we’ve been, keeping up with the tide

But down into debt, is where we did slide.

It’s time that we make, our break from the crowd –

We’ll only use cash; no more cards are allowed.

To make our plan stick, there’s really no trick,

It’s not like we’ll get, help from St. Nick!

Our spending we tracked, through receipts we did sift,

The biggest change yet, was our mind – what a shift!

We talked about goals, we still need to set,

This year will be different; we’ll trade in the ‘Vette!

One less payment to make – how much will we save?

Who knew that a budget would help us behave!

So often it was, that a new year looked dreary,

But back in the black, next year will be cheery;

We’ve learned our tough lessons, ‘bout the wrong things to do –

So it’s back to the basics – with debt, we are through!

How to Avoid Holiday Debt with a Budget & Spending Plan

Learning lessons from the school of hard knocks can be tough! The good news is that you don’t have to. If you would like help creating a budget with a realistic spending plan so that you can avoid holiday debt next year, here are some resources to check out:

• Tools to Create a Personal Budget that Works
• Free Online Workshops – Topics Include: Personal Budgeting & Using Credit Wisely
• Holiday Spending Plan – What Not to Forget
• Gift Giving & Gift Budget Planner

Note: this poem was originally posted on December 17, 2012