this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

Christmas is coming, and it's coming tomorrow by the looks of many retail stores. Stores do like to bring the Christmas spirit out early, but this year they went all out really early in an effort to get you to buy more. They are hoping that in your mind you'll think, "I'll just buy a little now and some more later and spread out the costs" but that you'll really buy some now, buy more later, and buy lots at the last minute.

Really, it can be a good thing that all the Christmas stuff is out now, buying a little at a time can be easier on the bank account. But don't fall into the retailer's traps, keep track of your purchases and when you are done with all of your holiday shopping, be done!

Retailers are expecting less spending this year by consumers, 2% less than last year is what The Tall One heard (most likely on NPR). 2% seems like not a whole lot considering the state of the economy and the fact that many people admit that they will be spending less this year. So, do their conversations go something like this - "I know we spent $500 last year on holiday related expenses, but times are a bit rough now, so really we can only afford to spend $490 this year". I realize that spending traditionally goes up each year (anyone know by about how much?) so in reality we're looking at maybe like 20% lower than it should be. It seems like spending should projected to be down a whole lot more. But I fear that too many people really won't tighten their belts, that they will still spend more than they can afford to spend.

UPDATE: I read in a Newsweek article this week that Christmas spending is actually predicted to rise by about 2.2%. I don't know if TTO heard wrong, or if someone changed their mind. It is the smallest increase since 2002, when spending increased 1.7%. An increase still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but such is life.