Balancing Generosity and Progress This Holiday Season

You may feel the weight of wanting to be generous while also trying to stick to financial goals, or the pressure of a growing credit card balance. So how do we gift without regret?

The holidays are a time for joy, gratitude, and—of course—gifting. Along with the excitement of giving comes the stress that can leave us feeling overwhelmed by the time January rolls around. You may feel the weight of wanting to be generous while also trying to stick to financial goals, or the pressure of a growing credit card balance. So how do we gift without regret?

The Happiness Boost

Here’s the good news: giving is great for everyone involved! Generosity is deeply ingrained in those of us who work in caring professions, where giving back is at the heart of what we do, but did you know that studies show spending money on others, known as “prosocial spending,” boosts our happiness? In fact, it can make us even happier than spending money on ourselves or earning a higher income! Wait, what?

We’ll say it again. Giving makes us happier than spending money on ourselves or earning more!

So how do we give in a way that is good for everyone? We want to balance our generosity with our progress and keep it all inside our plan.

Make like Santa and Ready Your List

So what is the secret to stress-free holiday spending? It’s simpler than you might think—make a list. Writing down everyone you want to buy gifts for makes the whole list one project and gives your mind time to process how many people you want to give to this season. Just like when we try to make financial progress without a Plan, when we shop without an overall plan, we tend to overspend on each gift. This is because we view these purchases as “extraordinary” and, as a result, underestimate how much we’ll actually spend.

However, when you create a list, your mind sees these gifts as part of a more ordinary spending pattern and as one big project to manage, rather than a bunch of individual ones. This simple shift in mindset will reduce the total amount you spend without giving up the joy of gifting.

Gift your Values

We know that spending in alignment with our values brings us even more joy. So this holiday season, once you write your list of every person you plan to give a gift to, take a pause to think of how you can infuse your gifts with your values.

Buying local, quality, women owned, black owned, environmentally friendly, sustainable, bright, funny, faith based, creative – what makes you come alive? It may cost a little more for the thing that is made in a way you support or not, but giving gifts that align with your values will unlock greater joy for you and the lucky recipient of your generosity.

Connect through Gifting

Just because you want to be generous doesn’t mean you need to break the bank, please don’t! Nobody wants that.

Often, the most thoughtful gifts are those that come from the heart, not from a high price tag. Consider making your gifts personal, like a handwritten note expressing gratitude, a homemade treat, or even a shared experience like cooking dinner. These kinds of experiential gifts create lasting memories and can often mean more to the recipient than something expensive.

Gifting is good for us and heading into the new year feeling ready to build on your financial progress is too. By creating a gift list and focusing on meaningful gifts you can maintain momentum toward your financial goals without sacrificing your desire to give.