How good it is to be in love right?
But Holiday seasons may not show the best of each other, running around with extra errands, buying gifts, struggling to make everyday payments while saving every last dime to cover for your winter trip, going out more often than what you are used to (and spending more as well), going to family events, not forgetting about the wine, for those with children going to their school Christmas parties, having them at home (instead of leaving them for classes). Everything while BAE is going through the same exact thing.
No wonder why we can all be a little more stressed than our usual rainbows and sunshine kind of mood, so to help you get through the Holidays we broke down a brief list of subjects to take into consideration:
Gifts
Make a budget to consider your loved ones (Don't forget about your BAE!). You must include your family and your in-laws, friends, people that helped you through the year, work commitments, and well, the list can get long, but your budget will get slim, so if you don't have this covered, we suggest you to read this Guide to Gifting (under budget).
Holiday vacation
To travel or not to travel, this may not be the question; and if you do have the chance, you should than think about doing it with your partner.
Holiday traveling is often more serious than any other time of the year trip, so if you can book a trip together for the season, be sure not to surprise each other. Talk it through and be sure you have enough money for what you both decide over, check out this article about how to save for a vacation if you can't afford this trip (maybe next year you will).
Christmas Bonus
Know in what stage of your relationship you are and (if you're there) make a joint budget for the season to consider what goes on in each other's minds about the extra money, if you don't know if you're there yet, talk it through with your partner, try making a joint budget for some spendings first and figure things out together as you do so.
When and whose parents to visit
Where to start... this can be a challenging situation, first of all you have to talk it through and settle for something that suits the both of you, and remember that you love each other very much, so you want your partner to be happy.
Some conditions may be more complicated than others:
- Where do your families live? If they live out of town, maybe it's been long since you last saw them,
- Can you visit them for the holidays? both of you? Can you afford it? Have your parents meet your loved one?
- When to visit? Before or after the major Holidays, for Christmas Eve, or Christmas morning?
- Do either of your relatives celebrate the Holidays?
- How stressful has this year been for your family or your partner's family? any sick relative you want to visit or will you miss someone close to you? Are your relatives going through a rough time? fights? Can your visit help the situation?
New Year resolutions
Have you notice how your partner has helped you to grow personaly? Well, probably you've helped your BAE to achive its goals as well.
Have you set yourselves joint goals? try to do so this year, and include your financial goals and plan how to achieve them throughout the year with the help of your significant other; read this article to get an idea of what goals you can try together.
