Welcome to my new financial challenge called Christmas In July where we will take the time to get financially ready for a debt free Christmas. If you missed the first post, please head over here and catch up.

I am super excited to write this first post for my Christmas In July series. Why? Because this is one topic I am very passionate about; being mentally ready to deal your finances is extremely important. As much as I post about budgeting, finding ways to save money, freebies, and other financial things, having the right mindset is the most important.

Again, to go over quickly why I decided to take on this financial challenge was to help others have a debt free Christmas. I think that when you are financially set for your Christmas, you will focus on what is important to you and your family.

I feel that if you start planning for Christmas now, it will relieve some of the stress that comes with the holiday season and it will help you see how much better your holiday season will be when you have control of your finances.

Having the right mentality matters when you start a challenge. Whenever dealing with situations of any kind, it's always important to have the right mindset.

Having a positive mindset when it comes to your finances, is key to success. This is something I will always say to anyone who wants to achieve financial success. You can win a million dollars, but if you don't have the right mindset, you will be broke in no time.

I always speak about having a broke mindset and a wealthy mindset. Having a negative mindset will not help you achieve anything. Having a wealthy mindset, and living a wealthy life starting now, will benefit you during this upcoming holiday season.

How To Get The Right Mindset For Christmas

Be Honest.

In order to succeed in this Christmas in July challenge, we have to be honest and accept that we are not perfect; we have faults. You are an adult and you are responsible for your finances. There's no one to blame but yourself; we have to accept this in order to move forward with this challenge.

You have to be honest and accept responsibility for your finances. If you want to succeed and have your finances ready for Christmas, then you have to be honest with yourself. I know you want to have money saved for Christmas, it is possible. You will have money saved for Christmas if you are honest and accept your faults.

Commitment.

You have to be committed in this goal. You have to make sure that this is what you want; that you want to save and manage your money in order to have a debt free Christmas. You want to enjoy your holidays without the financial stress.

Are you going to commit these upcoming months to saving money for Christmas? Are you going to cave and be bored within a few weeks? These questions are important, and it goes back to being honest with yourself. In order to succeed, you have to commit.

Change the mindset.

This is very important, and again, something I am extremely passionate about. This is something I learned during my financial journey, that is to change that mindset from a broke mindset, to a wealthy, positive mindset.

When we say the word wealthy, right away our minds think of money and power. The truth is that defining what wealth is to you, is very important. When it comes to finances, having a wealthy mindset is important. Not because having a wealthy mindset means you will be rich, but it defines how you succeed on your financial journey.

To be honest, wealth is a mindset, just like a broke mindset. What makes this wealth mindset better than a broke mindset is that it will help you succeed. A broke mindset is just lacking, it’s limited and full of negativity; therefore, it’s not helping you achieve anything.

How do you know you have a broke mindset? Does this look familiar?

There’s Nothing We Can Do About It.

Accepting that having debt is acceptable and living paycheck to paycheck. Accepting that during this upcoming Christmas season, you will get into debt, or more debt, because it is OK. I'm here to tell you that this is fixable and it starts with you.

Start saving money now for Christmas because you already know that it will create a big financial stress. By doing this, you will know that you have money saved for gifts and anything you want for the upcoming holiday season.

Settling down with “there's nothing we can do about it” is not acceptable during this Christmas In July challenge.

Once you start evaluating your debt and start to save for Christmas, this mindset will change completely. You will know that you DON'T have to have a stressful Christmas because you have no money.

We Deserve.

During the Christmas season, we overspend money. We have this mentality that we worked hard all year and now it is time to reward ourselves. This mentality leads to our financial downfall. This gets us in trouble.

We live in a society where we think we deserve it. We deserve a brand new state of the art phone. During the holiday season, it's the biggest shopping season of the year. People love to shop and they simply buy anything. I know this because I worked in retail for many years. They want you to think that you deserve that tablet or cell phone.

Our kids deserve the best Christmas ever. The word deserve is a dangerous one, and during the holiday season, we sure act like we are entitled to everything we want. This is dangerous behavior that leads to spending money for the wrong reasons.

During the holiday season, it is important to understand what we don't deserve it, and we don't need it. I can tell you that many times customers will go nuts trying to get an item that, to them, their children needed to make their Christmas a better one. It is because they promise them they will get it.

People will pay an insane amount of money to get that special toy or present for that special someone. This behavior is one of the main reason our finances are a mess.

When you start thinking for the upcoming months leading to Christmas that you deserve something that will affect your Christmas financial plans, ask if you really deserve something if you can't afford it?

Do you want to be stressed this Christmas season, or do you want to enjoy your holiday? Do you want to work hard all year and still have a financially hard Christmas?

Ask yourself this question, why do you deserve it? Why should you justify a big purchase? Everyone else works hard, some even harder than others, and they are not celebrating every Friday or purchasing things they don't really need that will affect their finances. By changing this “We Deserve” belief and sticking to your Christmas financial goals, it will prove that this mindset can be changed completely.

Don't compare yourself to others.

This could be one of the major reasons why many struggle financially during the holiday season. You compare yourself with others; you want to compete with others and this leads to your financial stress.

I'm sure you probably heard about this saying, keeping up with the Joneses. We live in a society where we compete and want to be liked by others. We want to present ourselves as we can do what others are doing and do it better.

We want the big home because everyone expects people to have the big home and the flashy cars. Though, the reality is that your finances are screaming. During the Christmas season, we spend money on holiday photos. Did I tell you that a photo with Santa can cost over $40 for the cheapest, single photo package at our local mall?

We go buy brand new holiday clothing because we want to look our best. We spend so much money and compare ourselves to others, it's really affecting us financially.

If you can't afford it, and it's not a need, then don't spend your money. This is not what the holiday season is about. Never compare or try to live up to others expectations. Your Christmas is important, you want to spend it in a way that makes you happy and keeps you debt free.
In order to have the best Christmas financially, we must change our mindset and be open and honest with ourselves. Can you enjoy your holiday season without the stress of money? You absolutely can, but it all depends on you.

The good news is that we can change, we can change our mindset and when we do you see things in a different perspective, it makes sense. This is why I feel that if you start and plan on having a debt free Christmas, you will get to enjoy Christmas in a different way.

Here are some helpful steps to change your broke/negative mindset to a wealthy mindset.

Change your thinking – You need a reality check, you need to be honest and accept it. You can only change you and that’s what’s important. Also know that it is difficult and you have to make sure you are 100% committed.

Understand your broke mindset – I’ve written about my broke mindset and my struggles with it. The same goes for you and understanding your broke mindset. Ask yourself these questions, “why do you spend money?” “Does spending money provide some sort of relief?” By answering these questions, and understanding your broke mindset, you will determine how to break from it.

Make a plan – Nothing makes it more of a reality when you write it down and create a plan. Now that you understand, and are determined to break from this mentality, it is time to start working on it. Create clear plans and know that you will make mistakes. Remember, you are changing beliefs that were instilled for many years. You are trying to break free from those financial beliefs in order to move forward. When you create a plan on how to break from this broke mindset, it helps if you make yourself accountable and encourages you to succeed.

Visualize your success in any shape or form – This means to maintain and remind yourself why you are doing this. Always surround yourself with things, or people, that remind you why you are doing this. It could be something as simple as a photo that gives you encouragement, positive quotes that will motivate you to keep going, or you could read blogs and forums that share the same experience as you.

Appreciate what you have – ALWAYS be grateful of everything you have no matter how broke you think you are. Stressing and worrying on things you don’t have will never get you anywhere. When you appreciate what you have now, more will come. Don’t believe me? Think of it this way; your finances are a mess, yet you think of wanting more. You want a brand new pair of sneakers. You are waiting for your income tax refund to get more stuff. You are not appreciating, nor are you satisfied with, the things you already have. This is why you’re in the financial mess you are in.

In order to have the right mindset for Christmas, it depends on you. To succeed in this challenge, you have to be ready mentally or you will fail. You will give in and let your emotions get you into more financial trouble during the holiday season.

Remember that the number one reason you have financial problems is because of you, and no one else. Until the next post when we go over creating a Christmas plan.

How does your mindset affect your Christmas season financially?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net