Remembering the feeling of being at home; strolling through Central Park, sipping coffee at Dean & Deluca, visiting museums, galleries and exhibits and gazing at art which speaks to my soul, enjoying sweet treats from Magnolia Bakery, soaking in the sun while reading the New York Times, finding niches hidden in the city, feeling at home mind, body & soul. New York moments are simply some of the best moments.

Lately I’ve heard a lot of people moan about Christmas being materialistic and plain indulgent. I don’t dispute that for many that may be the case. But I would also suggest looking at other areas in those people’s lives and if you look hard enough I would imagine you’d see a trend;  it isn’t Christmas that is the problem it is the attitude towards wanting, having, buying and self. Many of my Christian friends have started not celebrating Christmas after reading books on Christmas celebrations not being based on Christianity. Most of those people do not send cards, do not decorate, do not give or receive presents and do not attend any family events, parties or meals. Many of these friends have encouraged me to do a bit of soul-searching about this holiday, to look closely at the problems that exist and to perhaps choose not to celebrate this year. Only the more I soul search, for me, the more of a blessing I see that this holiday is.

• Should I take the time to write more letters throughout the year? Absolutely! Is it nice to take the time to write a personal card, send a nice letter and perhaps a picture or two to friends or family far away, you bet!
• Should I volunteer year around? Yes (and I do) but in my experience Christmas volunteering is often a catalyst in becoming involved in a project in the new year!
• Should I spend hundreds on gifts for myself and others? Of course not, but I would never do that anyway!
• Should I be expecting and wanting stuff? No and to be honest all those that know me in real life know I ask for nothing and often take weeks to open what I do receive!
• Should I remember that there are people with family far away or no family at all, who could use some love and support at this time of year? Yes and that isn’t more likely to happen because I don’t celebrate, in fact I think it is more likely to happen because I do celebrate (so am more aware of those who may not have someone)

I do not deny that there is a horrible state of materialism that can surface during the holiday season, but for me, with the choices I make there is also a wonderful simplicity that defines not only who I am, but how I approach the holidays.

For me this Christmas will include:

• Attending a Church service or two!
• Dropping off food and baked goods to several elderly people I know
• Shopping for the food bank
• Reading my Bible, giving thanks and lifting up people I know and people worldwide in prayer
• Enjoying a meal with family and friends (including those who do not have family to spend Christmas with)
• Volunteering
• An annual Christmas hike

I am very thankful that my friends asked me to examine how I celebrate Christmas, I did enjoy the process of reflecting on Christmas and how I celebrate.  My conclusion is that I’m not threatened by the celebration of Christmas, because for me Christmas is purposeful, it is a time where I can really put others ahead of myself, show love and bask in the celebration of what my King did with His birth, life here on earth and death. Nope, Christmas isn’t all bad in fact I’d say it’s pretty good

Always makes me sob!

Always gets me in the Christmas mood!

In the UK you can see a list of foodbanks on The Trussell Trust website!

In Canada you can see a list of foodbanks on Food Banks Canada website!

In the USA you can see a list of foodbanks on Feeding America website!

In Australia you can find information on the Foodbank - An Australian Without Hunger website!

As we exited the store my flatmate said to me “isn’t this better than Christmas” and I have to say I agree!

A lot of frugal bloggers are writing about Christmas, or I guess more to the point they are writing about how to get financially ready for Christmas, what to start buying and when and how. Last year I returned from a trip just before Christmas, it was a long trip which I didn’t blog about at the time for privacy reasons, it involved spending a couple of weeks with hurting, grieving children, in a country where there were no services, where there is  no help and in truth I totally forgot what time of year it was. I arrived home late night December 23rd with not a preparation in site, well aware that Christmas was only just over a day away.

A month prior I had met a family newly arrived from Africa who didn’t have any family in the UK. I asked them what they were doing for Christmas and they said they had no plans as they didn’t know anyone.  I almost forgot I had invited them to spend Christmas with me.

On December 24th I woke up and managed to scrape together some basic homemade goods, I think I managed Christmas biscuits, homemade mince pies and my famous homemade brandy truffles, barely enough for Christmas dinner & to split up between little gift boxes I planned to anonymously deliver to people I knew. I quietly set out to buy just a few things – a new top for my mum, a voucher so she could have a meal out with friends and a subscription to her favourite magazine, I bought a few practical things for the family newly arrived from Africa and came home. I quickly traveled home, made some donations to my favourite charities and left for Church. There I saw a woman with children I know who also wasn’t spending time with family and invited them too. In the back of my mind I was seriously worried about how much food I had, I had horrific jetlag and a wicked headache but trusted that somehow we’d make it though the day even if we resorted to bread and butter. After Church I chatted to my mum who told me she’d invited a few widows (some she knew, some she had only just met, one who was bringing her sons (!!!)) who had  no one to celebrate with. I began praying.

I’m ashamed to admit I thought for quite a few hours that I’d made a mistake. I began dropping off some baked goods to friends, widows, neighbours and people I knew within my city and finished off the evening with a few Christian friends for prayer. When I told them my Christmas plans they told me they thought I was mad to invite these people, that Christmas was for family not inviting people who might as well be strangers. For a moment, I agreed with them, I worried about what on earth I’d done.When the doorbell rang and people started coming into my teeny tiny lounge their words echo’d, part of me didn’t even want to open the door, the jetlag the exhaustion with such an emotionally heart wrenching 3 week trip made me want to focus on myself, made me want to simply relax and do what all those magazines call “me time”. But open the door I did.

The celebration lasted for hours, people chatted, children played, food was eaten, songs were sung, a walk was enjoyed, not everyone made it but there were enough people there for a great deal of enjoyment. Everyone talked about abundance, particularly when it came to the food. All that time I had spent worrying I had forgotten perspective. The reality was there was an abundance of food and an abundance of blessings.

My friends still think it is very strange when they remember what I did last Christmas. It might be strange, but isn’t strange sometimes good? I know I’ve spent Christmas, Easter & Thanksgiving alone (when I was in North America) and wished that any of my friends would welcome me into their homes however strange that might seem. But you know in the end it wasn’t strange, we were brought together to celebrate a day of love, we were brought together to celebrate a birth, we were brought together to celebrate fellowship and there’s nothing strange about that.

So right now, for the fleeting moment I think about Christmas (it really is fleeting because Christmas really is simple) I think about abundance, not an abundance of food or an abundance of presents or the abundance of money I’ll have to put away,  but an abundance of love;  love for those we know and those we don’t, love for people who share our faith and those who don’t. My only real plan for Christmas this year is to find people in need & help them, because really that is what it is all about. They may not need a barn and a manger, but they may need your love.

My other resolve is for it to not take 9 months to appreciate a blessing, because this past Christmas I think I was blessed far more than anyone who celebrated in my home and it has taken me almost 9 months to appreciate it!

My new post is up at the writer’s co-op I’m in!

First, I checked an old lottery ticket and found out I’d won £73

Then, I got a check from my old work for 1 months pay £1560 (they owed me this and were notoriously bad for paying, at times being 3 months behind – yes this was not good for the finances!)

Then, I got another payment from my old work for £142.44 for essential car user costs (apparently this is a new scheme from Jan and as I was there until April, this is my share!)

Finally, I got a £4.00 rebate for overpayment for my car!!

So, in the space of 24 hours I’ve received £1687.37

HUH????? How does this happen?!?!?! I never get money for nothing (granted I worked very hard for the £1560!). You know when your friends get cheques from godparents for Birthdays or cars from relatives or inheritances from great aunts they never knew? Well that was never me, so this money is very welcome indeed.

A comment from Sandi made me think carefully about what I’d like to do with it. I hate debt, hate it hate it hate it. So, I’ve decided to put the £1560 right onto paying off my £2000.50 credit card debt. I’ve just deposited the cheque and my credit card debt will now be £440.50. WOO HOO! (when everything clears!)

I’ve decided to put the £73 from the lottery into my emergency fund.

I’ve decided to earmark the £142.44 and the £4.00 into my travel fund for my Asia trip at the end of the year. This is a trip I’ve been waiting for (I’ll be visiting long lost family) for over 2 years. I’ve also found some very very cheap flights for £380 plus tax, so decided not to put it off this year, as, I’ve been saving my change jar for quite some time!

So, total emergency fund now: £225 from previous savings plus £500 from pay this month and £73 from my lottery win. Plus, I’ve sent in complaint and asked for a refund for a course I was on which was terrible. I’ve spoken to the fees office and I will get at least £280 refund, although it may be slightly more. So, hopefully soon I have another emergency fund update to share!

You know what the most amazing thing is? Despite having various cheques arrive today, I’ve not even thought once about what I could buy instead I’ve been thinking “oh I can’t wait to save this”

1. Look for hotels that have recently been renovated and ask if they have any unrenovated rooms at a lower price. Often hotels do renovations over several years, taking a wing or floor at a time. The unrenovated rooms are good quality rooms, but not with the most modern interior. I’ve found several hotels that have top class facilities, but with a wing of “traditional” rooms among several wings of “contemporary rooms”. The traditional rooms are 50% less than the modern rooms and yet have all the same facilities.

2. Piggy back vacations onto business trip. Granted you may not get yearly business trips to Australia or the Caribbean (I wish!) but, I do like a main holiday (at least a week) and a mini break (3-5 days) each year. So, let’s say you had a business trip to Edinburgh or even New York. Your employer would pay for your travel and accomodation (& meals) for the nights you are required to be there. Imagine your business trip ends on Thursday. You could ask your employer (before you book) if you could fly back on the Sunday instead of the Thursday (generally the flight won’t increase in price, could even decrease if the route is a business travel route) and then have a cheap weekend away. You could book an extra 2 nights accommodation – many hotels will allow you to use the business rate your employer receives and will continue to throw in luxuries – like free newspapers, breakfasts, use of the executive media suite etc.  With careful planning you can have that weekend away at very little cost.

3. House swap! Honestly, it sounds odd, but especially for families it is significantly cheaper! Ring your local Universities to see if any of their visiting Professors are looking for a house swap, ask around at work to see if anyone has family members that would be interested, or join an organization dedicated to helping house swappers find each other. Generally speaking you pay a small yearly fee, and get to swap houses for free. If you happen to live in an area that is a tourism hot spot, this can work very nicely in your favour! Even if you don’t, often people want to visit family without staying with them and don’t want the expense of a hotel.

4. Look to Universities during student holiday time for cheap accomodation. In 2000, I wanted to visit Oxford for 3 nights and the hotels were asking for about £70 = $150 a night. I found that one of the Universities let out rooms for about £18 = $36 a night and it included a room cleaning service and reasonable breakfast!

5. Do a charity holiday! There is nothing more invigorating than giving back, doing something you are passionate about, having a new experience and saving money! Many national organizations offer charity breaks beyond the popular treks people know about. You can help count whales, you can clean up beaches, you can plant trees among thousands of other opportunities. Accommodation is usually clean, reasonable and basic, but you often meet interesting new people and have a wonderful experience. Remember there is nothing stopping you from booking a night or two at the end of the trip in more glamorous surroundings, again as it’s only a night or two, it won’t add too much to your holiday budget! Check out some wonderful opportunities here

6. Find your hobbies and make them into holidays! As a child I visited a wonderful all ages music residential summer camp at a local University and had a great time. These great opportuinities are a lot of fun and still exist today. You can learn how to bake, cook, improve your musical abilities among many other things.

7. Know what experience you want but not where you want to go. As my major holiday is in October, I knew I’d need a mini break this summer, especially with the stress of moving and a new job as a not so distant memory. I was flexible about dates (but knew I wanted to go away in between summer half term finishing and the beginning of the summer holidays – this means good weather, but no school holiday prices), and location. I know I wanted a UK beach break – hotel on the beach. I looked at the map and decided I would focus my search on Norfolk, Devon or Cornwall. I used all the tips from my first post as well as the ones in this post. I looked at hotels recently refurbished, hotels with package deals, counted up the travel costs and looked at whether my AA memebership would get me a discount. Being flexible about where allowed me to grab a real bargin. Had I been stuck on wanting to go to Devon, instead of wanting a beach holiday, I would of ended up paying another £300 = $600 for the same deal!

8. Meal plans – sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Many times the cost depend on the time of your holiday. The hotel I booked, had a choice of 1/2 board, I orignially looked at the first week in July and found it was going to cost an additional £120 for 5 days, I then tried 2 other dates for the same number of nights and got my half board for 5 days for £10 = $20. What a massive saving!!!

9. Solo Holidays – Whether you’re single or coupled a solo holiday can be a wonderful experience. I took my first solo holiday in 2002 (when I was in a relationship!) and have been a convert ever since! The only problem with solo holidays is the supplement. You can ask travel agents to look for no single supplement deals, although they tend to be restrictive. With so many singles who enjoy travelling, there are also some great travel companies dedicated to the single traveller! As they buy in bulk, they can get great discounts. I’ve seen holidays advertised here, where directly through the oppertaors you would pay an additional £200-£300 pounds!

10. Get past the idea that sleeping = a bed! I’ll admit, I’m not so into camping, but since I’ve started looking into caravans, retro campers and yurts, to name but a few, I’ve found great savings on holidays! A week in a yurt in Cornwall, is about £400 =$800 cheaper than even a modest hotel. Some camper sights have great ammenities including showers and cooking faciliites. Many even offer discounted or free excursions.

There are so many more tips, I’m sure I’ll do another 10 tips in another post soon!

Some of the ways I’ve afforded a holiday are by employing the following tactics/strategies:

1. I set aside a certain amount each month into a travel account – I need to see this money as separate so that I’m not thinking “should I really pull money out of savings?”

2. I plan a bigger holiday one year, followed by a smaller holiday the next year. For example, let’s say this year I was having a holiday in China, next year I would have a smaller UK based holiday like a week in Scotland. This allows me to roll some money from one year into the next year’s holiday account.

3. I piggy back a stay with friends into a holiday. I have a couple of friends who live in good tourist areas within the UK. So, I will try to stay 3 night with them (being a good guest of course!) before going off and spending 4 nights in a hotel or B&B, so that I feel I had some of the luxuries of being away – things like eating in restaurants, using a pool and gym on site etc.

4. I’m a good guest when staying with friends, this means you are invited back! I always make sure that I bring a nice thank you gift – usually something unique, doesn’t need to be expensive per se, but something they will appreciate. I also make sure I treat the friend to a meal out or evening at the cinema/theatre and always send a thank you card after I’ve returned home. For longer stays I will of course contribute to groceries etc. I learned this lesson as I’ve had a few friends come and stay with me for longer periods and it has cost me a fortune to feed them and entertain them, therefore I stay with friends and treat them how I would appreciate being treated! This means I am always invited back!

5. I go to a variety of sources to look at rates – I’ll do some hunting myself online with places like expedia, travel bag and a few others, I’ll leave my details with 2 high street travel agents, I will try 2 airlines direct and I will try an independent travel agent. I try to get 5 or 6 quotes for the same, or similar, holiday and then compare the differences. I am willing to pay an extra £10 or £20 for convenient flights or to an independent agent etc. I have saved £200 by going with an independent agent, they often have extra info about money saving measures as their agents are usually world travellers themselves. So, shop around!

6. Look at regional airports. A family member lives near a regional airport (about 2 miles from her house) that regularly does summer charters (April – October) at about £300 less return than the bigger airlines going from the main airports. Of course you have to add the cost of getting to the smaller airports, in my case it is (if I book a month in advance) about £30 return, obviously I factor this cost in.

7. See a yearly holiday as paying yourself for your hard work, not frivolous spending. Get in the right mind set that you need this time to enjoy life to give you the energy to keep going in the rat race we all live in!

8. Don’t forget you’ll want to spend when you are on your holiday. Let’s say you saved £75 (about $150) a month towards your holiday, totaling £900/$1800 a year. Let’s say you booked a holiday to Nice, France and your travel cost was £750 ($1500) on a half board basis for a week including two sight seeing trips. This leaves you £150 for all added costs like lunches, drinks, any last minute purchases needed like a new swim suit, holiday insurance etc. Well as you can see, the money is quite quickly gone! Of course for that week you won’t be spending on groceries, so you could factor in that money, but I’ve found having a holiday spending jar really helps! I choose 1 or 2 types of coin and every single time I get one of those coins it goes in the jar! I personally chose 20 pence and 1 pence pieces! You would be surprised how easily this add’s up. Usually giving another £50-£100 to put into the spending pot! Doing this allowed me to purchase a very nice french comforter on my last holiday in France as well as a couple of Christmas presents in advance!

9. Make use of free stop overs. I’ve found that several of my long haul flights I’ve been intitled to free stop overs and simply didn’t know. I now phone the airline direct before I book and find out if there are any free stop overs – the independent travel agents are good at figuring this out as well. For example on the holiday I hope to go on in 2009, I’ve found out there would be a free stop over in Germany. I’ve always wanted to go to Germany and was thinking I would have to wait a good few years. Instead, I hope to have a stop over arriving early morning, spending 2 nights, before leaving the following evening. This gives me 3 full days of which I will need to pay for 2 nights accomodation and no extra fee for the flight. Knowing so far in advance, I plan to use my money jar to pay for the accomodation and hope to find a hotel that includes breakfast!

10. Plan, plan, plan. Where have you always wanted to go? How are you going to get there? I set up a 5 year travel plan – and make it happen. If you want a big trip, let’s say you’ve always wanted to spend a couple of weeks in California and then head to Hawaii for a week, then look at how much you’ll need and come up with a plan. Don’t say “I won’t have any other holiday for 4 years” because in my experience, the burn out from life and work means you’ll spend. Instead look at cheaper options for the next couple of years so that you can roll your holiday money over. So, this year you might spend a week in a caravan with friends in Dorset, costing you £200 for the week. This would allow you to roll over £700. Next year you might take a cheap overnight train to Scotland, spending 1 night in Edinburgh then 5 nights at B&B’s along the Loch’s (usually these are very very reasonable and come with a hearty breakfast!) and spend a total of £350, allowing you to roll over £550. Before you know you have nearly £2000 saved for that big holiday, not including your change jar that has been building for 3 years. I would expect, with interest and change you could easily have nearly £2500 to spend on that large holiday you didn’t think you could afford!

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy another 10 tips for affording a yearly holiday/vacation!