It’s been said that comparison is the thief of joy and never is that more true than at Christmas so for day nine of #mykindofchristmas the topic is money.

For almost everyone, there’s a tangible pressure at Christmas on how to handle money well and how to make it stretch. There’s an added pressure, however, in today’s society thanks to the rise of social media in particular, to keep up with everyone else.

We can feel guilty if we aren’t buying our kids what they are buying.

We can feel guilty if we aren’t staging the kind of Christmas they are.

We can feel under pressure to know how to handle finance – or even shame if we are in debt.

We can even feel guilty if we would rather take a simpler approach amid a sea of encouragement to go over the top.

 

Today we share a short video on budgeting and in particular, the Four Things idea, where we minimise what we give, helping to manage expectations and encourage budgeting.

In the video, Nathan also talks about charitable giving – but this isn’t specific to supporting us here at the North East Autism Society. It’s been proven scientifically that charitable giving – however little – can actually help boost self-esteem, can release serotonin and can foster a sense of wellbeing. This isn’t about us, or even the amount. So while there is a financial component to this appeal – this segment is about us helping to resource you.

Today also comes with a Four Things reminder download and if you would like a copy of Nathan’s spreadsheet please comment on social media or click here to email us.