Tis' the month after Christmas and all through the town

The décor of the season is all coming down

We've eaten and played and enjoyed our Christmas fare

And now we sit and wonder if we've any funds to spare.

The bills are at the door, the forecast looks poor

How can we possibly pay for heat and food and more?

Do you ever find yourself in the day after Christmas debt predicament, or is it just me? Well it's time to cast off the chains of holly jolly credit card debt and do something about it. How about celebrating Christmas this year without breaking the bank.

Contrary to popular opinion, this does not mean that you have to go sparingly; it simply means you need to plan ahead. I know there are many of you out there that rely on the day before Christmas shopping spree to get your gift giving accomplished and just as many that naturally plan ahead.

Planning ahead allows you to have the money already set aside so whether we shop early or late, the funds are available and the credit cards and their impending interest are kept safely away from the cash registers. Here is the step-by-step process that has worked out best for me.

1. Make a list of who to include

It's up to you whether you base it on who's been naughty or nice. Figure out who you want to include in your gift giving this year - even if it's as simple as a Christmas card. Include children, family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Write down their names so you don't forget who you've planned on.

2. Decide how much to spend on each person

This does not have to be specific, though if you have something in mind as a bigger purchase it will certainly help. Figure out who gets a card, or a plate of Christmas goodies, versus who will be getting the bigger and more expensive gifts. Remember to include postage for gifts being mailed out of town. Also be sure to add on a little extra to replace that set of Christmas lights that will inevitably come out of storage not working.

3. Next, add it all up

Take those rough estimates and do the math. Remember to keep breathing so you can get over the sticker shock.

4. Re-evaluate

This is the step that comes next for me. I know how much I would like to spend, but sometimes my bank account has a different opinion. So I re-evaluate my need to give something to the whole of the world surrounding me and try for something simpler. Rather than buying something could I make something? Could I take those old jeans and make a quilt out of them? Thrift stores are a wonderful place to find things that can be repurposed with a coat of paint and a few embellishments here and there. Get creative and keep going.

5. Make a plan to come up with the cash

Now is the time to figure out how to get the money saved. Figure out how many months until Christmas and divide the total bill by the months left. That gives you an amount to put into a savings account each month or squirrel away under the mattress if electronic funds are too easy to delve into. The earlier the better. I start putting money into a savings account starting in January. That way, when the perfect gift or sale comes up, I've got the funds and it doesn't hurt my normal monthly budget.

If your budget doesn't allow any extra money to be set aside, then consider an alternate source of income. It's not too late to get a summer side job mowing lawns, pick up a paper route, deliver pizzas or whatever else it takes to find that extra money. You could also consider a barter system. Is there someone you know that can make the perfect gift for someone? See if they are willing to do a trade. Get creative and you'll be surprised what you can accomplish.

6. Do not overspend

Once you've set your limit, stick to it. The temptation is always strong to spend more, especially when you are bombarded from all sides by "essential"� things you never knew you needed. Just because it comes with a red ribbon and looks oh-so-cute and would go perfect with that one thing that you already bought for that one person, refrain. Think instead of a January free from the after Christmas price tag.

The most important thing about all of this is to remember why Christmas is celebrated. It's the joy of the season - the magic that comes from celebrating peace on earth and good will toward men. It's an opportunity to show our love and gratitude for others. Gifts do not have to come with the perfect paper or a huge price tag as long as they come from the heart.

The post Start your Merry Christmas now with a holiday savings plan appeared first on FamilyToday.

After months (now years) of trying to have a child, a woman sits on the bathroom floor and cries. Everyone around her seems to be pregnant, and she still waits wondering where God is in her life.

A man is trapped in a web of addiction even though he is trying as hard as he can to get into recovery, knowing he is hurting himself and those around him. He feels surrounded by darkness with a seemingly impossible task before him. He feels as if he is alone.

She is enveloped in depression. He is stuck in a job he hates. She feels stuck in a rut surrounded by the mundane. The main breadwinner in the family is laid off with no prospects of a new job. Someone loses a child, a father, a mother. Someone has a terminal disease. Someone simply feels hollow inside. Someone - everyone has something.

Where is God's love for you? How do you see it? How do you feel it?

I could tell you that it's hard. I could tell you all of the reasons why you should feel God's love surrounding you. I could give you evidence based on the earth, itself. This earth that God created as an awe inspiring manifestation of his love. He made mountains and valleys, rivers and streams, rain forests and deserts, and there is beauty and love in all of it. He gave us the sun to brighten our days, warm our bodies and help grow our food. He gave us the moon and stars to give light in the darkness; a reminder that we are not alone even in the darkest of times. This earth is filled with all types of beauty so that we, in our vast and varied states of being, would have something available to resonate in our souls when we take the time to look. So we could all have our own witness of the divine.

I could tell you that the scriptures are filled with words testifying of God's love. They give us direction, they teach us how to act, how to be good. They testify of God's ultimate gift of love, the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. They give us gems of truth such as "We love him, because he first loved us."� (1 John 4:19)

I could tell you that God's love can be felt and seen in the people surrounding us. The stranger on the street who smiles and says hello. The person who writes a note, out of the blue, thanking you for something and letting you know that you are loved. Or the child who loves you unconditionally, just as God does.

I could tell you all of these things, but these are reminders of his love. To see it, to feel it for yourself is much less complicated. You simply have to ask him.

Go to God, your father, in prayer and ask him. You can kneel down in a quiet place and ask. You can ask him while you are in the middle of work as you pray in your heart. You can ask while driving in your car. You can ask him in the middle of a crowded room surrounded by people, and he will still answer you.

That is how I received my answer, as a teenager, to this very question. In a room full of other teenagers listening to a speaker who asked us to ask God. I will never forget the feeling that day as I asked God - point blank - whether he loved me or not. The answer came into my heart almost before the request had been finished.

"Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (St. Matthew 6:9-11)

The manifestations of God's love surround us. They are vast and varied and available to everyone. All you really have to do is ask. Here are some ways to put prayer into action in our lives.

The post Does he really love me: Feeling God’s love through prayer appeared first on FamilyToday.

Here are a few activities that have really helped me and my family.

Plan Together

Plan out your days and weeks together as a couple and family. There are so many things going on in our lives that have us running here and there; errands, work meetings, school events. It is more important than ever to make sure that you are aware of where you, your spouse, and children are going to be during the week. Especially if there are teenagers in the family.

We often get so caught up in our own busy schedules that it becomes all too easy to miss things that are important to our spouse and children. Planning the week together will help in avoiding scheduling conflicts as well as give everyone a chance at the beginning to prioritize.

Pray Together

Prayer has power. It just does. Whether you pray together as a family or for each other individually, it helps. Public speaker and religious leader, Spencer W. Kimball taught, "If we pray fervently and righteously, individually and as a family, when we arise in the morning and when we retire at night, and around our tables at mealtime, we will... knit together as loved ones..."

When I am struggling with a problem or with illness and I hear my husband pray for me it gives me strength. Even if he isn't able to fully understand what I am going through it is a kindness that touches my heart to know that he cares enough to pray for me.

Prayer also gives you a dose of the divine. You can be more at peace and find direction and answers through taking the time to communicate with a higher power.

Play Together

Find time to spend together worry free. Margarita Tartakovsky, an associate editor at Psych Central states in her article "The Importance of Play for Adults" that:

"Our society tends to dismiss play for adults. Play is perceived as unproductive, petty or even a guilty pleasure. The notion is that once we reach adulthood, it's time to get serious... But play is just as pivotal for adults as it is for kids."

Tartakovsky goes on to explain the benefits of play. Playing together "help[s] couples rekindle their relationships and explore other forms of emotional intimacy." Play does not have to be extravagant or childish. Play can be what you want it to be just as long as it feels like play to you.

Anyone who has taken time to play with a child knows how important it is to them. Spending time with your child on their terms rather than yours helps form a bond in ways nothing else can. It's important for us to see the magic of a child's world and playing with them is just the ticket.

Practice Charity

"Perhaps the most powerful thing we can do to create unity in our hearts and homes is practice charity for each other," Marvin J. Ashton, a religious leader said.

"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other."

I do not have the perfect family. No one does. We all have our struggles and trials in this life. However, that doesn't mean we have to let them tear us apart. As the saying goes, "United we stand, divided we fall." Little things can make a big difference.

The post Let’s get together appeared first on FamilyToday.