Elizabeth Davis, USU Extension Assistant Professor

Initially, I intended to write about how to save money for special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays. But in light of what is happening right now, I'd like to focus on celebrating, especially during hard times. I've learned during the Covid-19 pandemic that despite the uncertainties that we are experiencing... life goes on. There continue to be weddings, anniversaries, births, and other special occasions. Valentine's day is right around the corner. So, how do we celebrate in times of financial uncertainty? Here are three tips to help you prepare to celebrate Valentine's day (or any special day) during economic uncertainty.  

I subscribe to our local daily newspaper and right beneath the crossword puzzle (which I try to complete daily) is the long-time column known as “Dear Abby”. While many of the questions posted are related to dealing with human frailties and requests to receive advice of how to “fix” problems, occasionally there is a post that catches my eye.
Recently, there was a post by grandparents regarding their granddaughter sending a Christmas gift last year they referred to as “a gift of a lifetime” which they have enjoyed all year long. “What was the gift and how much did it cost?” might be going through your mind as it did mine. As I do not have permission to quote the message, I’ll summarize it as best I can:

The holidays are time of year when people get together, enjoy some good family time and of course, spend copious amounts of money. Last year, U.S. households spent an average of $1,536 during the season. If you’re feeling the pressure to spend in order to make your family or friends happy, I wanted to share a few ideas that might help take the pressure off.  During the last 9 months being pretty much confined at home I’ve learned that happiness and what brings me joy really has nothing to do with money. But that’s not the message that I was being bombarded with especially as a young adult fresh out of college... 

When I was growing up it wasn’t unusual for me to hear my mom say, “Waste not, want not“. Growing up during the Great Depression these words had a practical significance for her as during those times of frugality it was considered a sin to waste anything.  Later on, while I was in college I came across the full quotation, “Waste not, want not. Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”  Basically, this phrase is to remind us that if we don’t waste it, we won’t be without it. How has our modern society of down-sizing and living minimally adapted to never getting rid of things we may need, for example that ugly sweater that Aunt Judy made for you several Christmas’ ago?  Well, they invented National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! There truly is a National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day (NUCSD) and it is held the third Friday of December each year; a day when people across the country trade in their drab everyday clothes for something more festive and decidedly uglier. 

When I was in college, I attended a community presentation on simplifying the holidays. One of the main ideas that stood out to me was spreading joy throughout the entire season (and not only on Christmas morning) and creating a gift-giving structure for children. I immediately fell in love with the ideas as a way to distribute the excitement of the season, to save money by sticking with my holiday spending plan, and to create an easy gift-giving system and tradition.