Feeling Guilty Because You’ll Have to
Spend Less on
Holiday Shopping This Year?
Here’s What to Do Right Now
by www.Sedona.com
The holidays are fast approaching, and retailers are biting their fingernails in nervous anticipation of the 2008 holiday shopping season. As you might suspect, things don’t look good.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is predicting a meager 2.2 percent rise in November and December sales, the lowest growth rate since 2002 (when sales rose just 1.3 percent). This will miss the 10-year average increase of 4.4 percent by a landslide, and bring total holiday spending to $470.4 billion in 2008.
On a smaller scale, U.S. consumers are planning to spend an average of about $832 on holiday-related shopping, compared to last year’s $817, according to NRF’s 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. Of that amount $466 will be spent on gifts for family, $95 on friends, $27 on co-workers and $44 on other gifts.
Meanwhile, the biggest factor in what to buy this year has nothing to do with quality, impulse or selection, and everything to do with price. NRF’s survey found that 40 percent of shoppers say that sales or promotions is the largest factor when determining where to shop, and another 12.6 percent say that everyday low prices are most important.
“Current financial pressures and a lack of confidence in the economy will force shoppers to be very conservative with their holiday spending,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “We expect consumers to be frugal this season and less willing to splurge on discretionary items.”
Though NRF is predicting an economic turnaround in the second half of next year, that doesn’t help families who may be feeling guilty or sad that they can’t spend as much this holiday season.
“If you're feeling guilty, remorseful, or just plain angry that you have less to spend on the holidays this year remember you're not alone,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates. “While we all have our own personal difficulties we tend to forget that no matter how it feels it's not personal. If you allow yourself to be open to at least the possibility that what is happening to you and everyone around you is not personal you're more likely to find a way out or a solution.”
How to Enjoy the Holidays Without Spending a Dime
It sounds cliché, but the holidays are not about glitzy lights, mounds of presents and matching reindeer sweaters. The holidays are about spending time with your family, giving thanks for all you have, and taking a break from the hustle that the rest of the year inevitably brings.
Yet, the idea that the holidays will be better if we spend a lot of money is deeply ingrained in many of us. Because of this, in order to finally spend less on holiday shopping -- without feeling that you are sacrificing anything -- you must first let go of your emotions, which you can do using The Sedona Method.
“You'll find that if you give from the heart it never matters how much you spent,” Dwoskin says. “So this holiday season give what you can without wanting anything back in return. As you give from your heart, both you and the receiver of the gift will know it. So this will allow you to have a much more joyous holiday season no matter how much you spend.”
Meanwhile, whenever you feel that desire to spend more than you know you should, use The Sedona Method to release. The more you release, the more you will naturally be drawn to the gifts that will help you reconnect with the true meaning of the holidays. The Sedona Method is one such gift that will nurture your family with inner peace, joy and success for the years to come. This year the Method is especially important to help your loved ones let go of financial, economic and political worries that may be dragging them down.
For the ultimate in holiday shopping, forget entirely about what to buy and instead open yourself to the love you feel for the person you’re shopping for.
“A simple and fun thing you can do while shopping is let go and then open your heart to the love that you feel for the person you're shopping for -- as you are actually doing the shopping,” Dwoskin says. “This will fill you with the love and the joy that you are.”
| 
