The Cost of Christmas

How much will Christmas cost you this year? $200, $400, $800, maybe even $1,000. Let's think of it another way, how many days will you have to work to pay off what you spent on Christmas? I think this exercise often puts things in perspective. We'll assume you work 8 hours a day, and social security, state taxes, and federal taxes apply.

If you make $8.00 an hour and spend $200 on Christmas, it will take you approximately 5.5 days to make it back. $400 would take 11 days. $800 would take 22.5 days. To pay off $1,000 you'd have to work more than a month at 28 days. But, what if you make more than $8 an hour. Ok, lets look at a couple more examples.

If you make $12.00 an hour it would take you 3.5 days to make back $200. $400 would take 7.5 days, and $1000 would take you 19 days, almost a month. If you make $16.00 an hour, that $400 would take you 5.5 days, the $800 would take 11 days, and the $1,000 would take you 14 days to pay off.

So, before you blow the budget on Christmas, consider how much it's really costing you. Is that overtime you'll be having to work worth it. What about that interest on the loan you took out? Could you get by with spending less? Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but you don't want to still be paying for it when Valentine's day rolls around.