How to Avoid Overindulgence This Holiday Season

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

In several European countries, “Boxing Day” is a holiday that follows after Christmas. In the Netherlands it’s called “2nd day of Christmas”.

But it’s turned into a shopping holiday in recent decades. Stores and malls go on their biggest sales of the year.

Until several years ago, my family and I also went all in with the shopping. After all, “Everything’s on sale! Let’s buy!”

What I’ve noticed is that when you’re in the midst of your shopping spree, you often forget the things you already have.

You’re so engrossed in the experience that you end up buying things you don’t need. Like a new jacket, when you just bought a similar jacket the previous month. Or house accessories you’ll only use a couple of times, then use again.

We have since stopped that habit. We’ve seen how that’s not financially and mentally healthy. And we usually ended up buying things we didn’t need anyway.

There are three things that usually happen when your let yourself overindulge to “celebrate” the holiday season:

• You lose money buying stuff you don’t really need or want;
• You gain weight, thanks to all the holiday parties and…