Holiday Spending

Easy steps to keep your holidays happy

'Tis the season for temptation to overspend.  During this time of year, it is hard not to get into the holiday spirit and want to spend more money that you regularly do to splurge and get the gifts that they really want, and you want to give.  One important thing to remember this holiday season is that it much easier to get into debt than to get out of it.

While making homemade, personal gifts and shopping during sales can be done, oftentimes you may not find what you are looking for, and making gifts can become quite cumbersome.  In addition to these tactics though, some things that you may not have thought of before:

• Save Money on Food. Rather than throwing away any leftovers, store them in your freezer.  Avoid buying snacks and drinks while out, and try buying gneric groceries to save a little bit of money so that you can spend more if you want during this holiday season without feeling too bad about it.
• Kick a Bad Habit.  With New Years' just around the corner, why not get a head start on a New Years' resolution.  By cutting out cigarettes, expensive coffee drinks, alcohol, and/or energy drinks, you can save a lot of money throughout this holiday season.
• Utilize Public Transportation.  If you live in an area where you have easy and inexpensive access to public transportation, consider using it to save money on gas during the holiday season.
• Visit the Library.  Rather than buying new books and DVDs to enjoy this holiday season, consider borrowing some from your local library. It is easy and free!  Also, while renting from a RedBox may be more convenient, remember it still costs $1 a day, which can add up quickly.
• Coupons. While coupons seem like common sense to saving money, not a lot of people use them. For coupons, look through your local newspaper and clip the ones that you think you will use.  Once you have them, put them in a place where you are not likely to forget them when you go out, such as in your car.

The most important thing to remember this holiday season is to not spend more than you have.  While using your credit card will get you what you want to buy now, it will cost you later, so make sure that whatever you spend, you have enough money to pay off the balance on your credit card.

For more information and ways to keep from overspending this holiday season, visit the CFCO's CashCourse site by clicking here.

This CFCO is pleased to announce the creation of an all-new online parent resource center available on its website.  The resource center is complete with resources, activities, and information for parents to help their children learn about financial literacy topics outside of the classroom.  The information and resources cover all age groups. For more information, or to view the Parents' Corner page, click here.

If you are interested in learning more about the CFCO's financial literacy outreach programs, simply visit the link above, or click here.  In addition, there are samples of each presentation so that you can get a feel for what they include. Some programs also have informational videos for your viewing. Once you get to the site, simply click on the program that you would like to learn more about to view samples and additional information about that program. 

Also, if you are interested in requesting one, or more, of the programs, follow the link at the bottom of the page to the Program Request Form, or click here to view the form.

The Center for Financial and Consumer Outreach will once again be holding its High School Symposium Event in May of 2012.  On May 16th and 17th, hundreds of high school students from all over Western Pennsylvania will come together at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College to participate in  the 2nd Annual High School Symposium. This is an event you won't want your students to miss.

For more information on last year's event, Click Here.

2010 - 2011 Annual Report 

For a letter from our Director as well as a detailed look at the outreach initiatives and programs that CFCO carried out last year, take a look at the 2010-2011 Annual Activity Report now available on the CFCO website.

For more information on the Annual Report, and to view a letter from our Director, Click Here.

"Like" Us on Facebook 

If you have not already "liked" the Center for Financial and Consumer Outreach, you may want to in order to stay up to date on what the CFCO is doing.  New outreach initiatives, CFCO events, and the latest in financial news are all posted regularly on our Facebook page in an effort to keep consumers informed. 

To "like," search "The Center for Financial and Consumer Outreach," or click here. 

Contact Us

Erica Jackson, Director

ekj2@psu.edu

(814)-898-6784

Megan Wolf, Graduate Assistant

mew5212@psu.edu

(814)-898-6553

Amanda Shields, Intern

ars5458@psu.edu

Quick Links

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Archived e-newsletters

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CFCO Homepage

Our new website is equipped with everything that you need to set out on the road to becoming financially savvy!

On our new site, you will find links to current financial news, a background on our center, a list of our current programs complete with a program request form, and our contact information.

Join the Conversation!

As the Holiday season approaches, we all spend more money than we normally do.  So, we would like to know:

How do you do your holiday shopping?

Vote Here

Additional Resources

CFCO's Financial Calculators:

Saving for a Goal

Back to School Budget

My Bonus After Taxes

Save A Million Dollars

Mortgage Payment

For more information and more financial calculators, visit the CFCO's website here.