Little man has a new favorite show to watch at home, and if you’ve had toddlers in the house over the past couple of decades, you’re probably familiar with the Wiggles. We’ve already seen our two girls go through their pre-school years, dancing and singing to these songs, so I’ve got the lyrics and the moves down. I’ve watched so many Wiggles videos that my coworkers will sometimes catch me singing Hot Potato at the office...it’s a catchy tune.

The funny thing is, little man has chosen an older Wiggles video as his favorite. It’s Wiggly Christmas, and it’s actually a VHS tape. The newer Wiggles episodes don’t hold nearly as much appeal for him as these original Wiggle characters singing Go, Santa, Go and Captain Feathersword’s Christmas party. So despite the heat, the sunshine, and our daily trips to Grandma’s pond to swim, Christmas is very much on my mind this week, and specifically the binging that we’re all prone to during the season.

I’ve talked about opening a Christmas or Holiday Club account at Afena before, and I really can’t say enough about the peace of mind that savings can give you when the holidays roll around. You aren’t reaching for the credit card, you’re able to budget for your gifts, and shopping for your loved ones is exciting and fun instead of nerve wracking. Beyond the financial binging we can fall prey to during the holiday season, there’s also the food. Food everywhere. From Thanksgiving feasts to Christmas cookies, binging on food is one thing that I’ve been guilty of year after year.

Thanks to the Wiggly Christmas, I’ve been motivated to get an early start on my holiday preparations this year. If you want to join me, here are some tips to help conquer, or at least minimize, the holiday binging.

Save, save, save. Then hit the gym. Instead of binging and purging this year, start saving money early so you can earn interest on your savings instead of paying interest on your credit cards later. Then make the most out of the warm days with a walk outside. The weather’s nice, exercise is cheap and you know that the Halloween-candy-Thanksgiving-leftover-Christmas-dessert gauntlet is coming in the fall.

Pay down your credit cards now. This is the flip side of saving. The more breathing room you have on your credit cards, the happier you’ll be. If your credit card debt is daunting, you can always talk to Afena about a low interest, closed end loan to get
those balances back in check.

It’s hot, the lightning bugs are out, and we’re roasting hot dogs on the campfire this evening. The holidays are a long way off. Still, we all know how quickly the months fly by. I’m Claire, the Afena blog mom. Thanks for reading.