The holidays seem to always run up on me…it’s like when someone jumps out in front of you in a haunted house, out of nowhere and no time to prepare for it.

Personally, the holidays are really hard for me money wise because I don’t have enough time for a job with my workload, so I have to contemplate how I use my money I saved from the summer throughout the school year.

So when winter break comes around my funds start running slim …unfortunately, I have to buy gifts for my family, friends and dog. This always puts me in a bit of a pickle. I have low funds and a large number of people to get gifts for.

After the holidays are over and I’ve restocked on my cash-money I swear that’s the best feeling in the world. I tend to go ham the first couple days spending some of my new cash, but I also spend my money wisely and try to keep a decent amount for the remainder of the school year.

The after holiday recovery can be a difficult one with the roller coaster ride of money fluctuations and awkward family encounters. So once it’s all over with it’s a huge relief, but also a rapid crash because I’m used to doing things and going places all the time.

It feels like a smack to the face, from doing stuff all the time, going to family parties and exchanging gifts to sitting around and waiting for school to start again. It’s a sad, abrupt transition back to school.

During this period the only things that I do are shop, eat and clean up messes from those first two things. Splurging on clothes and food evens out that emptiness I feel after the holidays and makes me feel like I’m not wasting the rest of my break even though I’m wasting money on things I don’t need.

Thrifting has become my best friend, but also my worst enemy during this period. I swear that I have never had so many jackets in my entire life, half of which I don’t wear often and some I’ve never worn.

My advice to controlling this urge to do things 24/7 is to instead use the boredom to advance on beneficial things, like something I mentioned before, cleaning! After a big thrift, clothes can be scattered everywhere. This is the perfect time to benefit yourself.

After you clean everything up, you’re tired, satisfied, and feel like you’ve successfully used that day to your beneficially. So, you feel like not doing anything for the rest of that day…which means you save more money and time.