Talking FACS
Host: Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director of Family and Consumer Sciences Extension, University of Kentucky
Co-host: Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
Episode 13
0:00 Welcome to Talking FACS; what you need to know about family, food, finance and fitness. Hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program, our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families and communities to improve quality of life.
0:20 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER:Hello and welcome back to Talking FACS. This is your host, Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director of Family Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment.
Today, our topic is going to focus on holiday spending. We have three very big holiday months coming up and it's important to start a conversation about how to budget and how to plan ahead of time.
However, we’ll be doing a little bit of reverse roles today and I'm going to take the seat of the guest and share information and knowledge on family financial management while our cohost, Mindy McCulley, Instructional Support Specialist for Cooperative Extension is going to be doing the interview. So, welcome Mindy.
1:02 MINDY MCCULLEY:Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here and I'm glad you're here too. So, I love the holidays and lots of people do love the holidays, but sometimes we can find that we spend more than we should during the holiday. So, what are some tips for, first of all, starting out with the next holiday that's coming up, Halloween. How can we save some money?
1:23 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER:This is a very expensive time of year. We've just gotten the kids back to school, we've been through all of the expenses associated with that; if its school supplies or new clothes, new shoes, new backpacks, packing lunches again, all that.
So, it's really expensive time of year. But as soon as we get through that phase, the holidays start to hit. And so, obviously in October, we celebrate Halloween and in November Thanksgiving and December with the Christmas holiday.
So, let's jump right in, like you said, and talk a little bit about Halloween. I know we've talked about this before and I kind of think of it in my household of how do we take the scare out of Halloween in terms of the scare of how much money that it's going to cost.
2:01 MINDY MCCULLEY: That's right. Because it is one of the most expensive, right?
2:04 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: It is. It is the second after Christmas and then Valentine's Day, Halloween, and so, it's a very expensive holiday. And it really does not have to be. I think it's one of those things that just has gotten a little bit out of control; that we've kind of amped up the holiday, in terms of decorations and candy and costumes that really and truly families can dial that back and spend much less.
2:27 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly. And it's a good opportunity to think about how you can reuse things and find things that you might already have or just repurpose things.
2:37 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Right. And that is one of my favorite tips is to start with your own closet and let the kiddos shop your closet or maybe even better yet, let them shop Grandma’s closet because it may have some more exciting things in there.
2:49 MINDY MCCULLEY: Or more scary.
2:50 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Or more scary; that’s true, to make costumes out of there that we have a lot of things at home that we just accumulate that really and truly can be put together into a pretty neat costume for our kiddos. And if that doesn't work or we’re missing a piece or two, my next stop would be a consignment shop.
The consignment shops have lots of deals. Often, children's consignment stores will do specific sales for Halloween. They normally happen very early in the month of October. But you can literally get costumes for a couple dollars, compared to $20 or $30 at a retail store.
3:21 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly. Great way to save that little bit of dough.
3:25 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: It's true. And the kiddos have plenty of options to choose from as well. And you might find something that's a little bit more unique; something that's not as mainstream as well.
3:35 MINDY MCCULLEY: Gives them the opportunity to be a little creative in thinking about what they might want to be for Halloween.
3:41 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Right. And then my next tip is– and you know this as our instructional design specialist or marketing Internet guru, etc. is that there are lots of DIY ideas that people can look for online. And so, just thinking about how to do those Internet searches for Halloween costumes or for recipes, if you're going to a party, you need to take a dish, easy cheap ideas that you can find out there.
4:07 MINDY MCCULLEY: Oh exactly. And that's a great way to also include the kids in the experience, because they might be more savvy than you are on the Internet.
4:14 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Exactly. And it gives them some power of choice again that we want them to feel that they have choice, they can do their Internet search ahead of time so you know exactly, if you do need to go out to shop, exactly what you're shopping for.
And then I think lastly, when we think about Halloween, especially I know at least my children, they're thinking about the candy. And we don't necessarily want to be a scrooge at Halloween and not pass out candy or some other alternative items, but we do want to be mindful of how expensive that can be.
4:48 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly.
4:49 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: The candy is very, very costly. I would encourage individuals to start shopping early, to look for sales either online or in their grocery store circulars, look for coupons that may be out there. I know my parents live in a neighborhood where they have lots and lots and lots of kiddos. And so, my mom has to kind of ration candy.
5:08 MINDY MCCULLEY: That's right.
5:09 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER:And she does start buying early, but she also has to hide the candy, because if my dad finds it, she won't have enough for her trick or treaters.
So, think ahead, plan ahead, try and buy candy that you think will– you don't want a lot leftover at the end.
5:26 MINDY MCCULLEY: Right.
5:27 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Not only is that not good for our budget, it's also probably not good for our waistline.
5:31 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly.
5:32 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: And then also, you know, lastly thinking about that there are alternatives to candy and that might be pencils, erasers, little bags of pretzels, cereal bars. So, there's healthier options out there as well.
5:46 MINDY MCCULLEY: Yes. You can find online as well in bulk. These are all great tips; great suggestions. And I know that everyone's going to be looking forward to getting into the Halloween spirit, right?
5:57 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Right. And then, you know, as soon as we wrap up Halloween, then we are right on the heels of Thanksgiving.
6:04 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly. That's one of those holidays, maybe we don't have as many other expenses, but food expense is huge with our Thanksgiving.
6:11 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Exactly. So, we've talked before about having a thrifty Thanksgiving. And ways to have that thrifty Thanksgiving would be– and this not only, I think, helps the budget and helps you save a few dollars, but also maybe take some of the stress off the holidays is have a potluck that maybe if you're hosting the holiday dinner, maybe you provide the turkey, the main meat, and everyone else that is joining, ask them to bring a salad or dessert or some type of side dish. So, it spreads around not only the cost, but it also spreads around the work.
6:44 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly.
6:45 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: I also think the other cost with Thanksgiving that people often don't think about is the costs associated with travel.
6:52 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly.
6:53 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: That if you're driving far or maybe even flying it to visit family members that that is a significant expense. And if you're planning to turn around and do that exact same trip again, at the end of December for the Christmas holiday, then maybe it is, you know, it could be having a tough conversation with their family members of saying, “We can only come once this year. Would you rather us come for Thanksgiving, would you us come for Christmas or maybe we come in between the two?”
7:17 MINDY MCCULLEY: Right.
7:18 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: But really thinking about how we're spending those travel dollars. And encourage people that if dollars are tight around the holidays, and we often don't think about that with the with the Thanksgiving holiday, but be open with your family members, have a conversation with them, share that information with them. You don't have to tell them all of your financial secrets, but let them know that things might be a little bit tighter this year and you just can't make that trip twice or that–
7:44 MINDY MCCULLEY: Or once. It might be too hard to make it once.
7:49 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Exactly. So, definitely planning ahead for the holiday meal, getting expectations set ahead of time for travel, if you are traveling and that is a significant expense, putting that budget into place now, a couple months earlier, so that you have time to save up for it. In terms of your food, looking for grocery deals, looking for coupons, checking online again. And then also, and I know this is something you're very familiar with, is shopping for that in-season produce with out meals.
8:13 MINDY MCCULLEY: Oh, yes, definitely. So, we do want to find the pumpkin and the squash.
8:18 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Right. Right. So, just kind of planning that menu ahead of time. And the things that are in season, if you're not that familiar with the seasonal food calendar, it'd normally be the things that are in high supply at the grocery store and also on sale.
8:31 MINDY MCCULLEY: Exactly.
8:32 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: And it becomes a win-win item.
8:33 MINDY MCCULLEY: Sweet potatoes.
8:34 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Sweet potatoes. Exactly, they're going to be those that are on sale. So, just looking at their sale ads can really help you plan your menu as well.
8:42 MINDY MCCULLEY: And then another point that you might want to talk about is letting kids help plan the menu as well for that holiday, because that does give them the opportunity to be involved.
8:51 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Right. And Thanksgiving is a little bit harder for our kiddos to invest in. Halloween, they're all excited about dressing up and with Christmas, they tend to be very excited about presents. And Thanksgiving is a little bit more difficult to involve them in.
So, if we can include them in the meal prep, in their menu planning and then also just the conversation about the meaning of Thanksgiving and the opportunity of Thanksgiving. And the more we reduce our budget, the more that we're able to focus on some of the real meanings of the holidays as well.
9:20 MINDY MCCULLEY: And one thing that we did with our children, we went to a community food serving for Thanksgiving and it reinforces the whole meaning of Thanksgiving.
9:29 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: In a great way to give back to you to your local community.
9:32 MINDY MCCULLEY: Jennifer, these are all great tips for Halloween and for Thanksgiving. And we know that Christmas can be a podcast on its own. So, let's come back and talk about some of the things that we might want to think about when we're planning for our Christmas holiday.
9:46 DR. JENNIFER HUNTER: Sounds like a good plan.
9:49 Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition, health, resource management, family development and civic engagement. If you enjoy today's podcast, have a question or a show topic idea, leave a ‘Like’ and comment on Facebook @UKFCSExt. Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu or contact your local extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. We build strong families. It starts with us.
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