July 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Find Hidden Money https://www.debtfreedad.com/find-your-first-$100-workshop
In this episode, Brad Nelson, founder of Debt Free Dad, shares alarming statistics from the 2024 holiday shopping season, revealing the debt crisis many Americans face each year. He offers five actionable steps to prevent holiday debt: setting a holiday budget, starting a holiday sinking fund, reviewing your gift list, tracking every dollar spent, and avoiding last-minute panic buys. Brad emphasizes planning now to reduce stress later and provides insights on managing holiday expenses without going into debt. He also introduces a free workshop to help listeners find hidden money in their budget.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Nelson (00:00):
Now the holidays might feel far away, being it's
the middle of summer, but ifyou're not careful, they're
going to sneak up on you andwreck your finances, just like
they did last year.
Now, in this quick but powerfulepisode, I'm going to be
sharing some real numbers fromthe 2024 holiday shopping season
that are going to shock you andfive simple, practical things
that you can start doing rightnow to avoid going into debt
(00:22):
this holiday season.
And if you've been tired ofthat holiday spending hangover
rolling into January and yournew year, this episode is for
you.
Hey guys, welcome to today'sshow.
My name is Brad Nelson, founderof Debt Free Debt.
I paid off about $45,000 indebt and I've been debt free now
for more than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
(00:42):
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here atDeferredad.
Now I get it.
Like I said in the introduction, I know it's the middle of
summer as this episode airs, buttoday's episode, I'm hoping, is
your friendly wake-up call,because the holidays are going
to be here before you know it.
And I get it right, you don'teven want to think about the
(01:02):
holidays, right?
You're enjoying your summer, asam I, and you're not looking
forward.
Especially if you live in thenorthern part of the United
States or if you're tuning infrom someplace that gets cold
during the winter, the holidaysare the last thing you want to
think about right now.
Right, and for a lot of people,though, the holidays means two
things fun, but fun with debt.
Every year, millions of peoplewake up in January stressed out,
(01:25):
they're overwhelmed and they'reburied under a new pile of
holiday debt.
And, the saddest part, itdoesn't have to be that way.
Let me hit you up with somereal numbers from this past year
that should hopefully set offsome alarm bells for you and get
you to sit up straight and belike maybe we need to think
about the holidays this year,because during the 2024 holiday
(01:48):
season, 36% of Americans took onnew debt just to pay for gifts,
decorations, meals and travel.
The average debt a person tookon was $1,181.
And here's the scary part, youguys.
Twenty one percent of thosepeople said it was going to take
them at least five months ormore to be able to pay that
(02:12):
holiday debt off.
And, even worse, 20 percent ofthe people are only making
minimum payments, which meansthat they're paying high
interest and staying in debt fora long time to come just to
afford one holiday shoppingseason.
In fact, 42% of that holidaydebt was charged at the interest
rates of 20% or higher.
(02:33):
And think about that.
You buy gifts in December andby the next December you're
still paying for them and payinghundreds of dollars extra in
interest just for the privilegeof borrowing that money.
Dollars extra in interest justfor the privilege of borrowing
that money.
And here's what's reallyshocking me no-transcript.
(02:56):
That's right.
They're racking up holiday debton top of holiday debt.
Let that sink in a little bit,right?
So let's dive into five simplethings that you can do right now
to enjoy your holidays and skipthat holiday financial stress
and debt.
Number one right now set yourholiday budget today.
Start thinking about whatyou're going to spend right now.
(03:18):
This step is super simple.
Thinking about what you'regoing to spend right now.
This step is super simple.
It's easy to ignore as well,right, but it can be powerful.
Decide just how much you'regoing to spend on each person
before standing in the store,feeling that pressure, being
tempted by all of theadvertising and the hype to get
you to spend more money.
So think about that.
What's your number?
Maybe it's $500.
(03:39):
Maybe it's a thousand, maybeit's a hundred dollars.
Pick your number and write itdown.
This becomes your spendingtarget and your personal
guardrail and remember thisbudget, the holiday budget, it's
not about restriction, right?
It's not about being cheap andnot being able to have fun.
It's about being intentionaland being in control.
(04:01):
It's about knowing what'srealistic for you so you don't
wake up in January regrettingevery swipe of your credit card
or wondering how the heck you'regoing to pay off some of those
things already dealing with alot of financial stress outside
of that holiday spending.
Number two start a holidaysinking fund.
I love this right, andespecially because we're
listening to this episode early.
(04:22):
The holiday shopping season isfive, six months away.
You got time right.
But if you're new to thisconcept, a sinking fund is just
a money fund that youintentionally set aside for an
upcoming expense.
So let's say your holidaybudget is $600.
And again say we're about fivemonths away, as this episode
airs, from the holiday shoppingseason.
That means that you need tosave about $120 a month, or
(04:44):
roughly $30 a week, startingright now.
Do you see how much easier $30a week is to save versus trying
to figure out how you're goingto come up with all that money
at once when it gets to Novemberor December.
So that's it.
Just save $30 a week and itmeans when December rolls around
, you're going to have moneyready to go.
No borrowing, no scrambling, nofinancial stress.
(05:04):
It feels good and, honestly,guys, it makes the holidays feel
so much better.
And here's the beauty of thesinking fund it makes big
expenses, like I said, feel muchmore manageable.
Now I recommend opening aseparate savings account or
using, say, a cash envelope, or,if you have access to a high
yield savings account, earn someinterest on your holiday
savings as well.
It's just a win-win all around.
(05:28):
Number three get real about yourgift list.
All right, this is where peopletend to overspend, and I get it
.
You want to be generous, right?
We all know lots of people areimportant in our lives, but
generosity it doesn't have tomean financial strength.
So take a hard look at whoyou've been buying gifts for.
Are you feeling pressured tobuy for every extended family
(05:50):
member, a coworker, a distantacquaintance?
Consider alternatives when itcomes to some of the gift.
Sure to buy for every extendedfamily member, a coworker, a
distant acquaintance.
Consider alternatives when itcomes to some of the gift giving
as well, like family giftexchanges, setting up spending
limits or focusing onexperiences instead of actual
physical gifts, or just spendingtime together with an
individual and coming up withways to save more money and be
more practical that way.
(06:10):
And, by the way, guys, otherpeople are dealing with holiday
financial stress as well, so youmight be surprised how many
people are willing to actuallydo this, because we're all
trying to figure out how toafford the holidays and make
sure that we're reducing as muchof that stress as we can.
And here's the question I wantyou to reflect on too Are you
buying gifts for people whodon't even need them, or is it
simply out of just obligation?
You feel obligated to do it?
(06:31):
Remember, you're a financialpiece that matters too right,
and have an honest conversationnow so you're not stuck
overspending later on.
Number four get in the habit oftracking every dollar you spend.
Now, if you've been listeningto the Debt Free Dad podcast, we
talk about this one a lot.
It's like a broken recordaround here.
Track your spending.
(06:53):
So many people don't track.
They have no idea where theirmoney is going, and here's where
people lose control, especiallyduring the holidays, when life
gets busy, because if you don'ttrack your spending, you're
going to overspend.
It's guaranteed that you willoverspend.
Now, I'm not saying that youneed to create some elaborate
spreadsheet and spend hours andhours on this stuff every single
day.
That's not what we want you todo.
(07:13):
Just keep a simple note in yourphone app, all right.
Or write it down in a simplenotebook Every single gift
purchase, every holiday meal,every decoration that you buy.
Now, why is this important?
Because seeing your spending inreal time will help you pump
the brakes before you blow pastthe planned budget that you set
up.
Also, guys, this is reallyimportant to do just all the
(07:35):
time not just for the holidays,but really just for every
monthly budget that you have istracking your spending, because
awareness is key.
Now, number five avoid the lastminute panic spend.
This is probably the biggestholiday spending trap out there,
especially if you have kids.
Right, do we buy enough?
Do they have enough to open?
And you panic and you end upspending more money than you
(07:58):
want to because you feel thatpressure to buy.
And again, during the holidayshopping season, because you're
rushing and you're busy, youdon't price compare.
You don't look for deals, youjust swipe and move on right.
So to avoid this, startshopping earlier.
This is the cool part aboutsetting up that sinking fund
earlier is because you're gonnahave cash in a savings account.
So when gifts go on sale or yousee something that you wanna
(08:20):
pick up for an individual, youcan start gradually buying these
things over time, especiallybefore all that holiday noise
and advertising hits right.
So spread it out and you'll beless overwhelmed when it comes
into December.
And the beautiful part is, mostof your shopping can be done
and you can actually sit backand enjoy the holiday season
like you should.
(08:41):
All right, let's recap.
Number one set your holidaybudget right now.
Get working on this this week.
Number two start saving with aholiday sinking fund.
Remember, open up a separatebank account.
Make the savings automatic, putthat money away and then, when
it comes to time, shop.
You got money to go ahead anddo that.
Stay out of debt.
Be intentional about who you'rebuying gifts for.
(09:01):
Make that gift list early.
Number four is obviouslytracking every single dollar
that you spend.
And again, don't just do thisduring the holidays, do it right
now, for everything in yourlife.
You'll be amazed at how muchmoney you're going to find, that
you can even start maybe savingmore for the holidays.
And then number five startshopping early and avoid last
minute panic buys and all ofthat holiday noise that's going
(09:24):
to be out there.
And here's the bottom line theholidays should be fun.
It shouldn't be financiallystressful.
A little planning now means alot less stress later.
And if you're not sure where toeven find extra money to start
your holiday fund, I want toinvite you to check out one of
our brand new workshops calledFind Hidden Money.
It is awesome, and in this freeworkshop I'm going to actually
(09:45):
help you uncover money that's inyour budget you didn't even
realize was there, so you canprepare for things like the
holidays without going deeperinto debt.
All you have to do to sign upis just head over to
debtfreedeadcom, click on thefree resources at the top of the
page and you'll see theworkshop there, and I can't wait
to see how much money that youcan find.
All right, guys.
That's it for today's episode.
We will see you, guys, on thenext show.
Now the holidays might feel far away, being it's
the middle of summer, but ifyou're not careful, they're
going to sneak up on you andwreck your finances, just like
they did last year.
Now, in this quick but powerfulepisode, I'm going to be
sharing some real numbers fromthe 2024 holiday shopping season
that are going to shock you andfive simple, practical things
that you can start doing rightnow to avoid going into debt
(00:22):
this holiday season.
And if you've been tired ofthat holiday spending hangover
rolling into January and yournew year, this episode is for
you.
Hey guys, welcome to today'sshow.
My name is Brad Nelson, founderof Debt Free Debt.
I paid off about $45,000 indebt and I've been debt free now
for more than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
(00:42):
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here atDeferredad.
Now I get it.
Like I said in the introduction, I know it's the middle of
summer as this episode airs, buttoday's episode, I'm hoping, is
your friendly wake-up call,because the holidays are going
to be here before you know it.
And I get it right, you don'teven want to think about the
(01:02):
holidays, right?
You're enjoying your summer, asam I, and you're not looking
forward.
Especially if you live in thenorthern part of the United
States or if you're tuning infrom someplace that gets cold
during the winter, the holidaysare the last thing you want to
think about right now.
Right, and for a lot of people,though, the holidays means two
things fun, but fun with debt.
Every year, millions of peoplewake up in January stressed out,
(01:25):
they're overwhelmed and they'reburied under a new pile of
holiday debt.
And, the saddest part, itdoesn't have to be that way.
Let me hit you up with somereal numbers from this past year
that should hopefully set offsome alarm bells for you and get
you to sit up straight and belike maybe we need to think
about the holidays this year,because during the 2024 holiday
(01:48):
season, 36% of Americans took onnew debt just to pay for gifts,
decorations, meals and travel.
The average debt a person tookon was $1,181.
And here's the scary part, youguys.
Twenty one percent of thosepeople said it was going to take
them at least five months ormore to be able to pay that
(02:12):
holiday debt off.
And, even worse, 20 percent ofthe people are only making
minimum payments, which meansthat they're paying high
interest and staying in debt fora long time to come just to
afford one holiday shoppingseason.
In fact, 42% of that holidaydebt was charged at the interest
rates of 20% or higher.
(02:33):
And think about that.
You buy gifts in December andby the next December you're
still paying for them and payinghundreds of dollars extra in
interest just for the privilegeof borrowing that money.
Dollars extra in interest justfor the privilege of borrowing
that money.
And here's what's reallyshocking me no-transcript.
(02:56):
That's right.
They're racking up holiday debton top of holiday debt.
Let that sink in a little bit,right?
So let's dive into five simplethings that you can do right now
to enjoy your holidays and skipthat holiday financial stress
and debt.
Number one right now set yourholiday budget today.
Start thinking about whatyou're going to spend right now.
(03:18):
This step is super simple.
Thinking about what you'regoing to spend right now.
This step is super simple.
It's easy to ignore as well,right, but it can be powerful.
Decide just how much you'regoing to spend on each person
before standing in the store,feeling that pressure, being
tempted by all of theadvertising and the hype to get
you to spend more money.
So think about that.
What's your number?
Maybe it's $500.
(03:39):
Maybe it's a thousand, maybeit's a hundred dollars.
Pick your number and write itdown.
This becomes your spendingtarget and your personal
guardrail and remember thisbudget, the holiday budget, it's
not about restriction, right?
It's not about being cheap andnot being able to have fun.
It's about being intentionaland being in control.
(04:01):
It's about knowing what'srealistic for you so you don't
wake up in January regrettingevery swipe of your credit card
or wondering how the heck you'regoing to pay off some of those
things already dealing with alot of financial stress outside
of that holiday spending.
Number two start a holidaysinking fund.
I love this right, andespecially because we're
listening to this episode early.
(04:22):
The holiday shopping season isfive, six months away.
You got time right.
But if you're new to thisconcept, a sinking fund is just
a money fund that youintentionally set aside for an
upcoming expense.
So let's say your holidaybudget is $600.
And again say we're about fivemonths away, as this episode
airs, from the holiday shoppingseason.
That means that you need tosave about $120 a month, or
(04:44):
roughly $30 a week, startingright now.
Do you see how much easier $30a week is to save versus trying
to figure out how you're goingto come up with all that money
at once when it gets to Novemberor December.
So that's it.
Just save $30 a week and itmeans when December rolls around
, you're going to have moneyready to go.
No borrowing, no scrambling, nofinancial stress.
(05:04):
It feels good and, honestly,guys, it makes the holidays feel
so much better.
And here's the beauty of thesinking fund it makes big
expenses, like I said, feel muchmore manageable.
Now I recommend opening aseparate savings account or
using, say, a cash envelope, or,if you have access to a high
yield savings account, earn someinterest on your holiday
savings as well.
It's just a win-win all around.
(05:28):
Number three get real about yourgift list.
All right, this is where peopletend to overspend, and I get it
.
You want to be generous, right?
We all know lots of people areimportant in our lives, but
generosity it doesn't have tomean financial strength.
So take a hard look at whoyou've been buying gifts for.
Are you feeling pressured tobuy for every extended family
(05:50):
member, a coworker, a distantacquaintance?
Consider alternatives when itcomes to some of the gift.
Sure to buy for every extendedfamily member, a coworker, a
distant acquaintance.
Consider alternatives when itcomes to some of the gift giving
as well, like family giftexchanges, setting up spending
limits or focusing onexperiences instead of actual
physical gifts, or just spendingtime together with an
individual and coming up withways to save more money and be
more practical that way.
(06:10):
And, by the way, guys, otherpeople are dealing with holiday
financial stress as well, so youmight be surprised how many
people are willing to actuallydo this, because we're all
trying to figure out how toafford the holidays and make
sure that we're reducing as muchof that stress as we can.
And here's the question I wantyou to reflect on too Are you
buying gifts for people whodon't even need them, or is it
simply out of just obligation?
You feel obligated to do it?
(06:31):
Remember, you're a financialpiece that matters too right,
and have an honest conversationnow so you're not stuck
overspending later on.
Number four get in the habit oftracking every dollar you spend.
Now, if you've been listeningto the Debt Free Dad podcast, we
talk about this one a lot.
It's like a broken recordaround here.
Track your spending.
(06:53):
So many people don't track.
They have no idea where theirmoney is going, and here's where
people lose control, especiallyduring the holidays, when life
gets busy, because if you don'ttrack your spending, you're
going to overspend.
It's guaranteed that you willoverspend.
Now, I'm not saying that youneed to create some elaborate
spreadsheet and spend hours andhours on this stuff every single
day.
That's not what we want you todo.
(07:13):
Just keep a simple note in yourphone app, all right.
Or write it down in a simplenotebook Every single gift
purchase, every holiday meal,every decoration that you buy.
Now, why is this important?
Because seeing your spending inreal time will help you pump
the brakes before you blow pastthe planned budget that you set
up.
Also, guys, this is reallyimportant to do just all the
(07:35):
time not just for the holidays,but really just for every
monthly budget that you have istracking your spending, because
awareness is key.
Now, number five avoid the lastminute panic spend.
This is probably the biggestholiday spending trap out there,
especially if you have kids.
Right, do we buy enough?
Do they have enough to open?
And you panic and you end upspending more money than you
(07:58):
want to because you feel thatpressure to buy.
And again, during the holidayshopping season, because you're
rushing and you're busy, youdon't price compare.
You don't look for deals, youjust swipe and move on right.
So to avoid this, startshopping earlier.
This is the cool part aboutsetting up that sinking fund
earlier is because you're gonnahave cash in a savings account.
So when gifts go on sale or yousee something that you wanna
(08:20):
pick up for an individual, youcan start gradually buying these
things over time, especiallybefore all that holiday noise
and advertising hits right.
So spread it out and you'll beless overwhelmed when it comes
into December.
And the beautiful part is, mostof your shopping can be done
and you can actually sit backand enjoy the holiday season
like you should.
(08:41):
All right, let's recap.
Number one set your holidaybudget right now.
Get working on this this week.
Number two start saving with aholiday sinking fund.
Remember, open up a separatebank account.
Make the savings automatic, putthat money away and then, when
it comes to time, shop.
You got money to go ahead anddo that.
Stay out of debt.
Be intentional about who you'rebuying gifts for.
(09:01):
Make that gift list early.
Number four is obviouslytracking every single dollar
that you spend.
And again, don't just do thisduring the holidays, do it right
now, for everything in yourlife.
You'll be amazed at how muchmoney you're going to find, that
you can even start maybe savingmore for the holidays.
And then number five startshopping early and avoid last
minute panic buys and all ofthat holiday noise that's going
(09:24):
to be out there.
And here's the bottom line theholidays should be fun.
It shouldn't be financiallystressful.
A little planning now means alot less stress later.
And if you're not sure where toeven find extra money to start
your holiday fund, I want toinvite you to check out one of
our brand new workshops calledFind Hidden Money.
It is awesome, and in this freeworkshop I'm going to actually
(09:45):
help you uncover money that's inyour budget you didn't even
realize was there, so you canprepare for things like the
holidays without going deeperinto debt.
All you have to do to sign upis just head over to
debtfreedeadcom, click on thefree resources at the top of the
page and you'll see theworkshop there, and I can't wait
to see how much money that youcan find.
All right, guys.
That's it for today's episode.
We will see you, guys, on thenext show.
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