Hale Dwoskin, Featured Expert in #1 Mega-Bestseller 'The Secret,' Announces Spending Too Much During the Holidays: How to Avoid it This Year...And For Good

Hale Dwoskin, featured teacher in the #1 bestseller "The Secret" and founder of The Sedona Method, has just announced how to avoid spending too much during the holidays ... for good.

Sedona, AZ (PRWEB) November 30, 2007 -- Love Yourself! Why Most People Don't Practice Self-Congratulation Enough. This year, holiday spending is expected to increase anywhere from 3 percent (according Standard & Poor's) to 4.5 percent (according to Ernst & Young). A 4 percent increase would bring sales from the holiday shopping season that runs from November to December to nearly $475 billion.

Though this is a smaller rise in spending than occurred in both 2005 (5.8 percent increase) and 2006 (4.9 percent), consumers still need to be careful with spending too much of their own hard-earned cash this year.

Already, nearly one-third of Americans say they feel worse off financially this year, according to a national survey by America's Research Group. Add to that the yearly holiday spending burden -- the average American will spend over $800 on holiday gifts this year, according to the National Retail Federation -- and many could be left in a real financial pinch come January.

Whether because of tempting advertising gimmicks and marketing tricks, or just getting caught up in the holiday spirit, (http://www.sedona.com/lp-preholidaystress.aspx) consumers tend to go over their holiday spending budgets by an average of 15 percent to 30 percent, according to the International Mass Retail Association.

"There are two main reasons why people overspend around the holidays," says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates. "First off there is the feeling of obligation to give to people we would not give to the rest of the year -- and to over-give to those we care about. The other is simply getting caught up in the societal and media-driven lust that is generated to support the consumer machine that is intentionally generated around the holidays."

The end result is that after the gifts have been given, many consumers are left facing major credit card bills -- and are now still paying off their holiday debt from 2006.

How to Avoid Over-Spending this Holiday Season

This can be the year that consumers do not go into debt over their holiday gifts. Taking control of spending (http://www.sedona.com/lp-spending.aspx) is well within reach when using The Sedona Method. (http://www.sedona.com/)

The Method works by teaching people how to easily let go of the emotional factors driving them to overspend. Some people feel they must spend money (http://www.sedona.com/lp-MoneyMoney.aspx) to prove to someone that they love him or her. Or they are trying to create the "perfect" holiday by buying material items. When people release these false assumptions, they will find that they are free to enjoy the holiday in a way that they never have before -- free of lust.

"When you simply let go of your feelings of lust and obligation -- and then simply follow your intuitive knowingness as opposed to reacting and allowing your feelings to push you around -- you will be in total control of your spending, and you'll enjoy the deeper meaning of the holidays," Dwoskin says.

The Sedona Method is, in fact, an excellent gift for everyone's friends and family (http://www.sedona.com/Sedona/Public/audio-course.aspx) who also have a habit of over-spending. As soon as they apply these principles, they will be able to release the urge to buy more than they should -- and they won't feel disappointed by it. Everyone can feel content and at peace, and there's no greater gift than that.

Right now everyone can get the free Insiders Guide to The Sedona Method email course sampler (http://www.sedona.com/spendtoomuch.aspx) by inputting just their name and email in the sidebar on the right at http://www.sedona.com/spendtoomuch.aspx

For more insights on the topic of releasing, Hale Dwoskin, New York Times Best-Selling author of The Sedona Method, featured expert in the film and New York Times bestseller "The Secret," and CEO and Director of Training of Sedona Training Associates, is available for interviews. Sedona Training Associates is an organization that teaches courses based on the emotional releasing techniques originated by Hale Dwoskin's mentor, Lester Levenson. Dwoskin is an international speaker and featured faculty member at Esalen and the Omega Institute. For over a quarter century, he has regularly been teaching The Sedona Method techniques to individuals and corporations throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Visit www.Sedona.com.

Until then, everyone can use these other practical tips to support The Sedona Method, and make spending too much at the holidays a distant memory.

Make a budget and stay within it.

Be sure to include other holiday expenses (like food, decorations, greeting cards, new clothes, etc.) into the overall budget.

Pay off credit card debts as soon as possible (within a month or two) to avoid costly interest charges.

Consider using a "Christmas Account" for next year. This can be as simple as stowing away some cash in an envelope or as organized as setting up automatic deposits of funds into a bank account that you'll use for gifts next year.

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