You don’t have to break the bank to de-stress this holiday season.

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means that people are gearing up for parties, family get-togethers and gift shopping. But in addition to being a time of happiness and joy, the holiday season can be a source of stress for some of us. Luckily, there are ways to de-stress without breaking the bank. Read on to find our favorite ways to relax on a budget.

Get Polished

We’re a fan of manicures because they’re pretty and we love getting a hand massage. But we’re not on board with their often expensive price tag and added tips, so grab a couple of girlfriends and the latest chick flicks, pick up a few bottles of your favorite nail polish and have a manicure party in your apartment. You’ll save a few bucks while strengthening your friendships.

Mini Massage

You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for a massage to get its relaxing benefits. Even a simple, 30-second massage can help you tame stress. Rest your elbows on a desk and place your thumbs under your eyebrows on either side of the bridge of your nose. Let the weight of your head rest on your thumbs for 10 seconds. Then, pinch your eyebrows with your thumbs and index fingers. Hold for a few seconds, then move your fingers a half-inch out. Repeat until you’ve covered your entire brow. 

Best Face Forward

Recreate the plush, spa-like atmosphere at home by giving yourself a DIY facial. Find a soothing space, take a deep breath and sip on some homemade cucumber water while you try the following self-spa facial treatments, made from ingredients you most likely have lying around your apartment.

For Dry Skin: Frozen Egg and Honey Facial Mask

• 1 egg
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon honey

Beat the egg in a small bowl until frothy and well mixed. Slowly add the liquid coconut oil and honey, beating until your mask is the consistency of mayonnaise. Take an empty toilet tissue roll and set one end in a clean bowl. Spoon mixture into the roll and place in the freezer overnight. To use, peel away the top one-quarter-inch of the roll and smooth the frozen stick over your face. Leave mask on for five to 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.

For Oily Skin: Grapefruit and Parsley Face Mask

• 3 tablespoons very fine oatmeal
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• ½ large grapefruit
• Olive or sunflower oil

Mix first two ingredients in a bowl. Add grapefruit juice until a soft paste forms. Let the mixture rest for five minutes. Spread soft mixture over your face and let dry for approximately 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, following with toner and moisturizer.

Pore Cleansing Strips

• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 ½ tablespoon milk

Mix two ingredients and microwave for 10 seconds to slightly warm. Using a clean cosmetic brush, apply to nose and chin area, avoiding the eye area. Allow mixture to dry for 10-15 minutes and form a stiff film. Peel off the film.

Break a Sweat

Exercise has been known to be a great, natural stress reliever. Keep in mind the goal of getting your heart rate up to around 100 to 120 beats per minute. If you don’t have the time or budget to hit the gym, jog a few laps around your apartment building, or run up and down the stairs. You can even try jumping rope or doing jumping jacks in your living room.

Take a Breath

It may seem like a no-brainer, but most people don’t realize they are holding their breath during times of stress. Instead of keeping all of that negative energy inside, take a deep breath, pulling air in from your diaphragm rather than just your chest.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/StephePhoto

Don’t let the holidays stress you out. Find ways to relax before and after the holidays.

In “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” when extended family rings the doorbell, the doorbell tone changes from jovial to menacing. If you hear the same sound in your head when family arrives – or just when you think about being around them – it’s a sign you should try to relax before and after the holidays. Here’s a quick list of ways to relax, followed by more detailed explanations of ways you can reduce your holiday stress:

• Send yourself flowers. Or pick up a bouquet from the market on the way home from work, and put them in a room where you’ll see them every day. Refresh them as necessary.
• Exercise. Go for a short jog or a long walk to gain perspective and decompress.
• Sit in the sun for 10 minutes. Sunlight provides us with Vitamin D and may reduce your chances of having Seasonal Affective Disorder, often brought on by the long, dark winter evenings.
• Learn something. Whether you visit cooking school, language school or actually go back to school, you’ll preoccupy yourself with the new activity instead of stress.
• Consume more Omega-3. Fatty fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines, as well as walnuts, flaxseeds and enriched eggs combat the stress hormone cortisol.
• Have a good cry. Whether you watch that sad pet-adoption commercial over and over or immerse yourself in a tearjerker novel, you’ll let out negative feelings and make room for positive ones.
• Retreat. Go into your bedroom, shut the door, sit on the bed and breathe deeply for 10 to 15 minutes. Sitting in the quiet for a short time can renew your sense of peace and calm.
• Get traditional. Few things relax a person like a routine, so turn on your favorite holiday songs, watch your favorite holiday movie and pour yourself a mug of your favorite holiday drink while you decorate your home with traditional ornaments and mementoes.

Shop online
Before: Family isn’t the only stressor; traveling through traffic to shop in pushy crowds for overpriced items is enough to make anyone want to hibernate. Instead of losing your cool in public, shop from the comfort of your pajamas with a cup of coffee, and save money in the long run. Sign up for an Amazon.com Prime trial membership and receive free two-day shipping for your first three months of membership, which is perfect timing for the holidays and post-holiday budget recovery. With the Add it Up program from Bank of America, use your Bank of America card that you’ve registered to shop your favorite online stores using their site links to earn up to 20 percent cash back on items you would have purchased anyway. Sites such as RetailMeNot.com offer promotional codes for your favorite stores.

After: If you’re not seeing some family and friends until after the holidays, wait until January or February to purchase certain items, such as electronics, which will plummet in price after that time. Or, sell the random gift cards you received to sites such as Plastic Jungle or Gift Card Granny, where you’ll get an Amazon.com gift card, PayPal credit or cash in return.

Treat yourself – a little
Before: Attend a yoga class a few days a week in the weeks leading up to the holidays to stretch, meditate and think positively.

After: Treat yourself to an hour-long foot massage (about $30 at spas specializing in it) or a 30-minute full-body massage. Indulge in hot bubble baths with candles surrounding you (and a glass of wine in hand) whenever you feel the need.

Budget, then buy nothing
Before: Few topics stress people out like finances. Fill out a Holiday Gift Spending Worksheet to determine who you need to buy gifts for and how much you’ll spend on them, and track your spending throughout the season. Buy gifts for your immediate family members first, so if you run out of money, you can make gifts for those remaining on your list.

After: If you overspent this holiday season, vow to have a “Buy Nothing” month in January – and maybe even February. “Buy Nothing” means you only buy your basic necessities and even try to make do with what you have if you run out. Cook all meals from scratch (it will help to buy cheap or ground cuts of meat and produce in season), walk instead of drive and pay all bills, but cut out entertainment, dining out (including that daily coffee shop drink) and clothing purchases for 30 days. If you run out of toiletries, use your travel ones or search for forgotten bottles of shampoo and lotion in your cabinets. To further your frugality, rely on pantry staples, such as grains, dried pasta and dried beans bought in bulk, and cut your meat consumption in half – or go vegetarian for a month. You’ll save from $200 to $400 each month, depending on what you do without, which can go a long way in paying down those holiday bills or reaching your savings goals.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/skynesher

Keep your New Year’s resolutions all year round with these tips.

For just about everyone, the New Year means the chance to start over and make some changes to improve the year ahead. Some people resolve to lose weight or stick to a diet plan. Some people resolve to learn something new, like another language or how to knit. Still others hope to kick unhealthy habits like smoking or compulsive shopping.

Unfortunately, whatever the New Year’s resolution, most people give up within a a few months, but by following a few simple tips, keeping your resolutions can become a lot easier.

Be realistic
It may seem like a no-brainer, but setting the bar too high is just setting yourself up for failure. Instead, keep goals simple and attainable to increase your chance of sticking to them. For example, instead of declaring that you resolve to lose 30 pounds in one month, aim instead for a 10-pound weight loss goal over the span of a few months. This will keep you more motivated to achieve a goal that is within your reach.

Start off small
Once you’ve identified resolutions that are realistic, take the next step and identify ways that you can go about achieving your goals. For instance, if one of your resolutions is to save up a certain amount of money by the end of the year, start by creating a tentative budget for yourself and begin to determine small ways to help you achieve your goal, such as cutting spending in certain areas. Once you’ve started to take small steps toward your goal, your resolution becomes a lot easier to maintain.

Make your mark
Be sure to write down any and all resolutions to have a daily visual reminder of what you hope to accomplish for the year. If it helps, create a positive message board for yourself to keep track of any accomplishments, however small, along the way.

Spread the word
Although there is some truth to the idea that your New Year’s resolutions should be kept to yourself, it is often much better to tell your resolutions to close, trusted people in your life. Once more people know about your goal to move to another city by the middle of the year, for instance, it becomes easier to establish a support group that can keep you accountable and motivate you to achieve your resolution.

Treat yourself (in moderation!)
Sometimes, sticking to your resolutions can prove to be quite challenging. That’s why, when you pass on purchasing that ultra-expensive handbag you’ve been eyeing in favor of sticking to your budget, treating yourself to something smaller will make sticking to your resolutions that much easier next time.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock / mamanamsai

Stick with your New Year's resolutions by setting concrete goals for each area.

More than parties, champagne and celebrations, each New Year’s Day is about making a clean slate for yourself to change negative habits or beliefs into positive ones. Common areas of focus include weight loss, exercise, stress, career, patience, volunteering, simplicity and relationships. Whether your New Year’s resolution is specific – say, lose 15 pounds – or general, such as “exercise more,” here are concrete ways you can improve your life so 2013 is your best year ever.

Weight loss

Quite possibly the most declared resolution, committing to losing weight is what packs fitness centers for the first month of the year – and then drains them of activity in February. It takes more than going to the gym to lose weight; you must incorporate diet changes into your life to see real results. If you’re already drinking low-fat milk and have switched sugar for a calorie-free sweetener, try drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day, and only coffee with milk in the morning. Switch out your daily lunch with a salad with lean protein, and choose breakfast and snack foods high in protein and fiber. For breakfast, scramble egg whites with spinach, tomatoes and feta, or choose low-sugar oatmeal with fresh berries. For snacks, select string cheese with an apple, whole-grain crackers with low-fat cheddar, fat-free Greek yogurt with ¼ cup granola and muffins and cereal bars with less than 12 grams of sugar per serving, at least 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. Every day, aim for five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and you’ll likely lose and keep off water weight.

Exercise

If you’re committed to “exercising more,” set more concrete goals to make sure you see them through. Vow to go to the gym four times per week, to do cardio three times per week for 30 minutes each time or to exercise in some form (walking, jumping rope or doing push-ups and sit-ups) for 15 minutes every day. If you’re already a gym rat, research personal training sites and fitness magazines for new exercises to shake up your routine.

Stress

Stressors creep up whether we want them to or not. While you can’t control what makes you anxious or upset, you can control how you react to them. If you’re not into yoga, take a few deep breaths and close your eyes until your heart rate returns to normal, or go for a walk when stress creeps up. Alternately, do something productive and distracting, such as cleaning out from under your bed or organizing your bathroom cabinets, or go for a killer workout. If the stressor constantly creeps up – say, it’s from a coworker or in-law, have a heart-to-heart talk with the person, perhaps with a neutral party in the room, to finally resolve your differences.

Volunteering

The opposite of stress is putting someone else before your own needs. When your life is out of control or something just doesn’t feel right within, seek out opportunities to help others, which will both benefit someone else and put your own life into perspective. Visit sites such as volunteermatch.org and serve.gov to find opportunities to suit your own tastes, such as working with youth, pets, the environment, elderly, disabled or sick. You’ll be on your way to feeling better in no time.

Simplicity

Remove the clutter in your life and brain to start living a more simple existence in 2013. Pare down your clothing, shoes and belongings, throwing out what is no longer useful and donating the rest to secondhand stores. Limit your Internet, communications, television and social media time to feel more present and less concerned about things that don’t matter. Go through each room of your house or apartment to eliminate items that create unnecessary clutter, such as excess picture frames or knick-knacks that you have to dust over and over. Resolve to buy less during 2013 by employing a “Buy Nothing” month, in which you only spend on items you need to survive – gasoline, groceries and utilities. Soon, you’ll be feeling like a brand-new, simplified you.

Relationships

When you cut out the clutter in your life, you’ll find you have more time to spend with your loved ones and you’ll enjoy reconnecting more. Commit to having a dinner party once a month with your closest friends, take your kids to the park once a week or have family game night with your parents and siblings every two weeks. Whatever it takes, carve out the time to enjoy the ones you love most.

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