After introductory quotes from texts in Latin, Classical Greek, and Italian, T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” begins, “April is the cruellest month.” It is true that April is not especially cuddly, but all of the months are cruel these days. It is as if the financial death toll of the Christmas holidays never ends. Chances are, at the end of 2024, you will still be reeling from the 2023 holidays. There probably was not a single day in 2024 when your outstanding debt balance was lower than it was at the end of 2023.

Despite this, we tend to feel the sting most acutely in May. If your children are in school or in college, then you probably feel that the summer has a different routine from the rest of the year, even if your work schedule stays the same year-round. It could be that you were anticipating a relaxing summer, or at least a few weeks of relaxing summer before reality set in, only to get hit with a big stack of bills, but more likely, it is because May has its own holiday season which is as costly as December, albeit less festive. The Internet is calling it “Maycember;” Leave it to the Internet to find names for the pain we have been feeling. If you are ready to catch your breath now that Maycember is over, contact an Oakland lawsuits, collections, and creditor harassment lawyer.

Why are the Stealth Holidays of May So Financially Painful?

The last five weeks of the year are one financial hurdle after another. First, you shell out money for food and alcohol for Thanksgiving, plus Friendsgiving, if you have any friends with whom you can take the edge off of spending the holiday with your family. Then there are the office holiday parties, the Secret Santa gift exchanges in classrooms and workplaces, and the gifts for children’s teachers, to say nothing of the costs of Christmas trees, travel tickets, Christmas gifts for your own children, and alcohol for your own guests. Within a certain age bracket, you also drop hundreds of dollars on New Year’s Eve celebrations. Meanwhile, the whole world is there to warn you that these expenses are coming. The weather changes, retail stores decorate their windows, restaurants serve seasonal items, and holiday music is everywhere. Even if you are not the sharpest spine on the porcupine, it is obvious even to you why you are broke.

The money-sucking festivities of May speak softly, by contrast. Mother’s Day does not have its own music genre or its own ubiquitous color scheme, but it costs just as much, especially if there is more than one maternal figure in your life for whom you want to go all out. If you are the father of young children, you are probably buying Mother’s Day gifts for your mother, your wife, and your wife’s mother, at minimum. Graduation regalia costs a pretty penny, and it seems like there is a graduation ceremony, complete with regalia, at every grade level.  If someone is actually graduating, as in getting a diploma, then you are paying to host parties.

And then there is Memorial Day. Even if you do not travel, it is still one more day without childcare or wages.  It is no wonder you are broke, but you do not have to stay that way.

Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Moving On From Maycember

A debt relief lawyer can help you if you are stressed out about debt after an especially costly Maycember. Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a case evaluation.