5 Top Ways to Give Yourself the Gift of a Stress-Free Birthday This Year

Your birthday is supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year, but ironically, living up to that expectation can also make it one of the most stressful. There’s so much pressure to make it the best day possible that it can actually end making your special day an unpleasant, stress-filled experience.

So how can you take the pressure off and avoid missing out on all the fun of celebrating your birthday this year? There are 5 simple ways you can avoid the pitfalls of having unrealistic expectations on your big day.

Only Do What You Want

This is probably the easiest and most basic way to remove the stress from your birthday celebration. If you don’t want to do something, then don’t. It’s your birthday, after all, and your wishes should come first. Don’t want to have a party? Then don’t. Going to a fancy restaurant sound stressful? Skip it. If your loved ones truly want you to have a good time on your birthday, then they’ll understand and won’t pressure you to do things you don’t want to. 

Of course, this method isn’t always something you can put into practice. For example, sometimes it’s beyond your choice whether you have a party or not. But even if you are, then...

Have Someone Else Throw Your Party

As adults, not many of us still have full-blown birthday parties, but even a small get-together with a couple of friends and family can be stressful to organize. Food, drinks, dishes, decorations: all of those are things you don’t need to worry about if you have one of your friends or family throw the party at their house instead of yours.

If you feel awkward asking someone else to throw you a party, you can always tell them they don’t have to give you a gift that year and to make the party a potluck so they don’t have to worry about providing all the food and refreshments.

Make Your Day VIP Only

VIP stands for Very Important Person, and those are really the only people that you need to have around you on your birthday. Pick the two or three people whose company you enjoy the most, and hang out with them on your special day. Why water down your birthday celebration with anyone but your very best of friends? And paring down the number of people you have to interact with on your birthday will definitely cut down on your stress.

Don’t Worry About Money

Money is one of the top stressors in life. Having to worry about it on your birthday isn’t ideal, especially if there’s an emergency or big expense hanging over your head. One way you can take care of these types of financial distraction is with a short-term loan. Title loans are some of the most common and versatile, and while some may ask, "where are title loans near me?", there are countless locations throughout any given state. 

Ask for Cash Instead of Gifts

Let’s be real. As an adult, very few of the gifts we get are actually that useful. Cash is always useful, though. It can go towards dealing with the types of emergencies mentioned above, put away into savings for a rainy day, or spent on things you really need. There’s no shame in asking for cash or gift cards in place of well-intentioned gifts that’ll only clutter up your home and never get used.

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.