Tips to Stay on Your Budget & Avoid Over Spending During the Holidays

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Lesson Three: Staying on Budget During The Holidays!

Valuable Tips on saving and keeping more of your money during the holidays. Avoiding the Holiday Spending Traps.

The holidays are prime time for millions to not only over spend but, go into debt or deeper into debt. Don’t fall for the traps. In our next lesson we’ll learn some tips to shop within our means. Read on…  

1.   Review your current budget and make sure all your needs are covered (meaning bills are paid for).

2.   Remember your goals and all the progress you’ve made so far in your financial journey.

3.   Prioritized your gift giving, for example if have people to give gifts to and they have kids, consider maybe getting the kids gifts instead of the adults. My go to is buy $1-5 scratch off and put the cards inside holiday cards and that’s everyone present. Another idea if you are crafty or look online for DIY gifts ideas.

4.  Avoid the impulse buy traps at the stores and avoid getting new charge cards.

5.  Shop mindfully; have a plan before you go to the store.  Write out your shopping list and shop with tunnel vision. Just think all that glitters aren’t gold, so stay focus.

6.  You can shop and save during the holidays, for example this week I saw a deal at CVS spend $50 on certain gift cards & get $15. In that scenario I would get one of those gift card packs that have 3 or more gift cards $10-25 value each and then use the $15 you’re getting back to buy a gift within that range (you would have gotten $50 in gifts for $35). Look for deals you are actual savings. Be strategic with your purchasing power.

7.   Know your limits, do not spend to impress, stay within your budget. Do not sacrifice your long-term goal for short term gains. 

8.   Remember the holidays are about quality time with loved one. Also, they are reoccurring, they will come around again. Plan, create and save for a holiday budget. Account for holiday spending in your monthly budget to fund it throughout the year.

9.   Save the best for last, you know what I do, I shop for gifts after the holidays when all the stores have their holiday items at 75-90 percent off and I put them in a huge Bin for the next year. Some of the gift packs I give gifts out after the holidays, some I give out for birthdays throughout the year. So, if you saved for holiday shopping, you can stretch your money long by doing all your shopping 1-3 weeks after the holidays. Great time to exercise your coupon skills.

Takeaways: Develop a shopping plan, find ways to save, prioritize your gift giving and stick to your financial goals. Most importantly, do not forget to track and record your spending to help you stay on track of your spending and budget. 

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