It’s hard to believe that we are less than three months away from Christmas. If you have not already started budgeting for your holiday spending, I suggest that you begin now.
According to an article found on Forbes.com, (Holiday Spending To Exceed $1 Trillion - And 11 Other Surprising Data Points Of Christmas) In 2016, an average of $413.00 per adult would be paid out in Christmas spending. With this level of money being spent, a plan of how to shop smarter during the Christmas season is imperative in order to avoid spending what you don’t have and racking up debt.
Here are a few Christmas shopping strategies to save yourself time and money, while keeping you from going into credit card debt.
Make a list of everyone you are buying a gift for as early as possible. This will enable you to better plan for who you are buying for and assign an amount of what you are spending on them.
Incorporate Christmas shopping as a line item on your spending plan and begin setting aside funds for holiday shopping as part of your monthly budget. By doing so, your holiday shopping does not have a negative impact on your other monthly obligations. Utilities, mortgages and car loan payments do not take off for the holidays.
Check and see if your employer has a Christmas saving option that can come directly out of your paycheck.
Get a list of what your children/loved ones want as early as possible. It is important to determine what you can afford to spend on gifts based on your budget.
Take advantage of online sales and discounted closeouts early. Finding deals throughout the year rather than going hard the day after Thanksgiving creates more stress free options for holiday shopping
For the people who have everything, gift cards and/or cash are great options
Do NOT wait until the last minute to do your holiday shopping unless you like the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping season. For some people, that can be invigorating, but waiting up to the last minute can cause you to overspend.
I hope these tips will make your spirits bright this Christmas and is the beginning of a new tradition of how you approach your Holiday shopping.
Founded in 2015, DNA Financial Services LLC has pledged to Educate, Empower and Equip the financial DNA of its’ clients now and for generations to come.The company offers a number of financial services designed to bridge the gap in wealth building education while aiding and advocating for the financial literacy of people from all walks of life.