Budget, Budget, Budget
The most exciting word we love to hear during the holidays, says no one! However, this will ensure you won’t overspend. Most individuals will walk into a store and browse for items to purchase for a friend or family member. This is where we go wrong, the proper way to shop during the holidays is as follows:
- Set an amount: Most importantly you must set a budget. This is an amount you can afford, not want to, but able to spend during the holiday season.
- Create a list: write down the people you’re purchasing a gift for with one or two ideas of what you believe they would like.
- Price the gift: You have a total budget (1) and a list of people (2), now you can put a total amount per person. This will help you not to exceed the total amount for the gift idea, if your amount is too low, this is when you must rethink the gift you want to purchase for the person.
- Research before you go: During the holidays there will always be a sale! Before you pick that 1 particular store research the item you are looking for. Shop online first and see who has the best price for the gift item. You could find yourself saving instead of overspending!
It’s party time!
Holiday parties are a must, right? If you are hosting a party this is also an area where we tend to overspend, here are some ways to save:
- Limit the list: Before you send an invite to all your contacts on your phone. Create a list of how many people you can afford. It’s not just about having people over but each person will be a cost as they will drink, eat, and need space!
- Don’t buy everything: holiday parties can become overwhelming if you are providing every item for the party, here an idea:
- When you are creating the invite add potluck to the title. Be specific on what you want people to bring or have it open and you can set what you will provide. An example would be “Bring a side dish” then all you will provide is the entrée! You could even have it very specific to sending out the item you want everyone to bring and that will be less of an expense for you as you are not purchasing every item!
- Share the giving spirit: If you’re a giver there are ways you can still have everyone happy but not purchasing something for everyone.
- Host a Secret Santa gathering: In advance, you can create a secret santa with your friends and/or family! Therefore, that is only 1 gift you will purchase
- Host a White Elephant Gift Exchange: If you want to make it exciting and a true mystery, this is a fun way! You will only purchase one gift, and everyone goes home with something!
If we're honest, during the holidays we struggle with budgeting and our finances seem like a crazy mess. However, all hope is not lost and you can still enjoy the holidays; so let's get started on solving this concern!
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