Now that we’ve reached Halloween, the American holiday season is soon to be in full swing. Once the Halloween candy rolls in, many of us overindulge in food from now until New Year’s Eve. We also embark on one big spend fest that will last for the next two months.
Then, come January 1st, we vow to reform our ways.
This year, why not make the vow to reform your ways now, before the damage is done.
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Set a budget.
If you don’t set a budget before you start buying gifts, it’s easy for expenses to snowball. Instead, decide before you spend a dime what your budget is. Then, find gifts that fit within your budget.
Don’t keep up with the Joneses.
You may want to give your child an elaborate, gift-filled Christmas just like your neighbor does for his kids, but if it isn’t in the budget, it isn’t in the budget.
Don’t feel bad if you have to give your child fewer gifts than his friends get. Honestly, most parents go overboard with gift giving. Besides, Amy Dacyczyn argued that if you give your children too many presents, they are overwhelmed and less excited than if you gave them a few well-chosen presents.
Raise the money BEFORE you spend.
If we all did this every year, there would be no holiday hangover come January when you’re staring at a high credit card bill that you have no idea how you will pay. You don’t want to still be paying interest in March for presents you bought back in December. Use a debit card or cash. If you do use a credit card, don’t spend any more than you have in cash. You must be able to pay off the credit card immediately.
To raise the extra funds, consider slashing your entertainment budget for a month. If you dine out once or twice a week and decide to forego that for 4 to 6 weeks, you may have all the money you need to buy Christmas presents. Another idea is to find ways to generate the extra cash you need such as getting a second job, working overtime, or starting a side gig. Giving plasma doesn’t require experience and is something anyone can do.
Start on homemade gifts NOW.
You may think that people on your gift-giving list may not want homemade items, but that isn’t always true. Growing up, my mom always included a few homemade gifts for me. One year she made my baby doll a homemade, crocheted blanket as well as a sheet and pillows, each trimmed with crochet to match the blanket. I still have that set, and my girls play with it now. I also loved getting homemade Barbie clothes. If you haven’t considered making homemade gifts for your kids, consider looking at Pinterest for ideas. You’ll find more than you can ever imagine.
Make dishes to pass with items you have around the house.
If you’re going to a party and need a dish to pass, try making the dish from items you already have in the pantry so you don’t have to make a special trip to the store. (Of course, you do want to make a good dish. Once my cousin brought sliced cucumbers as her dish to pass. This is NOT what I’m talking about.)
The holiday season is supposed to be a time to cherish friends and family. It shouldn’t be about overeating, overspending, and financial stress. Follow these tips to make the holidays more about joyfully spending time together and less about spending money on gifts most people won’t care about just months after you give them.
What’s your favorite way to curb holiday spending?
Before, I never set a budget when buying gifts, that was a totally wrong move for me! But now, I will start to list down what I’m going to buy and to set a budget for each gift.
We try not to make such a big fuss, it’s in the end just a holiday, not the end of the world. It’s more important to have a nice time with our family and share some special days, not just spend money recklessly to feel ‘good’
I think #1, before setting the budget, the list needs “discontinue all unnecessary gift giving”. Review the list of people you would ordinarily shop for. Is everyone on the list near and dear to your heart? If it seems too late to suggest not exchanging for this year, then put it in your calendar for January to put a stop to it for next year well in advance. If you ordinarily exchange with a wide array of relatives, propose a gift exchange where you each purchase for only one specific person and set a modest dollar limit. The tradition of the gift exchange lives on but within limits. In our families (both sides) kids under 18 receive a gift from everyone, but at 18 they join the adult exchange.
For several years I’ve attempted to tell my mother I don’t want anything, but she persists and wants us to provide suggestions. So in order to keep the peace I provide a list of gift card suggestions. If I’ll need to replace clothing soon, I ask for a card to a store I like (and remove the corresponding amount from the planned spending). I often ask for a card to a restaurant my husband likes and that’s where we’ll go for his BD in January (and remove the allocated restaurant funds from the spending plan). She’s happy she gave us a gift, and we’re happy we don’t have any additional clutter to deal with and as a bonus we’ve saved money that can be redirected to something else.
So important as we get closer to the holidays. Too many commercials trying to put a Lexus in every driveway!
My wife and I made the commitment to only use the debit card this year instead of charging anything to credit. If we make our goal of spending 25% less this year than last, we are going out to a nice dinner in January.
Joseph Hogue
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Besides setting a budget, my favorite strategy is to start shopping right after Christmas and through the summer yard sale months. We already have a general direction for each person, why pay retail when you can get new, good stuff for far less? I also gradually stock up on Christmas baking supplies up to a couple months ahead when they’re on sale. Some neighbors, service people, and family members get goodie tins. My sisters like homemade dandelion wine. It’s all fun.