Tis the season! With just over three weeks until Christmas day arrives there’s still plenty of time to get your Christmas shopping done and be able to do so without breaking your budget. To help individuals manage their Holiday spending, here are five tips to keep your Holidays budget from exceeding your limits.
- Set a budget. This can be done by setting a budget per family you are giving to, or per child in your home. In addition, you could also set a budget regarding how much you’ll give to charity as well.
- Stick to your budget. A budget is not any good if it’s not adhered to.
- Avoid using credit cards to make your Christmas purchases. This gets a lot of folks into trouble and is truly the gift that keeps on giving in the form of excessive interest on the credit card balance. Only use your credit card if you know you’ll be able to pay it off at the end of the month. Another option is to be proactive. Many banks and credit unions have “Christmas Accounts” allowing money to be set aside to plan for Holiday expenditures.
- Consider giving your time. This could be donating your time to a charitable cause, or investing more time to your family. Additionally, consider giving the gift of experiences. This could be mentoring a young person or new business owner.
- Consider making your gift. Ideas could range from a photo collage of fun experiences with loved ones to more formal crafts if you’re so inclined. Stuck about an idea? There are several areas to look such as the Internet and Pinterest.
These are just a few ideas to help reduce the stress of overspending this Holiday season.
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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