5 Smart Holiday Budgeting Tips
The holidays can really hit your wallet hard. You want to give your friends and family happy holiday memories, but you don’t want to break the bank. Don’t worry! With these 5 smart holiday budgeting tips, you can have the holidays you dream of without hurting yourself financially.
Have a plan
Before you head out to the stores, have a plan. Start by breaking things down by categories. It might look something like this:
Gifts
Decorations
Meals
Travel
Have an idea of what you’re looking for and what you want to do before you start spending money or making plans. Create an individual budget for each category of your holiday spending within your overall budget. These smaller budgets help keep you accountable and mindful of your spending.
2. Start early
Start setting aside money as part of your regular budget for holiday expenses several months before the holidays begin or even for the entire year. Holiday expenses are regular, not monthly, but the holidays happen every year at the same time of year, so there is no reason to let them sneak up on you. This method works well for any significant, regular expense like your children’s tuition or your property taxes.
The earlier your start your holiday shopping, the more time you have to find the best deals. The longer you wait, the more you may end up paying because you don’t have time to comparison shop for the best price or wait for a sale.
3. Wait it out
Particular items go on sale during specific months of the year. When you know the sales cycle and have planned ahead for gift buying, you can save a lot of money by waiting for big-ticket items to go on sale.
These are the best things to buy each month:
January: Workout equipment, bedding, linens, electronics
February: Jewelry, TVs, home items, winter clothes, and gear
March: Grills
April: Vacuum cleaners
May: Furniture, small appliances
June: Tools and grills
July: Electronics
August: Yard equipment
September: iPhones, mattresses, appliance
October: Patio furniture
November: Appliances, electronics, tools
December: Toys, electronics
4. Have a discussion
Not everyone loves getting and giving gifts. Choosing the right gifts can be a lot of pressure, and buying gifts can be a big expense. Don’t just assume your friends, co-workers, and all family members want to exchange gifts.
Co-workers, especially, are often grateful for an out. Just like you, they have family and friends they have to buy gifts for, and not having to buy gifts for the office will likely come as a relief.
Well before the holidays start, talk to the people in your life and ask them if they really want to exchange gifts or are happy to forego it.
If there are people you must exchange gifts with, speak to them about setting a dollar limit; the gift must cost $X or under. Again, this is something many people will be grateful for.
5. Give experiences
Most of us don’t need more stuff; we have houses, garages, attics, basements, spare rooms, and storage units full of stuff already! What we could all use more of are fun experiences.
Research has also shown that spending money on experiences rather than things makes us happier. And experiences don’t have to be expensive or cost anything at all. A walk around the neighborhood to see the holiday lights, tickets to a local production of The Nutcracker, concert tickets, a membership to a local museum, amusement park, zoo, or botanical garden. Consider giving an experience gift rather than a physical gift.
Happy Holidays from Upwardli!
The holidays are all about family, friends, and fun! From Upwardli to you, we wish you a happy holiday season.