Many thanks to Kelsey from glowupgal.com for this guest post! Be sure to check out her bio down below! If you are interested in guest posting on this blog, click here!
5 Ways To Rock The Holidays On A Budget
As the weather starts to cool off and the leaves begin to change color, we begin our countdown to the holiday season.
For many of us, this time of year is fun, festive and something that we can look forward to and enjoy.
It can, however, tend to wreak havoc on our finances if we aren’t careful.
According to a Gallup study, 53% of adult Americans expect to spend $500+ on Christmas gifts this holiday season with 29% expected to spend between $100 and $499.
That’s a lot of extra cash, especially when trying to stick to your budgeting goals! And that doesn’t even include all of the related expenses that come up during this time of year.
But not to fear, there are some key strategies you can use to ensure you’re staying on track and rocking the holiday season on a budget.
%
Americans who spend over $500 on Christmas
#5. Start A Sinking Fund
What’s a sinking fund you might ask?
A sinking fund is a separate fund or savings account that is used for a specific purpose.
By contributing to it little by little over the next few months, you can save up the extra cash and have it out of sight to reduce temptation.
For some, having a physical separate bank account (as long as there is no minimum balance requirement or fees) can be tremendously helpful.
Actually transferring money to this account after every paycheck or when you have leftover funds might help to keep you accountable or even just keep you organized.
#4. Begin Budget Planning NOW
As far as budget planning goes, you can never start too soon.
There’s a lot that goes into the holiday season that you may not realize until it’s time to spend. And not planning for these expenses can really blow your budget!
Things like gas to get to family gatherings, the white elephant with friends and the secret Santa gift at work.
These things might seem small or insignificant but they will add up!
Here are a few things on my list, but I suggest really combing through the upcoming months to try and think of every possible event and expense.
- Gas to get to holiday events
- White Elephant w/ Friends
- Secret Santa w/ Coworkers
- Gifts for Family
- Gifts for Boyfriend
- Gifts for Boyfriends family
- Holiday Potluck w/ Neighbors
- Admission to Holiday Shows
- Cookie Exchange
- Christmas Tree
- Christmas Donation (Tree Angel)
- Annual Tip to workers (postal worker, hairdresser, house cleaner, etc)
These are just a few that I could think of now, but I’m sure there will be more that come to mind. The key is to try and think ahead and prepare your budget accordingly to keep surprise extra costs to a minimum.
#3. Get Your List Together
My family knows that I need a wish list earlier than most and will provide me with one around early November. This gives me time to plan, save, research and find the best deals.
If you aren’t a fan of being given a wish list, it’s still beneficial to start making a list of things your gift recipients might like early on, as well as who you’ll need to shop for.
If you wait until the last minute to shop, you are likely going to be in full panic mode, tossing all common sense out the window.
When you have a list and can plan ahead, you’ll make better decisions.
You won’t be as likely to impulse buy, waste money on rush delivery shipping, or make panic purchases.
Trust me. Being prepared and knowing what you wish to purchase will set you up for success while waiting and not planning ahead will set you up for nothing but stress.
If you need a few budget friendly gift ideas, check out 10 Gifts For Him Under $50 or 10 Gifts Under $25 She’ll Love for some inspiration!
#2. Research, Compare and Price Match
Did you know that an item marked ‘on sale’ at a store may not actually reflect the best possible price?
One marketing tactic that I’ve personally come across is a store that marks their prices up by 20%, only to put it on “sale” for 20% off.
This tricks you into thinking you are saving money when you are actually paying full price!
This is very easy to avoid if you’ve already completed the step above and have your list together.
If you have your list, you can start looking up prices by researching what things cost at different stores currently. Then, when stores start their sales, you can compare and see who is now charging what.
If you know that the watch you want to buy your boyfriend is usually $75 a few months before the holidays, you’ll be prepared to get the best possible deal when you see it legitimately marked down to $50.
Another key trick to know is price matching. If you see an item for sale on a competitors website or at another store, you can usually ask your go to retailer for a price match.
Most of the time they’ll agree and offer you the same discounted price. This can help save you time and money if the competitor wasn’t offering free shipping or if the store you’re getting a price match from is closer in distance.
You can find a full list of marketing tactics in my post Don’t Fall For These 7 Common Marketing Tactics.
#1. Remember What The Season Is Actually About
During the holiday season, it’s easy to get caught up with the shopping, spending and gifting!
It’s easy to wonder if you’ve done enough, gifted the right thing, and whether or not your loved ones will be happy.
If you find yourself stressing, take a moment to pause and reflect. Your friends and family aren’t going to stop loving you for not spending hundreds of dollars on them. Your significant other or best friend or colleague isn’t going to think less of you for buying a budget appropriate gift.
Gifts aren’t what the holiday is all about. It may seem that way when you’re surrounded by carefully crafted advertising, but it’s not the case!
The season is a time to come together and spend time with one another. Seeing those you don’t get to see all the time, hanging out with siblings, or visiting with friends. Enjoying time with the people you care about, who also care about you, too!
That’s what it’s all about.
Remember this: making special memories is possible on any budget!
Citations:
A big thanks to Kelsey from GlowUpGal.com for the guest post!
Share the love down in the comments below, and don’t forget to download our budgeting workbook to prepare for the holidays!
Scarlett @ ThirtyEight Investing
About the Author
Kelsey from GlowUpGal.com
Glow Up Gal was founded to empower women to take control of their finances. All of the articles she shares are from her personal experience paying off $30,000 of student loan debt and growing wealth through investing and passive income building!
Check out her blog here!