How to Keep Some Jingle in Your Pocket & Avoid Feeling Like A Grinch Due To Overspending During The Festive Holidays
- Build a budget that’s right for you and try your hardest to commit to it
- Make your list a spreadsheet, and ‘check it twice’
- Make Your Own ‘Naughty or Nice’ List
- Use Technology to search for deals, price matching, coupons, free shipping
- DIY! Give something personalized or homemade and from the heart, make a playlist, paint a picture, Framed photographs of snapshots with a connection to the recipient¸ food, such as jars of fruit, vegetables or salsa, along with baked cookies
- Start early to avoid last minute spending, it’s more likely that you’ll end up spending way more than you intended.
- Save some money (and time) you can do a potluck and have your guests each bring a dish
Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, White Elephant – this is great for large gatherings and everyone goes home with a gift - Timeless coupon gifts – Offer to help with home projects or free night of babysitting for your family members with young children, a home-cooked meal
Remind Yourself It’s Going To Be OK
Guilt is the biggest motivator to get people to break out a credit card when they didn’t already plan to. Think about how you want to feel in January when the bills start coming. Avoid overspending by remembering a few things:
- The holidays aren’t ruined when you don’t spend a bunch of money on gifts.
- You can and will show your love for people in different ways.
- No one is going to remember this by January except for you, when you look at your credit card statement.
It’s all going to be OK!
