Written By: Amber K.
We all know that when December rolls around, the season of giving begins. With the holidays right around the corner, everybody is scrambling to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones, which can be difficult when you don’t have unlimited funds. Though we all want to get our friends and family great gifts, it’s still important to have and maintain a budget to make sure you aren’t digging yourself into a hole of holiday debt. On average, the typical american spends about $700 on gifts alone. With that being said, here are a few tips to cut on your holiday spending.First, budget yourself and track your spending so you are aware of how much you can spend and how much of that budget you have already spent. A good way to start up your holiday budget is to start saving earlier than you think you need to. Setting aside a few dollars here and there will help more than you think when it comes to buying all of the gifts you want to give. Another way to help with saving up is to cut back on unnecessary spending leading up to the holidays, such as eating out.
The second holiday spending tip is to shop early. Though we all want to wait till black friday to splurge on gifts, it’s smarter to be on the lookout for sales and discounts year round. When you’re mindful of your christmas gift list throughout the year, you’ll spread out both the spending and the stress of the holiday season.
Third and lastly is the “regift”. We’ve all received gifts that we secretly hate. These are the things that sit in the corner of your basement for years, there’s nothing wrong with giving someone something you have no use for. The one thing you need to keep in mind when utilizing the regift technique is that you cannot under any circumstances give the gift back to the person you received it from. You should also avoid regifting if the person who gave you the gift will be at your christmas celebration. Though regifting has a bad reputation, it ultimately saves you money and keeps gifts from going unused.
Works Cited
Dratch, Dana. “14 Ways To Save Money At The Holidays.” Bankrate, Bankrate.com, 3 Oct. 2014, www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/ways-to-save-during-holidays-1.aspx.“How To Set Up Your Christmas Budget.” EveryDollar, www.everydollar.com/blog/christmas-budget.
“How Much Are Americans Spending This Holiday Season?: Alliant Credit Union.” Alliant Credit Union Live Environment, www.alliantcreditunion.org/money-mentor/how-much-are-americans-spending-this-holiday-season.
This are very helpful tips because I normally have a hard time, rounding up money to by presents. I will definitely start shopping year-round for Christmas presents, I’m sure my wallet and my family would appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThese tips are very helpful and I love how this piece is one that is extremely useful currently. As good as your reasons are, they seem to be a little vague. Maybe how much of a percentage of income should you spare for Christmas gifts? Any examples of places with very high deals? I do enjoy the piece however I feel as if there is some more examples and depth that could be implemented to make this piece astounding.
ReplyDeleteI feel slightly targeted by this blog because I am guilty of all 3 of these. I often times go way over budget for my Christmas shopping at the last minute. Although I have never re-gifted anything before, I have been a victim of re-gifting a gift that I gave to somebody else the previous year. Planning out my purchases this year to get the best deal possible is a possibility for me this year.
ReplyDeleteFor Christmas I love giving people gifts. But, I struggle with saving up enough money to pay for them all. I think that in the future I need to use your advise and put aside money way before Christmas so I can give my loved ones good gifts. Also, I never think of re gifting, there are definitely tons of things I have been given that I have never used. I should probably go through all my stuff that I put to the side and try to think if someone else would enjoy them as gifts.
ReplyDelete