It’s officially fall and yes, that means you can already smell the pumpkin spice, the turkey dinner, and even the sweet smell of Christmas in the air. The holidays can bring a warm nostalgic feeling as you think of how magical it was growing up during this time of year. You let that joy fill you with excitement to prepare for the upcoming festivities. As you zone back into your now adult reality, you realize this once magical shift in the air requires a lot of work! With the holidays following back-to-back and the sudden urge to spend and save simultaneously take over your nostalgic memories, you begin to wonder… What is the best plan to budget and face the holidays without regretting your holiday spending come new year’s morning?
Here are some tips to help you plan and budget this season.
To start, begin saving in prior months leading up to the holidays. This is one of those things that I think seem so obvious, but you never think to do! A good idea to help you remember to put a little bit of money away is designate a “rainy day” jar and either put a calculated amount or whenever you seem to have a few dollars to spare. Do this for a few months and you’ll be surprised how much you have saved! Along with this tip, you can use these months of saving to focus on putting away money for gifts you know are going to be expensive. Before you know it, you may have enough and then some. Use the little extra to treat yourself amid spending for others!
While budgeting and saving in these months leading up, you can also take this time to come up with a spending limit. You can make a list of holiday expenses, in which you could then sort through which ones are a priority and which ones can be a source of savings. A helpful tip could be to assign money to each category of expenses so that you not only have a budget, but you have a plan!
“Have you ever thought to use a cash only system?”
— 🛍
Have you ever thought to use a cash only system? Credit cards can make it easier to overspend, but only using cash may help you stick to your budget and restrain from spending more than what you planned for.
Finally, take advantage of Black Friday! This national saving spree event is a time where shoppers can get the best deals on virtually anything and everything. Mark the start of this sale on your calendar as part of your budgeting plan. This can be the perfect time to buy those expensive items that you’ve been saving over the months for. Talk about a double whammy! Not only did you set your budget, spending limit, and saved up the amount you need, but now you can even get it on sale.
