Holiday Shopping

The holidays are fun, aren’t they? There’s lots of color and excitement. If all goes well, we’ll spend them surrounded by family and friends, building memories that will help us get through the cold winter months. The only major downside is all that holiday merriment comes with a price tag, and if we’re not careful we’ll be feeling the pain in January.

The best way to avoid the post-holiday blues is to plan ahead, and just as importantly, budget ahead. Figure out how much you want to spend and what you want to spend it on. Are you going to be traveling? Hosting a big holiday get-together with friends and family? Is it the year for a big year-end blowout, or do you want something more modest and intimate?

Once you’ve decided what you want, the next step is to do it as economically as possible. That means taking advantage of holiday sales, partnering up with friends and family to save on shipping costs, and to get discounts for bulk purchases. It means buying things out of season when they’re less expensive. If things are less hectic around the holidays, why not try making gifts and decorations instead of just buying them.

When you’re coming up with a holiday budget, don’t just focus on gifts. Sure, they may be the most expensive things, but there are travel expenses and those special ingredients for those equally special holiday meals. Don’t forget about the holiday decorations as well. 

The holidays are a great time. Make it a great time for your wallet as well by planning and budgeting carefully. 

Happy Holidays!