There’s no getting around it — the holidays can be expensive. Gifts, decorations, festive meals, parties, travel — the list goes on and on. If we’re not careful, all of these expenses can quickly add up. The good news is that there are things you can do to lighten the financial load. Use these tips to make wise holiday spending decisions.
Credit cards have a message, “SPEND! SPEND! SPEND!”
Use cash or debit cards instead. Charging purchases tend to promote unnecessary spending. Credit card users often say they had no idea how much they spent on the holidays until the credit card bills arrived in January or February of the next year.
Decide on a concrete gift budget.
It's easy to wind up with way more gifts than you thought you were going to buy. Create a written plan for holiday spending and gift giving. Include possible gifts and dollar amounts for each. Establish spending limits for each person on your list and start looking for bargains early.
Shrink your holiday gift list, especially if it has been a financially challenging year.
Let's make the holidays simpler by spending less and enjoying the precious times we have with friends and family. Begin by suggesting to pass on exchanging gifts this year, mutually agree on lower dollar-limits, or no gifts at all for adults and just focus on the kids.
Make your gift.
If you find you have more time this holiday season, consider making your gifts. Get the family to participate and bake treats, do arts and crafts, or frame special pictures. Items like this will be so appreciated and mean so much more because they were made with love by you.
Give the gift of memories.
Spend more time with those we care about and make a point to “gift yourself.” Plan to do more with the family or reach out and call people this holiday season. “Remember when we did...” will last longer than any store-bought gift.
Charitable gifts.
It’s tough to get gifts for adults who have everything, so instead, decide as a group that it would be better to donate your monies to those in need.
Talk to your kids about money.
Now is the perfect time to teach your kids that money doesn’t grow on trees and the benefits of saving, giving, and spending money. Do this activity with your kids