While generosity isn’t a bad thing, post holiday spending guilt and financial strain can sour holiday memories and haunt people with bills long after the holidays are over. To avoid being swept overboard by the spirit of giving, practice good money management tips as the holidays near.
Decide to pay for everything with cash or on one credit card to keep spending within reason and within budget. That way, when the cash isn’t there of the credit card is maxed out, no more can be spent.
Keep diligent records this holiday season. By tracing the running total of holiday spending, there will never be any debt surprises. In addition, seeing those numbers may help curb spending.
Consider doing the math on an index card kept wrapped around the holiday credit card so it will be handy every time the credit card is used.
A variation on this would be deciding on a reasonable spending amount at the beginning and then subtracting from it at every purchase. The record reveals how much is left to spend.
Sometimes the popular holiday spending frenzy and the advertisements at every turn cloud good financial judgement. Be aware of this pressure and hold out against urges to spend unnecessarily.
Put some extra thought into purchasing each gift. In addition to trying to choose the right gifts, also think about the motivation behind purchasing them and take steps to limit spending reasons to rational ones. For example, if buying gifts out of guilt, come up with ways to reduce guilt-spending in advance.
It’s important to maintain a sense of perspective. For all the hours and expense put into shopping, sometimes people forget gifts soon after the holidays. Use this awareness to keep a reign on purchases. Consider the gesture may be more important than the gift itself.
Use the holiday season to count blessings instead of bills. Focus on family, friends, those in need and other priorities instead of the spending and excessive work that may go unnoticed or soon be forgotten. Give the priceless gifts of time and attention.
Holidays come but once a year, so shop post-holiday clearance sales to find great bargains for next year and avoid paying the full price.
Finally, work next year’s holiday gift expenses into the budget now. Brainstorm ways to save money for gifts during the year so going into debt is not required to purchase gifts.
Set aside a few dollars each week or come up with creative solutions. If you don’t already do this, one idea could be bringing lunch to work instead of buying lunch and depositing the resulting savings into a gift fund.
