How to Prepare Your Finances for Holiday Gift-Giving
As soon as the winter months arrive, the holiday shopping season is in full force. Stores begin to release advertisements, coupons and commercials centered around their seasonal deals. While this stirs an urge to buy products, it is crucial to start thinking about your finances and how they will be impacted as you purchase gifts for your friends and family. The more you think about your shopping plan in advance, the easier it will be to prepare yourself for these additional expenses. Follow these simple steps to guarantee that you have the perfect holiday shopping season with your money in mind!
Review Your Current Balance
Getting a general sense of where your financial wellness lies can be beneficial to understand before starting your holiday shopping. This can help you determine how much money you’ll have to work with when you are planning out your gift-giving arrangements. Start by analyzing your current balance and how your money is being distributed month over month. If you notice that you’re spending a lot on entertainment, like streaming services or your mobile phone bill, reallocate some of those funds towards gift-giving throughout the season. If you aren’t confident about the way you organize your money, it’s vital to create a budget that works using an online banking solution. If you find that reallocating something like your entertainment fund isn’t enough, you can give yourself some extra money to work with by utilizing a side hustle or simply limiting how much you spend on yourself. If the purchase isn’t necessary to cover food or housing expenses, skip it for the month. A general rule you could follow is to refrain from purchasing less consumer items for yourself during the holiday months, this not only frees up some money, but also will give loved ones ideas for gifts!
Determine Who You Need To Shop For
Following the review of your balance, getting a general idea of the loved ones you’d like to purchase gifts for. Remember to include not just your immediate family such as your kids and spouse, but also any other extended family or friends that you’d like to buy for too. Once you’ve created a master list of who you’d like to purchase for, determine how much money is allocated to each person. There are a variety of ways that you can do this. The easiest way is to take the total amount of money that you can spend and divide it by the number of people you wish to spend it on. If you want to go more in depth, you can also allocate a specific amount to each individual until it adds up to the total amount that you wish to spend.
Start Your Shopping Early
Procrastination on holiday shopping is never a good idea, as it can cause unneeded stress, last minute runs to the store and can limit the deals you find. Schedule your shopping trips to avoid crowds and aim for the best deals. It is well known that during the holiday season there are more deals and coupons to help you save some money while purchasing your gifts. Make sure to take some time to research before hitting the stores. Using an online couponing service l can help you find the latest deals and will also make sure that you’re not missing out on sales that are only valid through a specific time frame. In addition to sales you can find online, check monthly catalogs from your favorite stores to find even more coupons. Another great thing to keep in mind is not utilizing every coupon and sale. Just because there is a deal on a product doesn’t mean you have to purchase it. If you are worried about overspending, consider using an additional service that allows you to better manage your expenses as you shop. It’s very easy to get excited while purchasing gifts, but with this you can ensure that you’re staying well within your budget.
Don’t Be Afraid to DIY
Due to the economic challenges that your family could be facing, money could be especially tight this year. Gift-giving doesn’t have to be about spending a lot on the best gift you can–most of the time the best gifts that you receive are the ones that are made for you specifically. If you are good with crafts or small DIY projects, get to work! Some of the best DIY gift ideas include things like cookies in a jar, or crochet blankets. If you are more crafty you can consider putting all your skills to work and creating a more intricate gift. Doing it yourself for gift-giving is a great way to not only put your creativity to work, but also to save some money!
After the stage of finding or creating the perfect gift for everyone with your financial wellness in mind, you get to enjoy the best part of it all–watching the joy spread across a loved one's face as they open what you got for them. This experience makes budgeting, planning and shopping all worth it.