Tips To Avoid Overspending This Holiday

December the final month of the year, account for almost 30% of the total annual sales of some retailers. This is incredible for the suppliers. The season is the most costly of the year to the shoppers. In the USA the Americans spend 9 times more, shopping during the Christmas season than any other season of the year.

The calendar turns to January and Christmas season is over. The reality of the negative effects of overspending begins to set in: credit card statements which are high than expected, tight finance than expected, increased stress and regret over the amount of money spent. To avoid all these effects below are tips to observe to avoid overspending.

1 Make a budget and stick to it

creating a budget will solve the problem of overspending and keep you within your spending limit please do. Not only during the Christmas holidays but for life. The unfortunate thing is that some still end up overspending even after creating a budget. The reason being you are tricked by retailers with deals like black Fridays and loyalty cards. Be on the look on this Christmas holiday not to fall in their snare.

In the later November or early December decide how much amount you want to spend. Come up with various holiday shopping, for instance, travel, food gifts, and decorations. Split your budget into different classes: allocate some amount on gifts, traveling, decoration, etc. How many events are you attending and how much will they cost you? The numbers must be lining up, if they don’t, what changes is to be made or the things that will be left?

2 Avoid last-minute shopping and avoid using credit card

This is a problem that is with many people. You will agree that leaving for shopping at the last minute will lead you to spend more. You are likely to make haste decisions during hustle and bustle of it all and you will have no room to compare prices from different shops. Many shops jack up the prices of commodities during charismas season. Many retailers call it booming season-although it is an opportunity to make more money. Do your shopping in advance so that you take advantage of comparing shops and find great deals.

On the other side, go and withdrawal the amount you have planned to use for the holiday. This will help you to avoid careless swiping credit cards. Spend the amount which you had allocated in the budget. You will be able to know when you have gone over the set limit. Recent research has shown that more than 40% of credit cardholders regret having acquired the card. While 73% of cardholders applied the card to just get an initial discount.

3 Reduce self-gifting and gifts list

“Self-gifting” is an emerging trend in holiday, which is increasing significantly over the recent years- people treating themselves when they go out shopping for others. National Retail Federation says that almost 60% of people are now self-gifting. They spend on average $130 per individual purchasing gifts for themselves.

When you go shopping for others set a maximum price for the gift. This helps you to be sure of the amount you will be spending. Don’t buy gift that are above the set price. Or instead of buying brand-new stuff for everyone on the list, think of homemade or secondhand gifts (handcrafted ornament, fresh baked goods, books, clothes). Their prices may be slightly low as compared to the new ones.

You can also come up with a new traditional way of treating yourself and gifting your friends instead: cooking a meal, planning a unique outings together. This is a good way to limit yourself from overspending this Christmas.

4 Create expectations early.

When you decide to reduce the number of Christmas gifts that you will be giving this holiday, it is significant to create those expectations early. For instance, if you always buy new clothes for your children at Christmas. When you have decided to make changes to your gift-giving habits, prepare them in advance.

On the same, if you plan to take a new gift-giving approach to your extended family, let them know the decision you have made early and the reason why you made that decision.

5 Track your spending daily.

Tracking your spending on daily basis is a key element to wise financial stewardship. It is important for life but also important to avoid overspending during the Christmas season. When you have set your budget properly-it is significant to follow due diligence in sticking to it. Because of the extra shopping during the season. The importance of tracking your spending during Christmas need not be exaggerated. It is simple, you don’t need fancy software to do it. You only need a piece of paper and a pen in the evening. Record the stuff you spent money on that day. Count your spending and separate it into the right group. Compare it with the budget you had created. By seeing what you are spending, I am sure it will help you to avoid overspending.

Final word

To avoid overspending is not easy as some people have already done it even before we approach the D-day Christmas. It may require extra intentionality, but trust me after reading this article you will be careful about how you spend this holiday. I am sure your January will not be hard as for everyone.