The holidays are a time to enjoy being with family and friends, but this time of year can unfortunately bring a lot of stress along with holiday cheer. For a lot of people, financial stress in particular can be brutal around the holidays. But luckily, there are ways to reduce holiday-related financial anxiety.
First and foremost, you should establish and stick to a budget. It’s extremely important to crunch some numbers and determine how much you can realistically spend during the holiday. If you’re not happy with the number that comes out of that exercise, don’t fret. You can potentially free up more holiday dollars by evaluating your monthly expenses to see where you can save. For example, maybe you could cancel your Netflix subscription for the next full year (that could add around $120 to your holiday budget), or you could refrain from buying a coffee every morning for the next 6 months (that could free up an extra $300 or so).
Once you’ve established your holiday budget, you should make a complete list of your expected holiday expenses. This list should include things like gifts, decorations, food, travel expenses, Santa photos, and Christmas cards. From there, you can determine an appropriate spending threshold for each type of expense.
If it still looks like you won’t be able to cover all of your holiday-related expenses, stay clearheaded and remember the golden rule - Don’t buy it if you can’t afford it. It’s very important not to give into temptation and use credit cards to spend beyond your means. You’ll pay for it later in the way of interest charges and damage to your credit score.
Rather than rack up credit card debt by spending outside of your budget, get creative instead. Here are some ideas to help you save:
First and foremost, you should establish and stick to a budget. It’s extremely important to crunch some numbers and determine how much you can realistically spend during the holiday. If you’re not happy with the number that comes out of that exercise, don’t fret. You can potentially free up more holiday dollars by evaluating your monthly expenses to see where you can save. For example, maybe you could cancel your Netflix subscription for the next full year (that could add around $120 to your holiday budget), or you could refrain from buying a coffee every morning for the next 6 months (that could free up an extra $300 or so).
Once you’ve established your holiday budget, you should make a complete list of your expected holiday expenses. This list should include things like gifts, decorations, food, travel expenses, Santa photos, and Christmas cards. From there, you can determine an appropriate spending threshold for each type of expense.
If it still looks like you won’t be able to cover all of your holiday-related expenses, stay clearheaded and remember the golden rule - Don’t buy it if you can’t afford it. It’s very important not to give into temptation and use credit cards to spend beyond your means. You’ll pay for it later in the way of interest charges and damage to your credit score.
Rather than rack up credit card debt by spending outside of your budget, get creative instead. Here are some ideas to help you save:
- Consider making gifts rather than buying them. Sites like Pinterest and HGTV.com can offer inspiration.
- You can also get thrifty by utilizing coupons and promo codes for your purchases. Sites like RetailMeNot.com can help you find tons of cost-saving deals.
- If you have a large extended family to buy gifts for, propose a Secret Santa or Yankee Swap. Everyone brings one gift instead of buying for dozens of family members.
- If you’re the one hosting the holiday dinner, make it a potluck. Everyone brings a favorite dish, dessert, or drink, and you all get to share a wonderful meal without one person having to buy everything.