Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, which means the holiday shopping is in high gear. I’ve already seen some great pre-black Friday sales, and now there are sneak-peek flyers for Black Friday sales but BUYERS BEWARE! Do not be tempted by these deals if you have yet to put a plan in place for how you’ll afford your holiday needs. In the blink of an eye, holiday shopping can go from bright and merry to “OMG how am I going to pay for all of this.”
Don’t let overspending derail you from achieving your money goals.
Growing up, I saw the act of overspending really impact my parent's relationship in a negative way. My mom is a natural gift giver and it’s also her
primary language so when the holidays come around, her gift-giving abilities are AMPLIFIED! I remember we always had an abundance of gifts flowing out from under the tree and some Christmases the stream of presents extended all the way to the couch! As a kid, I thought it was quite magical! But in reality, my parents overspent (BIG TIME) on Christmas every year which added unnecessary stress to their marriage and unnecessary credit card bills they could have avoided by just spending within their means during the holidays.
Christmas is a time to spend with your family.
Christmas is a time to spend making unforgettable memories.
Christmas is NOT a time to OVERSPEND, create unnecessary stress for your family, and derail your money goals.
I’m telling you this because I don’t want this to happen to you. I am your biggest cheerleader when it comes to your money goals and I truly want to see you succeed with your money. So listen to me when I tell you, overspending will cause added stress to your family and it WILL derail you from achieving your goals.
So how do you survive and CONQUER your holiday shopping this year without overspending?
1. Create a Plan
In order to conquer your holiday shopping, you need to determine how much money you have to put towards the holidays, create a plan on what you need to buy, and determine how much you are going to spend for each category.
So how much money do you have to spend this Christmas season? Did you proactively save in preparation for this holiday season?
If so, AWESOME JOB! The money in that savings account is what you have to spend on Christmas.
If you haven’t planned out your Christmas yet, that’s ok because it’s never too late to start. First, as always, create your monthly budget and determine how
much money you have left over from your fixed and daily expenses in the month of December. If you need more detail on how to create a budget, check out my blog called “How to Budget like a Champion” to walk you through the step-by-step process.
Now once you have determined how much money you have left over, that’s the money you can use towards Christmas.
Next, create your list of things you need to spend this holiday season like food for Christmas dinner or holiday parties, gifts for friends and family, decorations,
etc. Allocate how much money should go to each of these categories and make sure you don’t overspend your money on paper. If you add up how much money you need from this plan and it’s more than what you saved for Christmas, go back to your list and rethink your spending. Maybe you don’t need to buy for all your co-workers. Or, maybe you can do some DIY gifts to stay within budget.
Whatever you do, make sure your plan does not exceed the money you saved for Christmas because the bills will haunt you in the new year.
2. Stick to the List!
Make sure you have a list of things you need to buy before entering a store, otherwise those great deals will cause you to overspend this holiday season and steal from your financial goals!
Think about it it...
When you walk into a store during the holidays, you’ll hear Christmas music playing, you’ll see so many people shopping with friends and family with smiles on their faces, you’ll walk by Bath and Body Works and smell the wonderful aroma of holiday scented candles that it will be hard to stick to a budget. From all of that sensory overload, your emotional state will be pure bliss as you see those wonderful deals and sale signs. Can’t you hear yourself saying to your shopping friend, “ohhhh you know who needs this?” or you’ll see the sale sign and say, “Wow you can’t pass up a deal like that!” At that point, you’ll be ready to buy gifts for everyone in your life including Uncle Tom’s best friend’s brother’s wife! To avoid your emotions taking over and overspending this holiday season, put those thoughts aside.
Make a list before you go into each store on what you are buying, and stick to the list!
3. Use Cash
If you’ve read previous blogs of mine, you’ll know I’m a huge advocate for using cash on daily expenses. So, surprise surprise...this is me saying USE CASH to survive your holiday shopping and avoid overspending.
Why you ask?
Well, when you swipe your credit card to pay for things, it’s harder to keep track
on how much you’ve spent on each category. If you have allocated cash for gifts, food, decorations, etc. then you’ll know EXACTLY how much you’ve spent so far and how much you have left. Stop wondering how much you’ve spent this Christmas season and being surprised in January when your credit card statement arrives.
Make it easy on yourself by using cash to avoid overspending and derailing your financial goals.
**Not sure how to store your cash? Check out the awesome cash envelopes I use.
Take Home Message:
To conquer your holiday shopping and come out ahead with your money this year, you need to:
create a holiday shopping plan,
stick to the list,
and use cash!
If you can use these steps, you will walk out of the store with the gifts/items you need to have a great holiday, enjoy Christmas morning with joy and happiness instead of the fearful thought, of “how are we going to pay for all of this”, and you’ll be able to stay on track with your money goals going into the new year!
Comments