Taking the Stress out of Holiday Spending

Author: Hannah Henry
Work Readiness
Published: Tuesday, 18 Dec 2018

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The holidays are upon us! This means you'll be spending more time with the ones you love AND more money. From Black Friday to holiday December sales, buying during the season of giving has never been easier or more appealing. Once January comes around your generous giving may turn into gifting regret.

To keep your bank account happy during the season of holiday shopping, here are our top tips and tricks!

1. Plan ahead

- The holiday season has always been a time for joy, family, great food and, of course, anxiety. Like many Americans, you may find yourself struggling to find the perfect gift for the most important people in your life. During the year, you may come up with a great idea that you can wrap up and use in December, but by the time holiday sales are starting, you may not remember what genius gift idea you had! A trick to combat this brain baffle is to create a list (in a notebook or even on your phone) or, create a secret Pinterest board. By identifying gift ideas early, you can keep an eye on prices to get the best deal.

2. Structured Spending

- As the pressure for generosity becomes a detrimental evil on your bank account, it's essential to determine your income, expenses, and your financial goals. Don't feel obligated to spend more than you should just because it's the giving season. If you haven't, create a monthly budget for November and December. Determine what expenses you will have coming up and look at the income you will have left over after you've paid your bills. Then, for the most important part, actually stick to the spending limits that you give yourself. You'll thank yourself in the New Year.

3. Don't Settle

- Put away the scissors and the Sunday coupons, there's a new app called Honey which automatically finds and applies coupon codes while you shop online.

While this won't replace other online retailers that can beat one site's pricing, it can help to save a few dollars for the next item on your gift list.