8 Ways To Plan Your Budget For The Holiday Season

Yay! The holiday season is almost here. Planning your budget for the holiday season can be surprisingly tough, from having to deal with home decorations, to gift planning and holiday purchases. While it is an exciting time to enjoy with your family and friends. You must have a financial plan for whatever your holiday tradition is, whether it’s travelling, dinner parties, shopping, etc. In this article, we will be putting you through 8 ways to plan your budget for the holiday season to avoid overspending.

1. Plan Your Personal Holiday Budget for The Season Early On:

To be extra safe with your holiday budget for the season, you might as well start planning as early as possible. Make a note of every expense you may incur for the holidays.

Be as exact as you can, additional costs like extra rolls of wrapping paper or stamps for holiday cards can add a large layer of expense on top of what you already paid for travel and gifts.

Decide how much you can spend overall, then divide it up between the items. Make a list of all eligible receivers of your gifts and slash out those who you can replace the gift for time, volunteering works or crafted handmade items etc. 

The most important thing is to follow your plan as the season goes on. It’s easy to get carried away by the festive spirit or be caught off guard by last-minute purchases such as decorations, gifts and the like.

However, you may determine how much money you can allocate to each category of spending; such as gifts, meals, and travel you can always search the web for ‘free tickets’ or simply book the ticket early on by creating a budget in advance. You could do all this alongside your new year’s resolution. Planning your holiday finances will not only save you the damage of overspending but also help you realise your total expenditure after the holidays.

2. Don’t overspend on your credit cards/Debt Free Budget:

You can use credit cards as a helpful tool to pay for some of your holiday expenses.

Having said that, it’s crucial to avoid using all of your allotted credit or even getting carried away to that point. Make a list of the total amount of debt you have on your credit cards before planning your holiday expenditures and try paying it off before planning an expensive or under-budget holiday.

Keep in mind that your total debt-to-credit ratio, which most lenders prefer to see at or around 30%, is also reflected in that debt.

Decide in advance how much credit you will use over the season, and stick to your guns about not going over your budget whilst staying away from debt altogether.

3. Save for later spending:

Another way to plan your budget for the holiday season is to develop a lifelong saving habit to set aside little, manageable sums of money each month.

When it comes to the holiday season, it can also ease the tension of buying meals out when you can always prepare good homemade food.

Whether it’s monthly, bimonthly, or weekly, find a simple way to set aside a few dollars from each paycheck, and make sure that money goes into a separate savings account.

 If you set aside $5 every day, you will have saved $1,820 in a year, which you may use to pay off debt, fund your retirement, and fully fund your holiday expenses.

Try increasing your weekly savings from $10 to $30 and eventually $50 once you’ve become acclimated to it.

You’ll design a workable savings plan that will help you build genuine financial stability. 

Another great way to save from insane purchases is by using coupons and discount codes to purchase your items, it may seem like an old-fashioned way but it sure will save you a lot of costs.

You can also reduce your expenses by sharing costs, which entails gathering the money together to buy someone a gift instead of buying it individually.

4. Create while you can:

The best way to communicate “I love you” is with a homemade present. 

Additionally, it guarantees that the recipient will receive a unique gift or enjoy a delightful treat.

Consider making your own “gift cards” if you’re not particularly crafty and you don’t have enough money to buy something for everyone on your list, try making it up with something more substantial.

For instance, you could offer to donate your time and effort to help a friend or relative clean their house or offer to keep watch over children for friends who would benefit from a night away. 

Giving gifts shows people you care about them, whether you spend money, create something from scratch, or volunteer your time. Some gifts are priceless. 

5. Journal Your Everyday Finances:

This might seem unconventional but writing down your decision, from your budget to your expenses saves a lot of accounting stress whilst keeping you on your financial goals for the holidays. 

You can start by writing down a complete checklist of all products you intend to purchase and their spending limit. Doing this would go a long way in preventing you from overspending. 

6. Stick to a set spending limit:

This might not be the easiest thing to do considering how common it is to spend thousands and thousands on holiday purchases. 

However, you can do yourself a favour by drawing up a budget to safely set a spending limit on gifts for family and friends. 

Make the amount you set into your budget something you can comfortably work with. For instance, you can set aside a hundred dollars on gifts and decorations for the holiday season. 

This would help you keep your financial goals going smoothly.

7. Redefine Your Financial Plan:

The holiday season is a great time to unwind, spend more time with family, and prioritize your finances. 

If you’re bothered about your financial goals for this holiday season, now might be a great time to redefine those goals and expectations you have set for the holidays. 

Consider spending more time with family instead of excessive gift and decorations purchases. 

This would go a long way in strengthening bonds and family ties. Redefine how you celebrate your holidays by doing lots of DIY, gifts made by hand, cards with sensational and amazing handwritten messages, picnics, and repurposing and refurbishing everyday household items. 

All this would not only save you a ton of money but also reignite the holiday spirit of togetherness when you do things like this. “Crafting/DIYs” with your loved ones.

8. Shop Early and Reuse Old Gift Cards:

Another smart way to go about your finances is by reusing old gift cards. An estimate shows a total of the unused card to be around $21 billion each year. Therefore, Reuse and re-gift those gift cards locked away in a drawer.

Conclusion

Planning for a stress-free and budget-friendly holiday doesn’t have to come with so much headache.

Using the guides above, you can be sure to axe the overspending finance records the holiday brings. Just plan well in advance, do a lot of free shipping, and write down your shopping limit for each purchase you intend to make. Create when needed, and invest as much as you can.

You can enjoy the holiday without compromising your financial well-being or the quality of time spent with family and friends.

FAQ

How do I save money for the holiday season: 

Keeping costs down during the holiday can be done through the few ideas below

• Don’t fly at popular times

• Look out for promo sales

• Book Your Flight Ticket Early

•  Be flexible about your destination

• Invest in lots of creativity and DIYs.

• See if you can buy it for free 

In what ways can I stick to a budget

• Never spend more than you have

• Stick to a lower credit card limit

• Try a no-spend challenge

• Sleep on a big purchase

• Do your grocery shopping on the internet

• Plan your expenditure and meals for the season 

Do you know anyone who might find these 8 ways to plan your budget for the holiday season useful? Do well to share this article with them.