Christmas on a Budget
Does staying on budget during the holiday season seem like a pipe dream to you? With all of the Christmas parties and celebrations, gift exchanges at work, decorating your home, planning large meals for your family, and buying gifts for your friends and family, we often suffer from what you might call a 'consumer hangover' after the holiday season is over! And let's not even mention all the Boxing Week sales!
Here are a few stats for you to consider: The National Retail Federation in the US expects each consumer to spend an average of $849 on 24 gifts this year. Seventy nine percent of consumers expect to spend the same or more than they did last year…And only 21% expect to spend less. And although people think that they'll have the extra credit card bills they incur during the holiday season paid off by the end of February, it actually takes them about six months! Does that sound familiar?
So how does a person stay on budget during the holiday season? Well, it all comes down to budgeting, creativity, and planning ahead.
Here are a few ideas:
- Redeem points: I'd venture to say that most, if not all of us, collect points from at least one retailer. We all know about Air Miles, Petro Points, HBC Points, etc., which are a great alternative and "free" way to do your Christmas shopping! And did you know that you can exchange points from one retailer to 'buy' points for another? Points.com is a great site that allows you to track all your points and swap one retailer's points for another. You can even points to someone else!
- Ebay! Now that the Canadian dollar is virtually equal to the US dollar, take advantage of it by shopping on Ebay or other online auction sites.
- Homemade coupons. Get your kids involved, and have fun with it!
For kids to give to grandparents: one car wash, one hour of weeding in the garden, one afternoon organizing old photographs
For parents to give to kids: one afternoon at the zoo, one trip to the museum, one hour of board games
For adults to give to each other: one backrub, one homemade dinner of your choice, one game of tennis
- Use your kids' artwork. Grandparents, uncles, and aunts can't get enough of charming gifts from children's artwork. You can make calendars, notepads, mouse pads, just about anything, out of their artwork!
- Go to thrift stores for books and small toys
- Inexpensive art. Search online for suppliers of affordable wall art to give to the new homeowner or college student in your life.
- Give things like homemade cookies to friends and coworkers.
- Buy next years' gifts after the holidays. We all know the great deals are coming after December 26th! Imagine how much stress you could avoid by simply planning ahead, buying gifts while they're on sale, and avoiding the rush next year?!
Those are just a few ways that you can save money and still enjoy your holiday season. We still have a few weeks left before the big day, so put an hour or two aside one evening this week to go through your budget. Pull out last year's credit card and bank statements and take a look at how much you really spent. Do some comparison shopping online. Be realistic, and set parameters for yourself.
Get creative, get your kids involved, and just have fun with it! Enjoy the holiday season, and stay safe!
Do you have a great budgeting success story to tell? Email me at julie.d.tremblay@freedom55financial.com and tell me about it! I'd love to hear your stories and ideas!
