Budgeting for Holidays

The holidays comprise the best parts of the year in terms of fun, friends, and family, but they’re not exactly easy on our wallets. Some of our biggest expenses are incurred during the holiday period from Halloween to New Year’s, including bigger grocery bills, shopping for gifts and décor, and entertaining. If you’ve opened the mail in mid-January and been horrified by your credit card bill from the holidays, you’re not alone. That’s why we wanted to spend a little time in this month’s blog chatting about budgeting for the holidays – as well as give you some ideas for how to save a little money this season.

1. Start saving now. If you don’t already include holiday expenses in your monthly budget, it’s not too late! Start setting aside $20 or $40 a paycheck now into a special account for holiday expenses, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can save up over the next couple months to spend on gifts, extra food and décor. Alternatively, you could start buying $20 or $40 gift cards to stores you know you’ll be frequenting later on.
2. Try a minimalist holiday vibe. We can think of all the reasons why we want to have a big blow-out this Christmas (goodbye and good riddance, 2020!) but there are also a lot of benefits to celebrating in a minimalist fashion. Choose small, meaningful gifts for family and friends. Decorate sparingly and choose only family heirlooms or just a few meaningful Christmas pieces to scatter around your home. Host or attend one party instead of several. Choose other, quieter ways to celebrate, like finally taking time to read your favorite books; having a bonfire in the backyard under the stars; baking your favorite time-consuming recipes, and other refreshing and relaxing experiences.
3. Take an inventory. Maybe you buy gifts year-round, stash them, and then forget all about them until February (oops). Maybe you like to buy Christmas décor in November and then you get to December, pull out all your past décor, and realize you now have two – or three – or four – of some of the same things. Let’s stop wasting money by figuring out what we have before we go on shopping sprees. Pull out all your Thanksgiving and Christmas décor now – or in October – and take stock of what you have. Likewise, pull out that stash of gifts you’ve been collecting and see who you’ve already bought for and who you still need to purchase presents for.

Budgeting isn’t the fun part of the holidays, but saving now means having more fun later! And if you need a little more help with organizing, planning or budgeting for parties, contact us through our Facebook and share your best party prep tips and discoveries with us through social media or email. Above all, remember that we’re always here for you! If you want help with your to-do list or planning that holiday party, call us at 615-970-7700 today.