02 Nov Five ways to holiday shop on a budget
How did the holidays come upon us already? While the spring of this year seemed to last for an eternity as we were all thrown into a new and stressful and uncertain way of life, the past few months have seemed to fly by! And now it’s time to do our Christmas shopping already. Experts believe that with fewer people shopping in person and more people shopping online, there are going to be shipping delays this year, which means it’s all the more important to start shopping early.
Here are five ways to get your shopping done, on time and on budget:
- Make a list – make a list of everyone you plan to buy presents for, and allocate a dollar amount for each person. This is the maximum amount you will spend on the person. Be sure to also set aside money in your budget for cards, stamps, wrapping paper, and the like.
- Add up the list – look at your total projected spending vs. what you have available to spend. The goal is to pay for every item with your debit card or cash – not to charge anything, nor to take money from your emergency fund if you have one. (More on that in another blog.)
- Check it twice – if the dollar amount you want to spend on gifts is more than you will have available, go through your list again. Can you remove anyone from your list? Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to realize that the recipient is also trying to cull down their list and are relieved when you mention it. Can you spend less on them? Can you get together with them for a potluck and game night instead of buying gifts? Can your family switch to a “secret Santa” and each person buy for one other person in the family, rather than 10? Once you have refined your list, carry it with you everywhere. My list has four columns: who, what I purchased, the dollar amount, and whether I am done.
- Shopping tips – Now that you have your people and your budget, start thinking about what each person might like and write down some ideas, then start hitting stores, in-person and online. If shopping in person, see if you can shop at local stores rather than chain stores. Many local stores have been crippled due to COVID-19 and are so appreciative of your business. Gift cards to local restaurants are another idea. If shopping online, I highly recommend using the Honey browser as you shop. This is a web browser you can download at joinhoney.com. When you have the browser running, every time you start to “check out” from a store, it will run every available coupon code for the store and plug in the best one. If you do a lot of shopping online, you can literally save hundreds of dollars a year.
- Get ready for next year – The day after Christmas, many stores have 50% off sales on wrapping paper, bows, gift tags, and cards. As you are wrapping gifts, make note of your inventory. If you are running low, the best time to replenish is right after Christmas.
In a future post I’ll share more ideas about being able to cut your spending or bringing in more money, but for now here are two quick ideas if your budget and your desired amount to spend still do not work out and you need money rather quickly:
- Get selling – if you need extra money for gifts, take a look around your house and gather some items to sell. Take photos, write up descriptions, and post them on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or another place of your choice. Most of us have many items we can probably get rid of and won’t even miss.
- Review your spending – if you still need money for Christmas, look at where you are spending money and see what you can cut. Two of the largest areas could be your cable bill and dining out. When my cable bill rose to $250 a month several years ago (for cable, phone, and internet), I called the cable company and tried to work things out. They would not budge. We cancelled the cable TV and phone plan and ordered Sling TV (prices start at $30 per month). Changing that one item in our budget saves us well over $1,000 a year.
The holiday season should be a time of joy, not stress. Unfortunately, many people are still paying Christmas bills well into the summer. You can do things differently this year and start the new year with no new holiday debt!