Reducing your Christmas spending stress
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We’ve got one month left to shop before Christmas, and a lot of people still haven’t figured out their spending strategy.
Lack of planning can empty your bank account and raise your stress levels. Stressing over money can ruin the holidays.
Creating a detailed budget is the best way to avoid financial worry, no matter how much you can afford to spend. Some Christmas shoppers like to let the cash flow freely: “They’re the people I love the most so I really don’t put a price on it.”
“(We’ll) spend whatever we have to spend to get the gifts we need.”
Others keep an eye on their gift-giving budget. “I always set a budget for how much I’m going to spend on each one of the kids. My husband and I talk about how much we’re going to spend on each other.”
“I generally can afford what they’re asking for.”
“(We) usually try and keep the entire Christmas season under $1000.”
But few people plan for all the other holiday expenses.
“divide that up between food, your decorations, holiday clothing.”
Financial advisor Mary Thorpe suggests creating a spending spreadsheet for everything: from your Christmas tree, to travel costs, to photos with Santa. Budget an amount for each category and track your spending as you go.
If you overspend in one area, cut back in another; avoid the temptation of spending money you don’t have in the bank. “The biggest thing that people do is buy on credit. And so, they had a great Christmas, and in January they’re looking at the bills and it causes a lot of stress.”
Shopping early gives you time to compare costs; just don’t get sucked in by a sale tag. Stop when you’ve ticked off everyone on your list.
“It’s not a good deal if it’s not something you need or something you’re going to give to somebody.”
Last-minute shoppers sometimes get the best deals, but if you’re looking for a must-have item, you could end up paying more. The most important thing is choosing a limit within your means, and sticking to it.
It’s the little expenses that really start to add up. Supplies for baking Christmas cookies, cards, postage, wrapping paper… Include what you can afford in your budget and skip everything else. If you want some help tracking your spending, you can download one of these spreadsheets:
