The average American is expected to spend nearly $1,000 on gifts for Christmas this year. This amount doesn’t include food, travel or decorations for the holidays. Wowsa! Christmas isn’t cheap, but planning is key to alleviating the stress of this hefty investment.
Some folks are early Christmas shoppers and have a keen eye for picking up those perfect holiday gifts all year round and spreading out their Christmas spending over 12 months. Studies show, though, that the majority of Christmas gifts will be purchased in October and November.
When you take into account friends and family, teacher gifts and even gifts for the mailman, many of us are buying gifts for up to 20 people.
Planning and budgeting cam dramatically cut down on the stress to you and your wallet!
As I write this, we are 17 weeks from Christmas. Seems so far away, right? This means we are only eight paydays away from Christmas, though. Eeek!
BUDGETING
Saving money and limiting what you spend may be the most important step in Christmas shopping. Large credit card bills in January are no fun. A few tips for saving….
Set a goal: How much do you want or need to spend this year? Are there any larger purchases that you need to prepare for? Set a goal for how much you would like to save for this year’s holiday gift giving.
Christmas Club: Many banks and credit unions will offer a Christmas Club. The is a special account set aside for Christmas savings. You can manually transfer money into this account or ask that a certain amount is withdrawn each payday. Most of these programs are free.
Savings apps: Apps like Mint, Quicken or CountAbout offer personal finance and budgeting tools. We are really intrigued by the app Mvelopes, which is a personal finance app based on the ‘envelope budgeting’ – families put money aside in envelopes and mark for a certain purchase.
12 week savings program: With some aggressive saving techniques and a well thought out plan, you could have $1,000 or even $1,500 set aside for your Christmas gifts, food and décor spending. And, there is plenty of time to start now. Here is The Christmas Gals easy to follow 12 week savings plan. Click on the links to download and print this guide!
TRACKING PURCHASES
How many of us have purchased a Christmas gift only to realize after the holiday that you forgot you ever bought the item? Guilty!
Just as important as saving for those thoughtful Christmas gifts, is actually tracking what you have and have not purchased. Creating list will help you track the gifts and stay within a budget.
Click on the links below for your free printable Christmas Gals Gift List. Trust us – it will feel so good when you check off the last column for ‘wrapped!’
