Nearly everyone loves the holiday season. Along with its joy and excitement, the holidays bring a dangerous financial pitfall: overspending. It is certainly easy to overspend over the holiday season, but it can be dangerous, and have long lasting effects. If you have ever spend the next six months paying off your Christmas expenses, you should understand what I mean. You can avoid overspending by following these five little steps.
1) Set a limit for the amount you are going to spend on Christmas gifts this year. Then make a list of who you are going to give to, and set the amount you will spend on each gift. Once you have done this, stick to the commitment, and you will save money.
2) The little things at Christmas really do add up. One of the areas I tend to overspend on is the Christmas stockings. I never buy anything fancy, but somehow I always spend more than I mean to. The same can be said of Christmas cards, and other little things that you need to purchase throughout the holidays. Watch your spending on these categories, and include them in your holiday budget.
3) You may want to give homemade gifts this year. A lot of people really appreciate the time and thoughtfulness of homemade gifts. If you are not crafty you can give gifts of service, such as a night of babysitting, or a weekend of pet sitting. These gifts will truly be appreciated.
4) Do not forget to shop the sales. You can save a lot of money, if you decide to brave the crowds the morning after Thanksgiving. If you plan ahead you can purchase items on sale throughout the year.
5) Decide what extras you and your family can cut back on during the holiday season. It may mean skipping a few traditions, like seeing the Nutcracker or creating new inexpensive traditions to replace the old ones.