Erase Debt - 5 Tips to Make Your Money Go Further During the Holidays
Christmas and the holiday season can end up costing too much of everything.
Too many gifts.
Too many decorations.
Too many parties.
And too much food.
Make your money go further during the holidays by following these 5 simple steps and continue to erase debt.
1.
Budget for Christmas I can hear you groaning about this.
How boring.
But the truth is the best way not to get into debt during or after the holidays is to budget all year for it.
Start in January by putting money aside from each paycheck for your holiday purchases.
Look, you know you are going to buy presents.
So why not make it easier on your wallet by having cash when the time comes.
2.
Pay Cash For Everything Before you start spending, sit down and figure out what you currently owe on credit cards and any other loans.
Then figure out how much spending you can realistically do with the cash you have left.
That's right.
Cash.
See what it will take to cover all your bills and create a list that conforms to what you'll be able to spend in cash alone.
A cash-only Christmas will mean no bills or debts in the new year.
3.
Rethink Your Gift Giving Rules Re-examine your gift giving thought process by creating new rules for what you will buy, who you will and won't buy for, and how much you plan to spend per person.
These numbers could change from year to year based on your circumstances.
So create a plan every year and make sure it makes sense.
Do you really need to buy Uncle Harry, who you haven't seen in 5 years, that fruit cake every year.
Does he even know who you are? In my family my brother and I have decided to just buy gifts for the kids and not for each other.
We get together for Christmas each year and that's what Christmas is really about - getting together with family.
4.
Create a Practical Gift List Before buying any gifts make sure you create a list of who you are shopping for and potentially what you have in mind for a gift for each person.
Include a maximum dollar amount you will spend per person.
Like any shopping list this list helps to keep you from overspending.
5.
Get Those Coupons Every shop, store and company is out there trying to attract your business.
And one way many of these companies try to do that is by offering coupons.
Check your local papers for the coupon inserts.
And definitely check the online website for coupon deals as well as special sales that are going on.
For example, Target offers lots of toy coupons just before Black Friday.
Black Friday, for the uninitiated, is the day after Thanksgiving and the official start of the Christmas shopping season.
Amazon.
com also offers what it calls "Lightning Deals" where they offer deep discounts on select items at specific times of the day.
If you are lucky enough to time it just right you possibly could get that new $60 Wii game for as little as $25.
Too many gifts.
Too many decorations.
Too many parties.
And too much food.
Make your money go further during the holidays by following these 5 simple steps and continue to erase debt.
1.
Budget for Christmas I can hear you groaning about this.
How boring.
But the truth is the best way not to get into debt during or after the holidays is to budget all year for it.
Start in January by putting money aside from each paycheck for your holiday purchases.
Look, you know you are going to buy presents.
So why not make it easier on your wallet by having cash when the time comes.
2.
Pay Cash For Everything Before you start spending, sit down and figure out what you currently owe on credit cards and any other loans.
Then figure out how much spending you can realistically do with the cash you have left.
That's right.
Cash.
See what it will take to cover all your bills and create a list that conforms to what you'll be able to spend in cash alone.
A cash-only Christmas will mean no bills or debts in the new year.
3.
Rethink Your Gift Giving Rules Re-examine your gift giving thought process by creating new rules for what you will buy, who you will and won't buy for, and how much you plan to spend per person.
These numbers could change from year to year based on your circumstances.
So create a plan every year and make sure it makes sense.
Do you really need to buy Uncle Harry, who you haven't seen in 5 years, that fruit cake every year.
Does he even know who you are? In my family my brother and I have decided to just buy gifts for the kids and not for each other.
We get together for Christmas each year and that's what Christmas is really about - getting together with family.
4.
Create a Practical Gift List Before buying any gifts make sure you create a list of who you are shopping for and potentially what you have in mind for a gift for each person.
Include a maximum dollar amount you will spend per person.
Like any shopping list this list helps to keep you from overspending.
5.
Get Those Coupons Every shop, store and company is out there trying to attract your business.
And one way many of these companies try to do that is by offering coupons.
Check your local papers for the coupon inserts.
And definitely check the online website for coupon deals as well as special sales that are going on.
For example, Target offers lots of toy coupons just before Black Friday.
Black Friday, for the uninitiated, is the day after Thanksgiving and the official start of the Christmas shopping season.
Amazon.
com also offers what it calls "Lightning Deals" where they offer deep discounts on select items at specific times of the day.
If you are lucky enough to time it just right you possibly could get that new $60 Wii game for as little as $25.
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