Have You Thought About Christmas?
Read Time / 2 Minutes
Theme / Financial Planning
With Labor Day behind us, we are unofficially into Fall. The temperature is dropping, football is on and it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. The average American will spend $826 on Christmas. Whether gifts, flights, decorations or food, the expenses start to pick up.
Instead of waiting until December to make all your purchases and hoping it fits in your budget, here are a few tips to staying on top of your Christmas spending early.
Make a plan
It’s easy to get carried away with Christmas spending, so make a plan with how much you want to spend. If you need to travel, research prices ahead of time. Create a budget for your gifts, so you don’t overspend on your Grandmother. Start setting yourself up for success in December by making a written plan now.
Space out your purchases
Let’s say your family has $200 in wiggle room in your monthly budget. If you wait until December to buy all your gifts and decorations, you’ll likely overspend by hundreds of dollars. In your plan, include what you want to purchase in the months leading up to Christmas. Maybe September and October are dedicated to gifts, November is for your tree and lights, and December is for food. Now you’ve taken your $200 wiggle room over four months and bought everything you want without needing to go into debt. Start buying now!
Find creative ways to cut cost
Sometimes the most impactful presents aren’t the things we buy. Finding creative ways to gift-give can be a massive relief on your budget. Whether its something homemade, an experience with a loved one, or regifting something you already own that has sentimental value. It may sound crazy, but one of the favorite gifts my grandparents gifted me was an old cookie jar they had in their home for years. When I was a kid, they used to fill it with Oreos whenever I came to town. It didn’t cost them a dime, but it was a gift that has stuck with me and sits in my kitchen now.
Start saving for next year
Maybe all these tips are redundant for you and your family. Maybe you’re doing all these things already, or you’re financially able to load everything up for December. Start saving for next year! $50/month from now until next Christmas gets you $800, the average American spending. Is it time for a Christmas getaway to the beach? $350/month starting in September would pay for the average week long trip to Hawai’i. If you’re all set for this year, it's a great time to start planning for next year.
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty”
Proverbs 21:5 ESV
Nathan Carroll
Registered Assistant
208-918-8655
nathan.carroll@christianwm.com
