Prepare your Christmas savings!

There are only a few weeks until Christmas, so if you want to avoid spending a fortune over the festive period, you have to start planning now. This isn’t as much about early celebration, but more about preparation.

There are plenty of things you can do now to reduce the financial stress and avoid being sick in January. This guide will effectively cover everything you need to know, from budgeting for the big day all the way to how to get cheap and fancy perfume and when to book train tickets in advance.

For those who celebrate Eid, Chanukah, or something else, the same tips apply.

Don’t plan the ideal Christmas, as first, you need to work out what you can actually afford

Before you even start planning, you should consider this: many people list every lusted-for item, gift, and corking meal, only to start worrying afterward that they don’t know how to pay for them. Well, that’s definitely a way to end up broke.

Instead, you should calculate your budget and ask yourself “What can I afford to spend?” Christmas is definitely one day, so make sure you don’t ruin your finances for the upcoming year!

Time to ban all unnecessary presents from your list

Maybe this is the Christmas you’ll finally manage not to give in. Naturally, we’re not talking here about gifts from parents or grandparents, but more about the ever-widening glut of friends, extended family, and colleagues.

Christmas shouldn’t be a retail festival, and we should consider ending obliged giving and think about what we are giving, to whom, and why.

If you find yourself frustrated over your wrapping paper, wondering “What about the joy of giving?”, just remember that gift-giving creates an obligation on recipients to give back.

It doesn’t matter if they can afford it or not, which is oftentimes unfair. For some people, the gift of “not obliging you to buy for me” is simply better.

Budget

The way you truly become the hero of these holidays is by knowing how to budget. That’s right. If you really want to stay on Santa’s nice list, you should set a limit for how much you will spend and simply stick to it. You can use a Christmas Present Planner as a guide, or download a Budget Planning app to help you kickstart this new and effective habit.

Track your spending

Plenty of people spend like crazy throughout December, and they rarely check in on their budget. Most of the time, they simply think “I’ll worry about it in January.” Well, future you have some advice here: don’t.

Try to track your expenses as you go, so you won’t end up like any other year overspending and ruining this month’s and next month’s budget. Besides, do you know what would make it even easier?

The premium features of EveryDollar. You can connect your budget to your bank account. This way, transactions stream right away. You only have to drag and drop them into the right budget line.

It’s quite simple and it will give you more time to do the things that truly matter to you, such as whipping up a batch of figgy pudding.

Rein in other types of spending

First off, don’t spend outside your comfort zone this season or in any other season, for that matter. What about the money you might actually need for Christmas? Well, if you have been shopping all year or stashing cash into your Christmas sinking fund, you might be good to go.

But if not, you might have to find that money somewhere else. The first thing to do here is to move money around in your budget, as spending less on some categories in December might prove helpful when it comes to making up for the extra Christmas celebrations.

Choose time over money

There’s an old saying that went somewhere along the lines of “It’s really the thought that counts.” For some of you, the thought of spending time together is much better than the joy of physical gifts.

You can just save a bunch of money this year by being more intentional about being together. This year, you should try to value experiences over accessories and conversations over clutter.

Shop early

Don’t wait for Black Friday to kickstart the whole Christmas shopping process. Start looking for sales all year long. Get that stuffed Sasquatch on clearance in July for your bigfoot-loving nephew.

When you are mindful of your list throughout the year, you will be able to spread out both the spending and the stress (maybe even get rid of the stress altogether, who knows).

If you somehow missed the chance to jump on the early shopping train this year, just remember it in January when you’re budgeting for the next Christmas season.

Give fewer gifts

Since you’re in the spirit of trimming the tree, trim down that Christmas list. Naturally, you might have a habit of holiday-induced obligation to deal with. You can’t simply pass around gifts at family Christmas and be like “Sorry, you’re the only one I couldn’t find anything for.”

However, not everyone needs a gift. This year, maybe it’s more than enough to send your tidings of comfort and joy to some people on your list through a thoughtful card. Also, if you want to save more, just have a kind and sweet chat with your family members.

Are you all giving just to give? Do you all want to cut back? A clear conversation about skipping presents this year for a shared meal and stocking stuffers instead might prove to be more meaningful.

Resist retail marketing

Americans spend $936.3 billion on holidays. That’s a ginormous amount of money. Don’t let yourself get wrapped up in all those sales and spending. You could think that these retailers are posting deals from the goodness of their hearts, but their true goal is to get something out of it. Just stick to your budget and shop wisely.

Use old gift cards

Just think about all the money you have left on old gift cards. Some of them are to places you will never shop in, eat, or visit. You should consider the partial cards as wonderful discounts and try to use them to buy presents. You can give the other cards to people who will truly appreciate them. Don’t let those little pieces of plastic go to waste these Holidays!

Order online sooner

Ordering online would mean shopping from the convenience of your very own couch as you roast chestnuts on Christmas Evening. That’s exactly the kind of multitasking we’re about. So make sure you cross-check the price on that plus puppy across different stores without putting on real pants.

Also, make sure you do this early enough to get the cheapest online shopping options. Remember that shipping takes way longer this year. In all honesty, the last thing you really need is a budget completely ruined by additional rush order costs.

Combine the orders

And since we’re at shipping, there are many stores that offer free-of-charge shipping if you spend their minimum amount. If you notice the perfect superhero-themed sweatshirt you already know your dad would love, but you’re still below the minimum amount for free shipping, you should just keep shopping inside the store.

Is there anything you might need for a distant cousin or your brother? Naturally, the point is not to buy just for the sake of buying, but it’s worth combining orders to lower shipping costs.

If you found this article useful, we also recommend checking: 12 Smart Places to Hide Your Money