EASY WAYS TO STAY OUT OF DEBT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Are you one of those people who finds themselves with extra credit card debt after the holidays?
The holidays are less than 5 months away. Parties, gifts, and food are some of the biggest budget busters.
Now is the time to start planning if you want to stay out of debt this holiday season.
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#1 CREATE A GIFT LIST
Start making a list of the people you will be getting gifts for and what you’re getting them. Don’t worry if it’s vague just write it down and change it when you think of something specific.
After family and friends don’t forget people you would also like to give gifts to like neighbors, mailman, garbage man, teachers, pets, etc. Even if you plan on making their gifts or giving gift cards include them on your list.
#2 BUDGET
After you create your holiday gift list it is time to create a holiday budget. Come up with a grand total of what you would like to spend and divvy it up as you see fit. If your total exceeds your budget make adjustments.
Stay out of debt this holiday season by sticking to your budget. If you end up buying an item for more than you originally budgeted offset it by getting other items on your list for less money.
I know it sounds simple, but if it was, there wouldn’t be so many people going into more debt each holiday season.
#3 SAVE EARLY
With a few months before the holidays, now is the time to start socking away cash each week.
Calculate how much you should be saving each week by taking your total holiday budget and dividing it by the number of weeks left until the holidays.
Example: Let’s say I want to spend a total of $1,000 for the holidays this year. With 20 weeks to go that’s $50 a week.
A holiday fund can be used to cover gift costs, but it can also be used to pay for added expenses such as decorations, food, and parties. If these are things you spend a significant amount of money on include them in your budget.
We get our decorations on sale from the year before (there are a bunch of things we buy after Christmas to save money) and since food isn’t a big added expense I don’t include it in our holiday budget/fund.
#4 GIFT-FREE HOLIDAY
I can hear some of you screaming right now. What?! No gifts for the holidays. Who are you?
I love giving and getting gifts, but I love being debt-free more.
We have been fortunate enough to not have to do a gift-free holiday. However, there are HUGE pros to having one.
1) Saving a ton of money
2) Using that “extra” money to pay off existing bills
3) Donating the money to charity instead
4) Focusing more on time together than on material things
5) Not getting gifts that you want to regift 😉
Check out my Guaranteed Ways to Save Money This Holiday Season post for more money saving tips and alternative gift ideas that are free/cheap.
#5 SHOP EARLY/COMPARE PRICES
Look on Craigslist, Facebook, eBay, and Amazon (free Prime shipping) and start comparing prices.
Buy some of your gifts now and save yourself the headache of waiting until the last minute. Just remember when you buy a gift to mark it on your list so you don’t end up buying another gift for the same person.
The advantage of getting your gifts this early is you can pay for them as you buy them instead of all at once. You can then wrap them and have them ready to go. I’m all about a “less stress” holiday.
Also, don’t wait until the last minute when buying online. Some retailers guarantee shipping, but it’s happened plenty of times where they get bombarded with orders and can’t get the item to you in time. Bummer.
Don’t forget to use Rakuten (see my full Rakuten review) to get free cash back and Groupon if you do any online shopping!
Related posts:
* 6 Bank accounts you should have
* Best things to buy after Christmas
* Gift bag ideas for every occasion
* 10 Websites to make money at home
#6 HUSTLE FOR SOME EXTRA CASH
Start earning extra cash by doing online surveys and using your cash back money.
Sell junk you don’t need and save use that money to pay for your gifts so you don’t have to go into debt this holiday season.
Here are several side hustle ideas to make some extra cash before Christmas.
#7 DIY
Make your own holiday decorations, food, gifts.
I made these adorable Hershey Kisses Christmas trees.
Can you sew, knit, bake? Check out YouTube for some easy and cheap gift ideas to make.
#8 MONEY SAVING CHALLENGE
Make saving some extra cash for the holiday season fun with one of these fun money saving challenges.
I have my free money saving coloring page printable here if you want to involve the kids too.
To make the money saving challenge even harder, only spend on gifts what you have saved. This will force you to hustle harder and be more cognizant of your current spending.
If you really want to stay out of debt this holiday season come up with a proactive game plan instead of waiting until the last minute scrambling around for gifts.
If you’re tight on cash this year, be honest with your family, friends, and yourself. Maybe you can only afford getting gifts for the kids or a Secret Santa for one person instead of 10 this year. Trust me, most people will understand. Some may even be relieved that you brought it up so they can cut back on their holiday gift shopping too.
If you don’t choose to forgo gifts this year, shop early, compare prices, get creative with gift ideas, and save and make extra cash before the holiday bills roll around.
This reminds me, I need to start making my gift list and shopping around soon too 😉
Good luck on scoring some great deals!
Don’t go into debt this Christmas
I try to make my list and shop early! There will be all kinds of sales between now and Christmas!!
Making a list helps so much! I spend way too much when I go in blind, buying random things.
Love these ideas! We always save money all year for different categories, Christmas being one. We are Dave Ramsey baby steppin to debt freedom. It is so freeing knowing that I can just go grab the cash from my safe to get my any need we have!
Great ideas here! Setting a budget is crucial – it can be very easy to just shop mindlessly during the holiday season!
I love your ideas, and I always start planning early too! It’s the best way!
Thanks for the very early reminder. So helpful! Thank you!!!
I love shopping throughout the year, and I have a running list I add ideas to as they come to me so I’m not stuck buying something I don’t love for someone just because I need to get them something 🙂
Love this post, because I usually don’t think of these things until a month before the holidays! Great tips, especially the save early, and the gift free holiday! Now I can start implementing some of these to get me prepared for Christmas!
So glad you liked it. thank you!
I like to make gifts each year. Raw materials are often cheaper, and people love getting something handmade.
I love homemade gifts. I wish people would do more of that for me instead of feeling like they have to buy something every year.
I always start the season off with great intentions to save money ~ but it never works. I do have a better plan in place this year, so I guess we shall see. You gave me stuff to think about, though. However, a giftless holiday would NOT go over at this point in life. LOL.
Yes I understand. My kids are little and I enjoy getting them gifts. Their smiles are priceless. However, they know they can’t everything they want either.
It’s crazy that the holidays will be here so soon! I do everything listed on this except save, ha ha.
lol! That’s okay. At least the rest helps with expenses.
I’ve always told myself that the ideal time to Christmas shop is in the January sales! Unfortunately, I’ve always been too broke by the time January arrives! 😀
Yes! We score great deals on decorations, gift wrapping, and some great gifts too.
I do my best to create and list and stick by it, but somehow I always end up going overboard! I just love shopping for the holidays!
Great advice for saving money this season. I tend to wait last minute and always end up in a bind!
Great tips, I usually get one gift every month, by the time on holiday season I don’t need to go last minute shopping, I also bake cookies for family and friends, good thing they love my cookies, hehe
That’s a great idea! And seriously, who doesn’t love homemade cookies.
Great tips on saving money at the holidays!
I hate how the holiday season comes with so much pressure ! Because of that we delay planning these purchases until last minute and fall into relying in credit cards..
I agree, which is why we try to focus more on meals and family time than gifts, but it can be especially hard when you have a big family.
These are such great tips. Every year I say I’m going to start early and budget, and every year I’m running around on December 23. This is the year I have a smooth holiday shopping season. 😀
I know what you mean. I hat the running around, but sometimes life gets so busy we forget. NOT this year lol!
Great tips! I love the idea of doing small side hustles and socking that money away for gifts. I also find that shopping early, throughout the year, helps to spread the hit to your budget easier.
I like this post! Planning and shopping smart are both important. I tend to do my shopping year round when I find things for a good price, which also spreads out the spending.
Thank you. Yes I also try to shop year round, but looks like I’m starting late this year.
Oh gosh this would be the best thing ever! I’m so bad at budgeting for the holidays. I wish I had started this years ago!
These are great tips. It can be so hard to budget around the holidays! I usually try and buy some gifts way ahead of time so it’s spread out. I also love DIY gifts.
Yes I agree because so many end of year expenses come about. I love homemade gifts too.
These are great tips! I do many of them actually. I always set a budget, but I’m never able to stay within it 😅 I love giving gifts! I do buy all the gifts throughout the year so that I can get them on sale/clearance and also avoid the stress of getting them right before Christmas when everyone else are getting them.
Well as long as you’re close to your budget and getting good deals you’re better than most so *high five*!
These are fantastic tips, and it’s great to read this in time to plan for holiday shopping. I like to buy my gifts months in advance so that I’m not scrambling the week before Christmas.
That’s great. I think I have great ideas, but sometimes forget lol
Love these Ideas!!! Especially focusing on non material things. Doing an activity together is often times so much more memorable than material items.
thank you 🙂
Definitely bookmarking this. I hate the holiday shopping craze.
Thank you, me too. Get me something homemade or something I can eat and I’m good lol