Today marks the beginning of the holiday spending season. Instead of looking at our finances at the end of the season only to realize that we have aimlessly overspent, take the time to create a holiday spending plan allowing us the freedom to spend on the individuals we love. This plan will only take 15 minutes of your time to prepare you to shop smartly this upcoming holiday season.
According to the National Retail Foundation, consumers will spend between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion this holiday season. This is an increase of 4% over 2018 numbers. This increase projects that you and I will be spending more this year. To ensure we start off our holiday shopping right let’s create a spending plan starting with the amount we are willing to spend this holiday season. After deciding the total amount divide out amongst groups such as brothers & sisters, neighbors, office holiday parties and whatever other group or individuals that you normally by gifts for.
After amounts have been determined, make a gift list based on the amount that you have in your spending plan. You will then have a better idea as to where these gifts can be purchased to ensure you are getting the best prices. You will also need to ensure that you know how you are paying for these items. Do you currently have the cash flow to pay for these items? Will these purchases be put on a credit card?
And at last, ensure that you are tracking the amounts of your purchases according to your holiday spending plan. If you currently do not have financial tracking software I suggest that you read September Savings which discusses some of the ones that I utilize. I hope that you are able to have a great holiday season, and can look back on it with our spending regret knowing that you followed a plan. My best and happy holidays!
