Your Money Matters
Managing Holiday Spending
The average
American spends
more than $1,000
during the holiday
season. And much
of that spending
is on credit cards,
which means that
many people face
big bills in the New
Year.
The key to keeping holiday
spending (or almost any
other kind of spending!)
under control is planning and
sticking to a budget.
By planning your holiday
spending carefully, you can
save money and still keep the
holidays happy.
Ways to spend less.
Many people blow their
holiday budgets because
they get carried away by the
excitement of the season. Try
to focus on the true spirit of
the season rather than the
more commercial aspects.
Also, don’t give in to pressure
to give expensive gifts. The
best gifts are those chosen
with an eye toward what’s
personal and meaningful to
the recipient, and they don’t
have to cost a lot.
Here are some more ways
to save money during the
holidays:
•Set expectations with friends
and family. If you’re worried
about your finances this
holiday season, talk about it
with friends and family. They
might be just as relieved
as you are to set limits on
spending or skip gift-giving
entirely. This is especially
important for children,
who often have unrealistic
expectations about gifts and
don’t fully understand the
costs.
•Look for ways to cut back
on the number of gifts you
buy. There are many ways to
shorten your gift list. If you
have a large family or group
of friends, ask if they’d like to
draw names out of a hat and
give one gift per person. Or
give family gifts rather than
individual gifts.
•Consider homemade gifts.
Many heartfelt, thoughtful
gifts don’t come with a sales
receipt. You could cook some
treats; put together a photo
album; make a themed gift
basket full of smaller items,
like tea, paperback books
or gardening tools; or make
homemade certificates for
child care, cleaning, providing
a heat-and-eat dinner for the
family, etc.
•Make a shopping plan. Don’t
head out to the mall without a
specific list of gift ideas. This
is how you end up spending
more than you budgeted for.
Develop a list before you even
set foot in a store.
•Look for bargains. Buying
several gifts from one catalog
or website helps save on
shipping, or better yet,
look for sites that offer free
shipping. Also, at large chain
discount stores, you can get
quality, brand-name items at
a fraction of their retail cost.
You can also save on websites
that provide deeply discounted
limited-time special offers on
dining and other services and
products.
•Brainstorm for ways to
cut entertaining costs. For
example, invite friends and
neighbors over for a cookie
swap rather than baking
batches to give away. Or host
“potluck” holiday meals with
friends or family instead of
supplying all the food yourself.
•Make careful travel plans. If
your holiday plans include a
trip, thoroughly investigate
your options as early as
possible.
•Keep it simple. Focus on
enjoying the simple pleasures
of the holiday season, like
spending time with friends
and family or taking a
walk with a to-go mug of
hot chocolate to see the
holiday decorations in your
neighborhood. Take a driving
tour of best-decorated houses
in your area. These kinds of
activities often capture the
spirit of the season better
than expensive gifts or
elaborate celebrations.
•Use your credit card wisely.
Finally, think before you use
your credit card to pay for
holiday expenses. Don’t use it
unless you know you can pay
it off right away. Remember,
by buying a sweater on sale
with a credit card but only
making the minimum monthly
payments on the card, you
could end up paying double
the sweater’s sale price.
A Happy New Year does not
start with huge credit card
bills!
Information courtesy of
Military OneSource