Holiday Shopping 101: Gift Buying Without Going Broke
When the holiday season arrives, you might begin to worry yourself about how you’re going to afford all of those gifts for your friends and family members. Remember the holidays are a time to share your love for others and spend time with those you might not see throughout the rest of the year. When you begin your holiday shopping, there are a few ways that you can get just what you want without going broke. Займ на карту срочно оформить онлайн.
Budgeting
Before you head out to the malls or start shopping online, you should make a budget that you know you can afford. Look at how much money you’ve saved during the year for holiday gifts and how much extra you can afford to spend from your paychecks during the month. Your house payment, car payment, utilities, and other essentials should be put at the top of your budget before any holiday shopping is completed. When making your budget, make a list of the people you want to shop for and the amount you might want to spend for each person to see if your budget matches those numbers. If possible, try to get a bit creative with some people on your list, such as baking something instead of buying an expensive item.
Credit
An option to consider is using a credit card. If you must use a credit card to purchase holiday gifts, try to limit how much you will spend without going over. You should also use cards with the lowest interest rate or those that give rewards for how much you spend. Since nobody wants to get stuck paying a credit card late fee, monitor your payment due dates and set reminders. Doing so ensures your holiday spending doesn’t lead to new year financial strain.
Early Sales
Most stores have significant sales well before the holiday season gets started. Try to take advantage of these sales, whether they are in a brick-and-mortar store or online. If you’re shopping for children, then consider looking for deals right after the holiday season or in the spring before stores start getting summer items and school supplies on the shelves. You can shop for clothes at the end of each season during the year, getting a size that’s larger for children so that they can grow into it the following year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are good times to buy gifts as well as you can usually get free shipping, buy one, get one free deals, and gifts that are at their lowest price through the year.
Sell What You Don’t Need
You can make a little extra money to buy holiday gifts by selling toys, clothing, and other items that you no longer need or use. You could also use the money that you make to pay off your credit cards or loans that you might take out to purchase holiday gifts. If your children want to buy gifts for you, their grandparents, or their friends, you could help them go through their toys and other items that they no longer want to sell them to earn money to purchase gifts.
Limit the Gifts
There are a few ways to limit the number of gifts you purchase for the holidays. One is by drawing names instead of getting everyone a gift. You could set a monetary limit on how much each person would spend on the purchased gifts so that everyone gets something of the same value without people feeling as though they have to spend a lot of money. Another option would be to have a holiday party and ask everyone to bring a few gifts for an exchange. You can play games so that each person leaves with a gift that they didn’t bring. Games that you could play include drawing cards from a basket, choosing ornaments off a tree with numbers on them, passing gifts around a circle, and letting guests choose a card to see if they want to keep theirs or get a new one.
The holiday season is a time of love and laughter. You shouldn’t spend it worried about how much money you’re going to spend or if you’re going to have to pay significant fees for your credit cards. Following just a few tips can help you get something meani
