The best way to avoid those hefty January credit card bills, give the Christmas gifts you really want to give, and enjoy some of the fun (but sometimes costly) activities that happen in December, is to save for the Christmas season early. With a little discipline, by December, you can have a slush fund to draw from for holiday expenses.
But how do you do it? Try these eight tips.
1. Make a budget. Estimate how much you think you ll spend in December. You can (and should) refine your budget once you know how much you ve saved But think about your holiday budget now as well as your income and set yourself a reasonable savings goal. If you have a specific goal in mind, you re more likely to work toward achieving it and implementing other saving strategies.
2. Set aside a percentage of each paycheck. Create a Christmas fund and pay it like you would a bill. When your paycheck comes in set aside a percentage of the money (whatever number is joyful and doable for you) for Christmas. The sooner you do this, the more money you can earmark for December. But even if you only have a few paychecks between now and 12/25, you can still save a good amount of money.
3. Work a little overtime. If you have a job where you can put in a few extra hours of work, do it. You d be surprised how much you can earn by picking up an extra shift each week or getting to work half an hour early a few times a week. Just make sure to put all that overtime cash into your Christmas fund!
4. Pick up a second job. Lots of places need holiday help, so why not offer to be that help? You can earn a few extra bucks and maybe you ll be lucky enough to work at a store where you can snag an employee discount.
5. Cut your discretionary spending. Do you usually stop for a latte on your way to work every morning? Consider bringing your coffee from home and putting the cash you would have spent on a latte into your holiday savings. Take a look at where your money goes and consider what items you could do without in November so that you can splurge on gifts and entertainment in December.
6. Earn and redeem reward points. Reward programs are everywhere these days. Most major retail stores have them. If you have a credit card or checking account, you re probably already signed up for a bank reward program. Additionally, independent rewards programs like Swagbucks and MyPoints let you earn points by doing things you already do and then you can convert those points to gift cards or rewards. The key to these programs is paying attention. You might think your bank rewards program has nothing to offer you because you already have a DVD player or the other household items you can earn, but most programs now offer gift cards or will even deposit a money directly into your checking account when you reach a certain number of points.
7. Clip coupons. Start combing ads now for holiday items. This is especially useful for keeping your grocery costs down in December. Coupons for items like butter, chocolate chips, spices, and sugar appear this time of year. For every coupon you clip, that s fifty cents or a dollar (or more) you didn t have to save.
8. Sell stuff. Do a little autumn cleaning. Go through your closets, shelves, and cupboards and take your items to consignment shops. You ll clear out a little space in your house and earn a little mad money for the holidays.
