End-of-Year Financial Tips: Budgeting for the Holidays and Beyond

The holidays are a time for giving gifts that make your recipient’s holiday special and delightful. It’s also a time of year when you spend more money in order to get the best possible gifts to make an impression. This combination can make you feel broke, put yourself in debt, and take time to recover your financial well-being. Instead of waiting and spending with the idea that you’ll take care of it later, get proactive with your spending and plan things out.

Budgeting for the holidays helps you keep your spending in check, even if you haven’t done much in the way of saving since the beginning of the year. You can still find awesome gifts, get better prices that help you save money, and avoid digging yourself out of the financial hole at the start of the year. Here are a few tips to help you control your finances while budgeting for the holiday season.

Be Strict With Your Budget

If you’re now just realizing that the holidays are coming up, and coming up fast, you may feel like you should start buying presents immediately. Panicking is the worst thing you can do, especially when it comes to staying within your budget. The fact is, you still have a lot of time, the good sales are yet to arrive, and you’re most likely not going to miss out on the hot ticket item for a gift.

Exercise fiscal discipline by keeping a tight rein on your spending. You’re less likely to burn through your budget. Also, avoid fixating on that perfect gift and thinking you need to buy it at all costs. Gifts are surprises, and you can always pick an alternative to give that’s within your budget. It will most likely be received with the same enthusiasm and appreciation, with the recipient being unaware that you had to pick something more affordable.

Buy Only What You’ve Targeted

You may not buy the gifts you’ve targeted for giving right away as sometimes you can get a better price at a later date. However, better versions of the item can also go on sale and tempt you to buy that one instead.

For example, you want to give the gift of a dashcam to a family member who’s nervous about driving, and you’ve identified the ideal camera at the right price. Resist the urge to upgrade the camera to one with more features for a slightly higher price. You’re still giving a quality gift that has standard dashcam features, and you also get to keep a little more money when it goes on sale.

Don’t Go Into Debt

Instead of using a credit card to buy presents, pay for them with the cash you’ve set aside. In the event you need to use a credit card, stick to a predetermined amount to minimize the amount of interest that accrues, especially if you can’t pay off the balance right away.

Debt can become difficult to get out of, which makes it even more important that you try to avoid it. You can still buy memorable gifts on a budget, and you’ll get the same amount of appreciation from your recipients.

Identify Who You’re Going to Buy Presents For

Knowing who you’re going to buy gifts for helps you stay within your budget. Everyone’s likes and loves are distinct, which makes it easy to figure out their ideal gift. You can allocate a specific dollar amount for the right gift without going over your budget because you’ve limited the amount of people you’re buying gifts for.

You may feel a little bad that you can’t give everyone a gift, but you can make up for the lack of physical gifts by setting aside some money for a virtual gift card. There’s a lot of flexibility with virtual gift cards, and you can personalize the card with an electronic signature. The effort you put into taking this action shows that you care and that you haven’t forgotten about someone.

Compare Against Last Year’s Holiday Budget

Using last year’s holiday budget shows you how much you set aside, and how many gifts you were able to buy. This helps inform you as to how much you should spend for the upcoming season, the amounts you spent on each person in the past, and if you had money left over.

You are always free to change your mind as to how you use your holiday budget to meet your gifting goals. The purpose of using last year’s budget is to help you plan your spending in the short term, and help you make a decision if you want to be under, even, or go over your budget.

Plan for Next Year’s Holiday Spending

This tip borrows a little from the act of forecasting future sales, but you’re using it for predicting next year’s spend instead. Collect your receipts and a notebook and write down everyone’s name, the gift you gave them, and how much their gift cost. The total amount you spent shows you what you can expect to spend on next year’s gifts.

You can also take this time to write out a savings plan so you can spend on gifts with ease instead of trying to find money at the last minute. Divide the total by the number of weeks before it’s time to shop for gifts (IE 40 to 50 weeks), and focus on setting aside an amount every week to help you reach the savings goal.

Conclusion

These tips work for just about every event and gift that you’ll come across during the holidays. You can put out a lavish feast for Thanksgiving without going broke by planning a budget, or you can focus on giving family and friends a gift card they can spend as they please. Budgeting makes it easier for you to take care of the people you love while preparing for the year to come.

It’s good to plan your spending, especially if you’re not sure of what the future will bring in terms of income. A budget can always be adjusted to reflect your ability to set aside money and allow you to give the best possible presents to show people that you care.