Yes, I know there is still a wad of crumpled wrapping paper under the tree and there are 14 containers of leftovers in the fridge. Your in-laws are snoozing, and the children are playing in the boxes from their gifts. Want to skip the last minute brouhaha next year?
Get Ahead
Plan today.
Planning ahead is the key to avoiding financial holiday stress and the New Year’s credit card hangover. If travel is in your holiday plan, conquer the shopping early. With three months left over, you will be able to leisurely plan a trip without going into debt or stressing the details.
Be done shopping by August.
Perfectly doable with this strategy.
Do the math.
Plan to spend 1% of your annual income on holiday spending. This money will not be spent totally on gifts. Decorations, cards, food, fuel expenses traveling to parties and incidentals will fall into this 1% as well.
Day One
On December 26, do not stand in line to return anything. If it does not fit, will it fit someone on your list? If it doesn’t match, will it fit in one of your recipient’s homes? If you don’t like it, will someone on your list? Hold on to it.
“What list?” you ask.
Each year, impulse buying for last minute additions to recipient lists account for nearly 15% of all holiday spending. Eliminate this spending, by knowing ahead of time for whom you will purchase.
Parents, children, grandchildren, partners and best friends make the list every year. If possible, pare the list to the bare minimum. Your boss’ secretary’s husband does not need a gift.
Who gets what?
Group your recipients into these categories: Gift, food, craft and card. Cards, wrapping and craft supplies should be purchased at after holiday sales. Crafts should be completed by June, wrapped and put away.
One Down
By wrapping the present and applying a tag with a name, you have officially crossed the name off of the list. Beside the name, you should place a the total cost of the gift, wrapping included.
The Cards
Buy the cards marked down after Christmas.
Sign holiday cards while watching a Little League game or cheer leading practice. Sign only as many cards as you have names on your list for which you do not have an email address. Remaining cards should be boxed for another year. On average, cards need only be purchased three out of every four years.
The Holiday Newsletter
November 28-30, make a personalized holiday newsletter on your computer to impart the year’s accomplishments/joys and to send best wishes for theNew Year. This should be added to the cards the first week of December and mailed.
Save postage by sending your newsletter via email to as many recipients as possible. Make note on your list as to the postage paid on your list, along with the cost of the cards and stationery stock/ink to print your newsletters. Cross off those names.
January-July
Divide your gift recipients into seven groups. Shop for one group per month in sales, consignment shops, on line bargain houses and antique shops. You can find unique and new items in all of these places. Be frugal as often as possible. Once gifts are bought, wrap them and transfer the cost onto your list.
August has arrived.
Total your expenses. Budget half of your remaining money for the food items you will purchase or the ingredients, if you will cook the food yourself. Include the cost of packaging the food.
Leftovers
Saving now means more after the holidays.
Not the turkey! The remaining money is free to be spent on decorations, fuel, lodging or saving for next year. Remember: Money left over from this year can purchase after-holiday trappings and decorations to be used next year, further reducing your out-of-pocket expense.
September is here.
Where do you want to be in December? Decision time. Consider the feasibility of travel given weather conditions, the balances of your credit cards and your history of inflated last quarter spending.
Double Check the Math
While most people can accurately blame gift-giving as the increase to their end of year spending, remember you will be buying more incidentals: Gas/cab fare to go to parties, feasts with extra groceries, a bottle of champagne for New Year’s Eve. All of these expenses need to be calculated.
Let’s Go!
If you can still afford a trip, decide where, for how long and with whom. Research inclusive packages. In most cases you save more by paying up front for the vacation than you will if you eat out and pay for all of your entertainment. Purchase travel tickets with insurance for changes. You can not plan for holiday accidents which commonly prevent travel.
You have three months to save money for all of the extras, like souvenirs and sight-seeing.
You have a plan. Stick to it. You can have a stress free holiday when you plan ahead.
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Did you go over budget this holiday? Can you use any of these tips to save money?
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raymond alexander kukkee
/ December 25, 2011Great money-saving tips–and so timely.
What’s a budget? It seems most people will not find out on January 15th or so…”:)
Red
/ December 25, 2011Budget is not a dirty word. Meh. This one works. I have done it for years.
prenin
/ December 25, 2011I too budget for the birthdays and holidays although, because of my illness, I haven’t had a break for over twenty five years!
This Christmas I budgeted £120 for presents – and spent £118, buying more expensive items at half price because of the pre-Christmas sales.
Next week I am buying Pat’s birthday present – her birthday is in July as is mine – and will save a fortune! 🙂
Love and hugs!
Prenin.
Red
/ December 25, 2011That is an excellent plan, Pren! I rarely spend much in December before Boxing Day. Saves the wallet! Red.
Androgoth
/ December 25, 2011An excellent posting Red, and no I never over budget as that is just not my way 🙂 I am not perfect or anything, I am just careful 🙂 I like your ideas of giving someone on the list a present that might not have been well thought out, and that the said present could be a wonderful choice for someone else on the list, how inventive, I like that 🙂
Hey and thank you for those wickedly fine gifts you brought me, I have added them to my Gifts Page 05, I rather like both of those thank you 🙂
Have a lovely rest of day and I hope that your evening is truly exciting also, oh yes and a very Merry Christmas to you, to Bear and of course to all of your little one’s 🙂
Androgoth XXx
Red
/ December 25, 2011I rather like finding a new home for unwanted gifts. The one I have received this season is already repackaged and ready for the next season…making me one gift ahead already 😉
Glad you like them. When I saw the smile, I knew where she needed to live. Merry Christmas, wicked friend! Red.
christyb
/ December 26, 2011I’m glad you pointed out those ‘incidentals’ at the holidays. Re-boxing the Xmas cards is also a good idea!
Red
/ December 26, 2011When we calculate the cost of things, a lot of times we overlook some of the expenses. A party at a friend’s house is always considered “free entertainment” and sometimes “free meal”, but you still have to drive to get it 😉 Hope you can use some of the tips to help your save some more money!
lorrelee1970
/ December 26, 2011Wonderful tips. I know it’s possible, but I just don’t see it happening here. Too many cooks in the kitchen.
Red
/ December 26, 2011I have one word for you: Eviction. Put out all of the ones meddling in your stew…even if this means hubs. A healthy dose of “Mind you matters” is enough to tick them off to do it themselves if they are unsatisfied with your fare. And I happen to know you have the spunk to do just that 😉
lorrelee1970
/ December 26, 2011I’ll have to start now. He is pretty stubborn and will need almost a year of my nagging to listen. We had a budget and he went way over. 3 days before Christmas he ordered things with next day shipping. But….he’ll be the first one to complain about money. Maybe I should stop buying groceries and blame him for spending all our food money? That might work.
Red
/ December 26, 2011WooHoo! No cooking! I love that idea 😉 Next day shipping is always a no-go. When he waits that long, he should be shopping with the old lady from Sin #1, with the maxi purse filled with bottled water, an 18 pound change purse and a cat.
lorrelee1970
/ December 26, 2011He works off “guilt” from being a part-time dad….AND…since they all need to be treated equally….there you go.
Red
/ December 26, 2011PFT. And snarf on the ex for letting it happen. He may need to read the rest of the Identity Series. Tomorrow and Wednesday especially.
lorrelee1970
/ December 26, 2011If you mean his ex…she’s even worse. She bought him a tablet, a go cart and who knows what else. I think there is a silent competition going on.
Red
/ December 26, 2011Silent my left arse cheek. Exes suck. And it is so unfair to set the children up to believe they should be getting everything imaginable every year. Totally unreasonable example to set. How thoroughly juvenile. I see a blog series coming on…You are not the only one battling this ATM.
awarewriter
/ December 26, 2011Somehow Tracy and I have always managed to head into the New Year with a low credit card balance. We pay as we go and haven’t had a running balance in many years. Neither of us were willing to mortgage our future for stuff that would be worn out or obsolete before they were paid off.
Tracy took the first step towards next year this morning when she bought a new Christmas Tree at Target for half price. The sorry old tree hits the trash next week.
John
Red
/ December 26, 2011You are about the fifth of my friends to retire a tree this year (either before or after). I have to admit, there is nothing better than a live tree. Even when I am sweeping needles everyday at the end. This year’s model will not make it as long as I would have liked, but I knew that when I bought it. I think I will have to have no able-bodied entourage before I go back to the plastic tree. Red.
awarewriter
/ December 26, 2011We always had a live tree until the year when we had new wall to wall carpeting installed in our living room several weeks before Christmas. Visions of sap and needles pushed us into buying an artificial tree and we’ve been doing it ever since. Each time we need a new tree it gets smaller. Maybe one of these years I’ll go out and get a real one again.
John
lorrelee1970
/ December 26, 2011Nine years later…our fake tree is hitting the landfill.
Red
/ December 26, 2011Make that seven. 2011 was bad on trees.
Rhonda Meadows
/ December 26, 2011Wonderful tips for saving money. I can see how this would avoid a lot of useless last minute spending and save money for the things needed or actually wanted for the holidays. Thanks for the tips!
Red
/ December 26, 2011Any time! Loads more where those came from…stay tuned 😉 Thanks for stopping by, Rhonda!
ansuyo
/ December 28, 2011Nice! I always intend to do this every year, but wind up trying to finish everything up at the last minute.
Red
/ December 28, 2011Even if you can do one or two months, you can get so far ahead of the game!!
Karen
/ February 4, 2012What great tips! I think I’m going to try this method this year. I know one thing… we’re staying home for Christmas this year. (We visited family out of the country this past year and while that was GREAT it was also expensive.)
Thank you for sharing these tips!
Karen
Red
/ February 4, 2012You are very welcome. Leaving the country is always expensive. And just think, with what you save, you could get so far ahead for 2013!
Red.