It’s November, folks. You know what that means: Christmas is practically here.
Whether you’re one to celebrate early or not, it’s good to be prepared for the upcoming expenses that the holiday season requires. This could be in the form of gift shopping, decorating, or other festive holiday ventures. Arguably, this is one of the most expensive times of the year. In order to combat it, the following tips can help you “ball on a budget”:
Tip #1: Create a Budget Planner
There are a variety of ways to create a budget for holiday spending. One way is digitally through programs such as Excel or Google Sheets, where you can create spreadsheets. If you’re anything like me and spreadsheets are not your forte, I suggest relying on the paper-and-pen method. This type of planner can be organized with a few columns. The first column would include the items that are on your list. The second column would include the amount of money you intend to put toward this item compared to, what would be the following column, the actual cost of the item. This could be a helpful and simple way to organize your intended items of purchase as well as see where they align with your budget.
Tip #2: Compare Prices
This tip may take a little more effort and research, but, trust me, it’s worth it (your wallet will think so too!). Once you know what you are shopping for, compare the prices for those items at other stores to see where you can get the best offer. This will help you save more money while shopping. There are a number of stores that will price-match your items. For example, Target is well-known for price matching for its customers, especially around the holiday season.
Tip #3: Keep up with Black Friday Deals
Black Friday deals get released earlier and earlier every year. Am I complaining? Absolutely not. When online shopping, I suggest looking for direct links to these deals and then being on the lookout for when these deals are released. One of my favorite websites that tracks all of the best Black Friday deals is Hip2Save. No matter what you are interested in purchasing, Hip2Save has most likely already found a deal for you. The searching has already been done, so the only finger you will have to lift is to click your mouse on the “checkout” button.
Tip #4: Coupons are Cool!
If there’s a chance to use a coupon, use it! There are so many coupon apps/websites out there whose goal is to help shoppers score the best deals possible. One that I frequently use is RetailMeNot which produces new coupons, and promo codes every day for a multitude of websites, companies, and brands. In addition, you are able to find cash back offers, where you earn a percentage when purchasing items. In other words, you’re getting paid to shop! What’s more merrier than that?