How’s your Christmas budget looking this year? The holiday season is here and for a lot of people, that means racking up credit card debt to buy presents. But getting gifts doesn’t need to make you go broke, it just takes a little more planning to budget what you can afford and some discipline to stick to it.
So where do we start? According to two moms -Chonce Rhea, a single mom who has paid off $50,000 in debt, and Lauren Mochizuki,a mom of two who’s paid off $250,000 in debt - this is how to avoid overspending at Christmas.
- Work backwards- Set your Christmas budget by writing down the names of all the people you want to buy for and the amount you want to spend on each, then you’ll be able to see what you actually need to spend for the holiday.
- Finalize gift ideas now- And try to buy things on your list when they’re on sale.
- Check your calendar for non-gift expenses- Don’t forget to budget for tickets to Christmas performances, hostess gifts for parties, and your gift exchange at work.
- Try a family Secret Santa- If you have a big extended family, consider drawing names so everybody gets one person to get a gift for and set a spending limit.
- Plan year-round for Christmas- This one doesn’t help you so much for this year, but setting up a high-yield savings account as soon as the New Year hits can help you get ahead of the game for next Christmas.
Source:Good Morning America