The best way to eliminate the stress associated with planning for the holiday season is to get the ball rolling early. If you want to make Christmas an enjoyable experience for yourself and your family, thinking about it early will really help you out.
Plan of Attack
If you start thinking about Christmas right now, you’ll be able to take advantage of really good deals and promotions as they are presented. Not to mention when you have a holiday game plan in the beginning of November and divide out the biggest tasks well in advance, you’ll be able to enjoy the season and all the festivities without rushing around last minute.
Try these tips for planning ahead for Christmas:
- Create your budget early. A solid spending plan is truly the anchor to a stress-free, debt free Christmas. Take a look at your finances in their current state and determine how much you can really afford to spend. Be honest with yourself, this is the budget that will carry you through the holiday and into the New Year.
As you are working on your budget, take into account all aspects of the holiday season, including gift giving, entertainment, food, and anything else that comes up during the holiday season. - Create a gift list. This list will comprise of everyone you plan on giving a gift to. This gives you an opportunity to compare it with your gift budget. As you go down the list, set a spending limit for each individual on your list and trim your list if you are not able to afford it. Remember there is no shame in not being able to afford a certain amount. There are plenty of alternatives.
- Start shopping early. Stores are releasing their sales early. This gives you a chance to shop early with a plan in place. It gives you more time to find the perfect gift for your budget.
- Let’s not forget your parties. If you think about it, a large part of your Christmas is the wonderful get-togethers. It could also get out of hand budget wise. Planning early and fitting it your budget will also help you have a stress free, debt free Christmas.
Like most things, taking the time to plan early will ensure that you have a reasonable and memorable Christmas with your family and friends.
When do you start planning for the Holiday Season?
Andrea is the Chief Chick of Smart Money Chicks. After filing BK twice (once because she panicked, second time because the pro messed the first time up), she realized that it all could have been avoided if she understood more about how her Finances worked and the options available. At that point, she wanted to help as many as she could never make the same mistakes again. Our Promise is that all the content you read on here is created or edited by Andrea