What are the Best Tips To Avoid Holiday Debt? – The holiday season is the best time of the year. However, it is also the most expensive time of year, with the cost of gifts, decorations, holiday parties, and meals all adding up to put some people in debt.
The holiday season is a time for giving and spreading holiday cheer, but it can be difficult for many of us when our bank accounts suffer. The cost of gifts, travel, food, and parties can be prohibitively costly.
Trying to cover the holiday costs, from buying gifts to attending holiday parties, can be a real source of anxiety for many families, as the expenses quickly add up. Many people become indebted as a result of their spending habits at Christmas.
However, there are ways to celebrate the holidays without going into debt. This article will show you BEST 19 Tips To Avoid Holiday Debt. These include planning for the holidays, saving early for the holiday season, shopping on sales, and much more. So keep reading till the End!
1. Create A Holiday Spending Plan
You will need to create a budget. This is where your budget for all of your planned expenditures, such as gifts/presents, food and drink, parties/socializing, travel, outfits, and so on.
You should budget for the following expenses during the holiday season:
- Purchases of Gifts and Decorations
- Food and beverages
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations and parties
- Expenses for travel
- Christmas card wrapping paper
- Donations to Charities
- Other holiday-related expenses
Make a list of everyone you want to give gifts to and set a budget for each person. Make a separate budget for each of the holiday expense categories.
Now add up all of the costs and look at the total. If it exceeds your budget, look for ways to cut your holiday spending to help meet it.
2. Set A Budget
When it comes to the best ways to avoid holiday debt, you must first create a budget. Make a holiday budget to avoid overspending. A budget will assist you in staying on track when it comes to spending. Examine your savings to determine how much you can afford to spend at Christmas. To avoid debt, base your holiday budget on your available savings.
It will be easier to set a holiday budget if you have been saving for the holiday shopping season. However, if you have limited or no savings, determine how much you can realistically afford to spend on all holiday expenses.
Then, between December, look for ways to save or earn that amount so you don’t have to borrow it and end up in holiday debt.
Make your holiday budget based on how much money you have already saved or will have saved by the time the holiday season arrives.
3. Trim Your Holiday Spending Plan
Don’t go overboard with your holiday spending. If your expected holiday expenses exceed your budget, you must find ways to cut back. First, arrange the expenses in descending order of importance. You could, for example, choose to buy only gifts for children. Perhaps you could purchase less expensive gifts for your family members.
If you don’t send holiday cards, you can save a lot of money. You will need to cut some non-essentials to ensure that you do not go over your holiday budget.
4. Set Money Aside For The Holiday Spending
Many of us rely on credit cards to cover holiday expenses, resulting in holiday debt. However, if you budget for holidays and set aside a small amount of money in savings every week or month, you can avoid holiday debt and save money on credit card interest payments.
Depending on how much you can afford to save each week or month, as well as your holiday budget, you may be able to save enough money to cover all of your holiday expenses before the holiday season arrives.
However, if you haven’t already begun saving for the holiday season, figure out how much you intend to spend. Then decide where you will get the money for your holiday spending between now and December. Finally, you must either save that money by reducing your spending or earn that money by increasing your income.
5. Track Your Holiday Spending
Now that you’ve established a budget spending plan, keep track of every single purchase. You will overspend if you do not track every purchase. It’s easy to get carried away during the holidays and spend more money than you can afford. Tracking your holiday spending will help you stay within your budget and avoid overspending.
Track your holiday spending to ensure that you are not spending on items that are not on the list and that you are not spending more than you have budgeted for an individual or item. When you spend money on anyone or anything, remember to deduct the amount from both the total and the individual category.
6. Start A Side Hustle To Earn Extra Money
Assume you anticipate a cash shortage during the holiday season. In that case, you can look for ways to earn extra money to cover your holiday expenses rather than borrowing money and going into holiday debt. There are numerous ways to earn extra money during or after the holiday season. Here are a few ideas for making extra money during the holiday season:
7. Cut Spending
Assume you have not left much money in your cash reserve after paying bills or credit card payments to save for the holiday season. In that case, you can temporarily reduce your spending on entertainment, dining out, and other non-essentials.
You can apply the savings to your holiday spending account. You might be able to save a few hundred dollars by eliminating some unnecessary expenses.
Maybe, you can stop buying that daily takeout coffee for a month or two. You can save money if you do not go out regularly for dinner in a fancy restaurant. Cancel your gym membership if you do not use it much or at all. Instead, you can do exercises at home. Cut the cable if you do not watch much TV, and go for a cheaper alternative, like a streaming service. You can also downgrade your internet and phone packages to save money.
8. Offer Holiday Cleaning Service
If you enjoy keeping your own home clean, you can earn some extra cash quickly for the holiday season by providing house cleaning services to busy people or those who dislike cleaning their homes.
You can help your neighbors by offering your services. Advertise your services on social media, through word of mouth, or by printing flyers or business cards to place on community bulletin boards. Another option is to sign up for an online platform, such as TaskRabbit, Handy, or Thumbtack, that lists house cleaning jobs near you during the holiday season.
Read More: The Ultimate Guide to How to save money
9. Offer Holiday Shopping For Others
You can get paid to do other people’s Christmas shopping if you have some spare time and a knack for shopping. You can buy holiday gifts or groceries/food for them online or in stores. For holiday shopping trips, you can charge the client hourly or flat rates. You can look for clients in your neighborhood or advertise your service on shopping center noticeboards.
10. Sell Used Or Unwanted Items
Selling your used or unwanted items at a yard sale or online through sites like eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp is one of the quickest ways to make some extra cash during the holiday season. You can also sell used items through apps such as Poshmark, thredUP, Decluttr, and others.
11. Become A Holiday Babysitter
During the holiday season, many parents look for dependable babysitters because they have to attend parties and go shopping. If you enjoy children and are friendly and responsible, watching them while their parents are away or at work could be the ideal side job for making extra money quickly during the holiday season.
12. Do It Yourself
Getting creative with your gift-giving is one way to avoid holiday debt. You do not have to spend a lot of money on gifts for everyone on your list. Instead, be inventive.
A less expensive option would be to make a homemade or handcrafted gift, which can be much less expensive than something purchased in a store or online but can be just as meaningful as something purchased in a store or shop. So, when it comes to buying meaningful gifts for everyone on your list, you don’t have to break the bank.
There is no rule that you have to buy expensive gifts for everyone. Instead, buy what you can afford and get creative to craft, sew or bake gifts for your family and friends to avoid holiday debt. So, if you are crafty, try to see if you can make some of your own holiday decorations or gifts to save cash and avoid holiday debt.
13. Become A Pet Sitter
If you enjoy spending time with animals and want to make some extra money for your holiday expenses, you can offer pet-sitting services. Many pet owners, for example, go on vacation and require someone to look after their pets.
Another option is to walk the dogs of others. You can ask around your neighborhood or join pet care or sitting sites like Care.com, DogVacay, UrbanSitter, DogVacay, and others to find pet sitting or dog walking jobs. As a pet sitter or dog walker, you can earn up to $15 per hour or more.
14. Take Advantage Of Credit Card Rewards
During the holiday season, many credit card companies offer special rewards. Some credit card companies, for example, offer 0% interest deals on purchases, in which you pay for a product over time with no interest. If you anticipate a cash shortage, it will assist you in breaking down your costs into manageable monthly payments that you can pay off before the interest-free period expires.
So, if you want to avoid holiday debt, you could go with this option. You can also earn cashback on credit card rewards. So, while cashback credit card rewards are appealing, make sure you can pay off all of your credit card bills at the end of each billing period.
Although it is still a form of debt, an interest-free purchase deal allows you to pay off the debt without incurring any additional costs before the deal expires. So, for planned purchases, make sure to take advantage of 0% interest finance deals.
15. Organize A Gift Exchange
When you buy something for everyone during the holidays, it is easy to overspend. Instead, organize a gift exchange with family, friends, or coworkers in which everyone draws a name from a hat and buys a gift specifically for that person. This will reduce the amount you spend on gifts overall.
16. Borrow Decorations
You can save money on holiday decorations by borrowing them rather than purchasing them new. Another option is to purchase new items that can be reused for future parties. You can save money by purchasing holiday décor, lights, and gift wrap at the end of the season for the following year.
17. Shop Online First
Check to see if shopping online can save you time and money before going to the mall. If you buy something online, you can save money by taking advantage of special offers such as online-only discounts. It may also be eligible for free shipping. When you use a cashback app or website to make an online purchase, you can earn cashback and save money on your purchases. To save money on your purchases, you could also get coupons online.
Another way to save money when shopping online is by leaving items in your shopping cart. To encourage customers to purchase items left in their shopping cart, online retailers or stores frequently offer discount codes. Shopping online also allows you to easily compare prices. When you shop online, you may also save money on gas.
18. Shop Around
You can avoid overspending at Christmas by shopping around for the best deals on gifts, food, and pretty much anything else. Shopping online or in cheaper discount stores can be the most convenient way to compare prices between retailers.
If you want to buy something on the list, don’t go to the first store you see. Instead, spend some time comparing prices to see if you can get it cheaper somewhere else. Use price comparison websites to find out where you can get the same item for a lower price. As a result, shop around. Before making your holiday purchases, look for sales and discounts.
19. Shop Early
Buying early is one way to avoid holiday debt. Before Christmas, many retailers and stores offer great deals on toys, gifts, and other items. So, if you shop early, you can save a significant amount of money by taking advantage of these deals.
In early November, products such as electronics and home appliances will be reduced to Black Friday prices. So if you buy these products around that time, you can save money. You will have more time to browse offers and compare prices if you plan ahead of time. You will also be able to avoid crowds.
20. Shop On Sale Days
You can save a lot of money if you shop during the holiday season, as early as the summer sales, or on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The money you save could be put toward other holiday expenses, avoiding potential holiday debt if you borrowed money to cover those expenses.
You may read this article to get notified whenever there is a Sale going on.
Furthermore, many seasonal items have significant price drops after the holidays. As a result, you can save a lot of money on items purchased after the holidays to use the following year.
Do not purchase something simply because it is on sale. Furthermore, don’t just look for seasonal sales; you might find a better and more affordable Christmas gift at its regular retail price.
Conclusion
We hope the above BEST 20 Tips To Avoid Holiday Debt will assist you in having a debt-free holiday season. Do not go into holiday debt just for the sake of the festivities.
Instead, with a little planning and discipline, you can stick to your budget, enjoy the festivities, and spend quality time with your loved ones without the financial stress that comes with holiday debt. Then, as the new year begins, begin saving for the following holiday season.
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