Start shopping now - with a budget
It seems that the holiday season starts earlier every year. And while we might not want to consider it, now is the best time to begin shopping for the holidays. Retailers are offering some of their best discounts before Thanksgiving knowing that they can get a good price for their goods after turkey day. So the best advice is to sleep in on black Friday and begin decorating. Start to whittle away at your list now! You do have a list?
How much should you budget for gifts?
Last year we spent about $516 on average on gifts. Perhaps a better indication of what we can budget for the holidays is the average weekly income based on last month's Bureau of Labor's stats of $753. If you start before thanksgiving, this amounts to about $120 a week.
And there are some excellent apps for your smartphone that cannot only help you find the best price but manage your christmas list as well. No smartphone, do it yourself but the key is the list. But the real key is trying to make it an all-cash Christmas. No cards. Just cash.
You should also consider whom you are giving gifts to. The list should look something like this: the kids in the family at the top and this can mean anyone younger than 21, followed by the adult children, followed by your spouse. Then renegotiate. To get the over 21 crowd onboard with the season, encourage no gift that can't fit in a stocking and perhaps even setting a dollar limit on that.
And don't forget the charities. Donate old clothes now and because many of the grocery stores we shop at give away free turkeys when we buy our groceries, take the offer even if you don't need it and drop it by a homeless kitchen on the way home.
Encourage your kids to build online gift lists
This is their season and the older they get, the more expensive the gifts they request. Tell 'em Santa has to be very careful with the budget this year because there are more kids in the world than ever and some of them aren't as fortunate. They're kids and they'll probably ignore the hidden message there and that's okay. Tell them to do two lists: One for Santa and another one for their adult relatives.
