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5 Ways to Stay Financially Savvy During the Holiday Season

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Most people would agree that it is easy to get carried away and overspend during the holiday season. While it is a time to be generous, it is also important to be mindful of your spending habits so that you do not find yourself getting into major debt once the holidays are over. While it is normal and expected that you are going to spend more money in the month of December, there are definitely savvy ways to allow for your dollars to go further.

Send Digital Holiday Cards (or Make Them) – Everyone nowadays loves to create holiday cards with a family photo. While this is a nice tradition, you can easily create a digital one or even take a photo of a hard copy of one of the cards and then send them to the people you care about via text or email. Personally, I only order maybe 10-15 holiday cards at max to send to close family and then everyone else will receive a digital greeting or a regular card. This will save you a ton of money on the cards itself along with postage. You can also make holiday cards which is a wonderful gesture. Both of these options still show that you care without breaking the bank.

Set a Budget on Gift Giving – When you make a list of everyone you are buying presents for, it is also important to determine a budget for each person and to think about the maximum you are willing to spend all together. This will help you make better spending decisions because you know what your limits are. By taking the time to actually create a budget, this will make you more conscientious of what you are spending. If you happen to go a little over budget, there is nothing wrong with that! Let’s not forget that this happens to be the season of giving after all.

Shop Around and Compare Prices – I know this probably goes without saying but with so many shopping options, it is best to really shop around to get the best deals. You would be amazed at how much you can save from one store to the next. Timing is also everything in which you usually get the best deals on Black Friday and then the weeks leading up to Christmas. While online stopping tends to have the best deals, sometimes going to a store in-person, you can find some good deals as well.

Secret Santa Gift Exchanges – If you have a large family or a big group of people to shop for, it is a good idea to set up a Secret Santa gift exchange where everyone picks a name and shops for one person as opposed to having to buy for every single person. This can be fun as you won’t know who your “Santa” is until the day of the gift exchange. This is not only a fun tradition but allows for you to save a lot of money.

Pot Luck Meals – If you decide to have a holiday gathering, it can easily add up when you write out a list of all the foods and drinks that you need to get along with any other party decor that you might need. That is why making it a pot luck where everyone is assigned a dish to bring is a great way to cut down costs while also allowing for there to be a variety of dishes that you might not have thought to make yourself. Most people are usually okay with this arrangement so you shouldn’t feel bad to ask your guests to bring something.

How to Save Hundreds of Dollars – A Money Saving Tip That Many People Overlook

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When people talk about saving money, people think of the basic things such as cutting back on how often you go out to eat and/or pick up a coffee, shop when there are sales, focus on just buying your daily necessities, and one that many people dread to hear–create a monthly budget. While these are all great starting points when it comes to saving your money and things that I agree will help you save more money from month to month, there is something that people often overlook and never really talk about but it comes down to your consumption of your resources. The good thing is, this can apply to many things in your everyday life and it is never too late to start!

Think about it, if you used a smaller amount of your daily goods, you would not need to replenish them as often. This could include basic items such as your skincare products, shampoo, makeup, etc. If you used just a little lesser of an amount of these items or perhaps they are items that you use sparingly, then they would last you for a much longer time meaning that you wouldn’t need to buy them as frequently.

While I would agree that going out to eat can be costly, you can still treat yourself to a nice meal but that does not mean that you need to go overboard and buy an appetizer, main course, drink, a dessert, and etc. Maybe just getting a light appetizer and a drink is enough where you feel satisfied. Another thought is to get a meal that provides a large quantity and plan to only eat half of it so that you have the other half to take home which would provide you a second meal. This way, you paid for one meal but it will last for two meals.

When you are home, do you pay attention to the energy that you are consuming? If you are not using a light, then shut it off. The same also goes with your water usage where you can control how much you are using. If you do not really watch much TV, maybe it is a good idea to cancel your cable package or reduce it so that you just have the basic channels. In other words, there is no need to pay for more than what you need.

While many of us rely on cars to get to work, there are still ways to cut back on your gas costs. Maybe when you run your daily errands, try to coordinate it where the locations are within a closer distance to each other so that you are making fewer trips. If there are scenarios where you can carpool with someone, then you should. There are definitely little ways in which you could reduce your gas usage which could save you extra money each month.

At the end of the day, making the conscious effort to conserve your resources could literally save you hundreds of dollars in a month and within the course of the year! While it might take some discipline on your end, if you actually take the time to pay attention to how you use your resources and cut back on the areas that you could, you would be amazed with how you are are able to get more bang for your buck on your daily expenses. Even if you have financial stability or you are in a good financial place in your life, who doesn’t want to expand their savings even more and accumulate more wealth? Some of the wealthiest people who you know are wealthy because they know the secret of cutting back on their spending and already have applied these habits in order to increase their wealth. Again, if you can save more, why not? 😉