It’s Christmas time: that means the season of giving and being merry. Until your bills roll in the next month and you’re flooded with dread on how in the heck you’re going to manage it this time… Speculating? Maybe a little.
With that being said, there is no better time than now to hash out your holiday gift game plan so you don’t get stuck with the credit card-hangover.
The first thing you’ll need to do is to draw up a budget. The second is try to tackle your XL list of gifts ahead of time, hopefully giving you the opportunity to score some deals.
Your gift budget? Around 1% of your gross annual income:
So if you make over $50,000 you should be spending no more than $500 on gifts. Seems reasonable?
Make a list and check it twice — just like Santa Clause!
Sometimes, having a spending target is often not enough to make sure you stay on budget. Give it a shot: write down every recipient with a dollar figure next to each person, this even allows you to jot down gift ideas next to each one.
Use cash or debit:
There’s nothing worse than watching the stack of cash you once had turn into nothing but a few coins, this is often enough to keep your spending in check. A lot of credit card balances aren’t updated for at least 48 hours following a spending spree, this often leads to a false sense of security. Avoid that by using debit or cash so you stay on track.
Going into the New Year with financial stress is no fun for anyone — except maybe your bank who will be profiting off the interest. Avoid all of that and follow the three simple guidelines above to ensure you avoid the holiday-hangover.
Contact one of our professionals for any question or concerns you may have: info@kbh.ca