The holiday season is officially here!  That also means we are entering the season of giving.  While we all love the feeling of giving during the holidays, it can also leave you feeling financially stressed.  Just like everything else this year, COVID is already making the holidays more stressful.  Creating a holiday budget this year will keep you from overspending and racking up debt, which in turn should help ease your stress.  Follow our tips and tricks to help save you money this holiday season! 

1. Set up your budget – and be honest.  There are plenty of apps out there that make budgeting super easy, such as Mint, Pocketguard, and Wally.  My personal favorite is Every Dollar, created by Dave Ramsey (big fan over here)!  Every dollar first lets you easily input all sources of income.  After you know what your monthly income is, you will input your estimated number of expenses for that month.  The app separates your expenses into categories such as housing expenses, transportation, food, personal, lifestyle, giving, savings, health, insurance, debt, etc.  Once you input all of your known expenses, you will easily see how much you have left to spend on gifts.  This will also help avoid using credit cards and encourage you to use cash that you have on hand. 
2. Once you have decided on your total spending limit, assign a monetary value to each category/gift.  Decide just how much you are going to spend on your kids, parents, teachers, friends, spouses, etc.  This doesn’t just include gifts either.  Be sure to assign a dollar amount to Christmas dinner if you’re hosting, holiday work parties, Christmas cards, or whatever else you’re planning this year! 
3. Utilize ‘buy now, pay later’ companies when you can.  Many online stores work with companies like Afterpay and Klarna.  These instant lenders will split your payment into four equal installments; one due the day you place your order, with the other three payments being due every two weeks.  This will keep you from spending all of your money at once, and will also help you avoid credit cards: win-win! 
4. Take advantage of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.  If you make your list ahead of Black Friday weekend, you’ll be able to score major deals on many of your gifts.  Getting all of your holiday shopping done before December is an added bonus! 
5. Installing coupon code extensions on your browser can save you tons of money when online shopping.  Honey and WikiBuy are two great browser extensions that search the web for coupon codes for the particular website you are on and will automatically apply those savings to your cart!  Always check for coupon codes before buying online. 
6. Lastly, and probably most importantly, don’t be pressured by social media.  While browsing Instagram and other social media apps, you may be tempted to overspend because of what others are buying their friends and family.  Do not feel the need to compete with people on the internet.  Be honest about YOUR budget and do what is best for you.  You are not inadequate because your budget might be lower than someone else’s.  At the end of the day, the true meaning of the holidays is to spend time with the ones you love and to be thankful for what and who you have in your life. 

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