The Christmas holiday season usually start with a lot of excitement and of course, the impulsive need to buy almost anything that would help reflect our excitement for the season. While this is fine because it only happens once in a year, it is also very important to be deliberate about how we spend in Christmas.
Each year, we repeat the same last-minute purchases and impulsive spending habits.
But this year, you can use the four tips below to plan your Christmas shopping.
Make a list and a budget
If you are yet to make a list of things you would need for Christmas, now is the time to start. Remember you might have to spend money on Christmas décor, Christmas dinners, Christmas party (if that’s your tradition), family and/or friends’ outings, Christmas gifts among other things on that may be on your list.
If you’ve made a list of things to buy, then it’s time to put a price on each item so you’ll have a good idea of how much money you’ll spend in total. Also don’t forget to create space for miscellaneous, you know it’s Christmas, anything can happen.
When you are done, compare your total with what you have to spend for Christmas. If your projected spend is more than what you have, it’s time to cut down on the unnecessary spend such as exorbitant spend on décor or other things that necessarily do not add to the Christmas experience. This way you would be able to spend more on the things that matter the most.
Look for deals
There is no doubt that this is probably the only time of the year where almost every store would have something off the usual price on gifts and other items that are not necessarily Christmas inclined. A lot of business would compete to get you to buy or patronize their services at a lower rate. Therefore there is no better time to look out for deals this Christmas. While a lot of people might be focused on getting the Christmas inclined items, watch out for deals on the other things you would love to purchase before their prices go up in the New Year.
Choose your struggle
You must be accustomed to the fact that shopping in the middle of the Holidays is exhausting. On the weekends and some weeknights, most malls and stores would be so packed that you would get discouraged before we even start your purchases. If you can, try to go shopping at the beginning of the week. Monday and Tuesday are ideal to shop in relative peace. If this is not convenient for you because of work, you should go early in the day on the weekends, which should give you enough time to do your shopping before the stores become full of customers.
Plan with the Internet
Instead of going on a long and exhausting tour of the stores, do some online window shopping first. Most of your favorite’s stores would probably have a website or an active presence on various social media platforms. Start by confirming the availability of the items you would like to buy and their price. This way you would save yourself some time and the stress of walking from store to store for a particular item.
Now that you are quite certain of what you would be getting for Christmas, the cost and where you would be getting it, Christmas shopping should not be as exhausting anymore.
