Stay Out of Debt This Holiday Season

As the holidays quickly approach us, it’s time to take a look at our finances and holiday spending.  One of the ways you can be sure to have a stress-free holiday is to not go into debt buying Christmas gifts.  If you don’t have the money to buy gifts this year, you shouldn’t charge things on your credit cards just to have something to give.  However, with the right planning, you can stay debt-free and give your loved ones something special for the holidays. Here are a few tips that will help you have a debt-free Christmas.

Budget and Plan in Advance

As with most tips to staying debt free, the first thing you must do is make a plan.  Figure up how much money you will need for gifts, events and food this holiday season.  Write down that total amount and divide it by twelve. The total is the amount of money you need to save each month to meet your budget by Christmas.  If you start to plan for the holiday season in January, you won’t have to stress about not having enough money at the end of the year, which is a contributing factor for debt.

Make Your Gifts

If you find yourself in the situation where you didn’t plan ahead and money is tight, then consider hand-making your gifts instead of going out and spending a bunch of money.  The act of giving gifts during the holiday season is just to show your loved ones that you care about them. This can be done through inexpensive homemade gifts like baked goods or crafts.  Remember it’s the thought that counts. Check out Pinterest for some homemade gift ideas.

Sell Things for Cash

If crafting isn’t for you, don’t worry!  There are ways to make some extra cash if you need money for gifts.  The easiest way to do this is to sell items you no longer want on platforms such as Ebay, Craigslist, Letgo and Facebook Marketplace.  You can sell old clothes, books, electronics, kitchen appliances, baby items, etc…there’s a market for most items in your home. Selling those items will give you enough cash to buy gifts if you find yourself in a bind at Christmas.

Pay Off Cards

If you use credit cards for any reason (like gaining rewards points for purchases), it’s important that you always pay off your cards completely when the bill is due.  If you don’t, you will be incurring interest, which will end up costing you a lot of money in the long run if left unattended. If you pay off your cards in full, you won’t have to worry about outstanding debt.

These are just a few ideas of ways you can stay out of debt during the holiday season.  Check out some of our other blog posts in the archives for more debt management tips.

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