The Holidays are an easy time to loose track of your finances as you get swept up in the spirit of giving. Everyone wants to give the ones close in their life a holiday to remember, but you do not want to do this if it puts you in crushing debt. This isn’t as easy for some folks; it was reported that last year the average American racked up $1,000 of credit card debt while shopping. Here are 3 easy tips to stay ahead of your finances while giving the ones in your life a happy holiday.
- Avoid the typical red flags: This means shopping tired, stressed out, or under a strict time frame. We have all been in this position before, when you wait till the last minute to get your holiday shopping done and you have to run through the store grabbing anything you can find, not even taking notice of price tags. This is one of easiest ways to spend way more then you expected to during your holiday shopping.
- Only make your purchases with cash: This is a great way to avoid going into debt because you are only spending the funds you have available. It also makes you sit down and make a list of the items you want to give to those on your holiday list. This helps you go into the store with a plan and just get the items you came there for. This also ties into the third tip.
- Make certain people a priority: I know during the holidays this can be a hard task to do since you want to give everyone a happy holiday. This will help you prioritize your spending and how to allocate your available funds to certain people.
