Here comes the Christmas again! This particular time in every season, The heart of every american's flutter with joy , happiness & prosperity. The environment is flourished with White snowscapes, the jingles of sleigh bells and above all the heart warming waiting for Santa clause. It is the most magical, charming, mystical environment we can experience in every year. We are waiting for this time since the beginning of the year, thinking about what we would do in this holiday.
But we must not forget, having a great Christmas might without planning also cost you untold misery, worry and stress which will affect even your coming year. So, instead of working much harder to compensate the extra cost, why not spend wisely? Below given tips (suggested by Santa clause himself :) ) might be handy for you:
1. You should Know how much you can afford to spend in Christmas. Try to spread out your total expanses & put your money as extra savings per month. Most probably if you put $100 per month towards Christmas fund, you can easily handle the squeeze at the time of Christmas.
2. Prepare your budget and try not to stray from it. It does not matter whether you are saving $10 or $100, the matter is you should save the same amount consecutively until the big day comes. Try to plan separate budget for different things like drinks, foods, clothes & sundry expenses.
3. List up the names of your invited guests or persons for whom you need to purchase gift items. Select the type of gifts you would buy, keeping your wallet safe. Give priority to those persons who are close to you. Track your list & expenses so that you do not overspend in a hurry.
4. Ask your children to list up their requirement also, and pick only essential goods from the list. Divide allotted budget equally to every children, same goes for elders also.
5. Set a limit for spending on a gift. Be creative & hunt for good bargains...trust me, it will be fun. Special departmental stores have holiday cash back offers which can be very helpful for you to get your desired goodies. Most of the cash back offers come with credit cards, so use it wisely while making payments. Pay in cash is the best way to limit your purchase, but not always when you are getting much savings using credit card. Giveaway offers are also good if you can avail these.
6. If you have potentials & creativity, try to make homemade gifts & toys instead of spending money. Do whatever you want to make like baking, toys, show pieces, crafts etc as a gift. To earn easy money, try out babysitting, weaving, online jobs for quick cash. People will appreciate & pay you for your talent & hard work.
7. Plan low-cost 'parties” & outings with friends & family. Create a fund & donate together a certain amount for it. Great parties can be celebrated even with low budget, but with lots of warmth & feeling for each other.