How to Avoid Holiday Financial Burnout
A Gallup survey revealed that 41% of individuals began their shopping endeavors before November, with 14% acknowledging they started prior to September.
With some of us shopping for three or more months early, the holidays are a marathon of spending. If you don’t pace yourself, you can find yourself burnt out long before the festivities kick off in earnest.
Exhausted by months of spending, your energy can start to flag. Next thing you know, you make poor decisions, like dipping into credit cards and lines of credit to cross the finish line.
While holiday debt is common, it’s not inevitable. All you have to do is understand your financial situation and build your celebration around it.
5 Ways to Stop Financial Burnout
Say goodbye to financial burnout by following these tips.
1. Make a Realistic Budget
A budget is no help if it isn’t realistic. When you fudge the numbers, you can easily think you have more than you can rightly afford.
Be exact when writing out your list of anticipated holiday expenses so you aren’t disappointed by their price at the checkout.
Compare this figure to your normal budget. Can you spare this money? You might be able to boost your spending by putting a pause on non-essential spending until the new year.
2. Shop with a List
A list can help you stick to your budget because it highlights the items you budget for. Anything not on your list sticks out as an unplanned and possibly unaffordable addition to your cart.
3. Organize Secret Santas or Gift Exchanges
Cutting your shopping list in half is a great way to reduce spending and save money this holiday. You can suggest gift exchanges with your friend group and family. This way, you only have to shop for one or two people rather than everyone you know.
4. Use Credit Wisely
Sometimes, you’ll need to put an expense on credit.
- If you need to rent a vehicle to get back home for the holidays, you need to have a credit card on your account as insurance.
- You may run into unexpected holiday problems, like a faulty furnace that refuses to heat your home. If you don’t have enough savings, you can put the rest of this repair on a line of credit or installment loan.
While these examples show some responsible ways to rely on credit, you shouldn’t borrow money to boost your budget. Always refer to your budget before you take out your credit card. This way, you won’t commit to a purchase you can’t afford.
5. Prepare for Next Year
One of the best ways to avoid holiday financial burnout is by saving in advance. Saving with intention over the year is different from shopping without a plan for months on end. You can set aside a pre-determined amount with each paycheck each month, choosing a contribution that fits your budget.
Pro tip: Consider opening a new savings account just for the holidays. Some banks offer promotional interest rates and bonus sign-ons for new accounts. A bonus will help your small monthly contributions grow over time until you have a considerable chunk of change to spend on the festivities.
It might be too late to adopt this tip now so remember it for next year. In the meantime, give a budget and list a shot — these tools will help you limit your spending and avoid financial burnout.
