How I’m Planning To Manage My Holiday Spending

November 27, 2018

We all know that the holidays can be a total budget buster. It is so easy to get caught up in the season and wind up spending more money than we have or intended to spend. This leads to the credit card shame in January, when we vow that next year will be different.

Rather than let that scene play out for me, I’m going to try something different this year. I like to keep things simple – so here is my plan: Only spend cash and unused gift cards. That’s it. Here’s how I’ll do it.

Using cash only

Many you have probably done this in the past, but I am going to shop only with cash this year. I’ll be leaving all cards (debit and credit) at home so there is no temptation to go over my budget. Once I know how much I plan to spend on a loved one’s gift, that is the amount of cash I will have with me to spend for them.

The logistics

This requires some planning throughout the year. My wife and I set our total holiday budget back in June, so we had enough time to set aside the funds we will need to execute our strategy. I am generally not one that carries around a lot of cash, so this will be different for me. I also have to think about what happens when I buy an item on sale – do I buy more for that person since I’ll have cash left over? Or tuck the savings away for something else? That’s up to you to decide.

What about online shopping?

I plan to do most of my shopping in person, but I realize that online may offer a lot better deals on certain items. This strategy can still work though. If you do a lot of online shopping, consider having a separate checking account that only has the money you want to spend on holiday shopping and use that debit card to achieve the same result. Just be careful to stick to your plan and don’t deviate (seriously, DON’T DO IT)!

Using the gift that keeps on giving

The other thing I plan to do (don’t tell my family and friends) is to use the pile of Amazon, Best Buy, fill-in-the-blank retailer gift cards from holidays and birthdays gone by that I haven’t used. I sometimes (ok, most of the time) forget that I have these, and many have never been used or still have a balance on them. So, I am going to use those to supplement my cash strategy and help with any online shopping I will be doing. As of now, I am sitting on about $200 worth of re-gifting gold! I could spend it on some gadget I don’t need, but instead I am going to use them on what I really want – making sure I don’t get the credit card blues in January!

It has been brought to my attention by my loving wife that this is kind of cheap (I added the words kind of) and not in the spirit of the giver’s wishes. I disagree. Free money is near the top of the list of my favorite things, so I see it as thrifty. Besides, would the giver prefer the cards lay unused in my desk drawer forever?

Keep things in perspective

So there you have it, my plan for Operation 2018 Holiday Spending. No matter what your plan, the most important thing is to make sure it involves a budget you can afford and mechanisms to make sure you stick to it. And above all, make sure you take care of yourself this holiday season; spend time with the ones you love the most, take time to give back, and reflect on all the good in your life and give thanks.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!