Tried And Tested Ways To Financially Prepare For Christmas Gifting
Last year, 32% of Americans expected to spend at least $1,000 on Christmas gifts, according to a Gallup study. As a parent, your biggest holiday gift expenditure is most likely to be your children. But financially savvy parents don’t spend anywhere near this amount of cash on gifts for their children and loved ones at Christmas, as they follow these tried and tested tips.
Start Early
The majority of American shoppers say that they start their Christmas shopping during October. But this doesn’t give you long to plan, shop, and wrap Christmas gifts for your family and friends. Instead, it’s worth joining the 2% of consumers who start their Christmas shopping in January. This allows you to spread the cost of Christmas throughout the course of the year, and prevents you from splurging on last-minute purchases as you frantically try to fill your kids’ stockings.
Smart Borrowing
5.8% of people say that they have borrowed cash from their loved ones to pay for Christmas gifts, according to That Sweet Gift. This comes with risk, as you’re more like to delay paying back what you owe when it’s a friend or family member you’re in debt to. Additionally, it can impact relationships, as 50% of Americans say that they’ve fallen out with a friend over money. It’s therefore more sensible to borrow funds from a reputable lender to cover the cost of lavish gifts for your loved ones, such as a vacation or new smartphone. This is because when you borrow from a third-party like this, you’ll get access to the cash almost instantly, you can borrow as much or as little as you require, and you’ll be more inclined to pay back what you owe quickly, which is always beneficial to your purse strings and Christmas budget.
Shop the Sales
Forbes reports that parents spend an average of $495 at Christmas on their children. Thankfully, by shopping in the sales throughout the course of the year, you don’t need to spend anywhere near this amount. In July this year, as part of their ‘Big Save Sale’, Walmart sold Interactive Buzz Lightyear toys and Fingerlings at half their standard price. Meanwhile, the Boxing Day and January sales are always a great time to pick up and stash away some bargains.
There’s no denying that Christmas is an expensive time of year. However, by gift-planning early in the year, borrowing cash from the right sources, and utilizing the sales, you’ll save cash and be able to give gifts that your loved ones will adore.
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