Plan for the holidays on a budget

December is fast approaching, the season of giving which in turn means the season of spending. Without a proper plan for the biggest holiday season of the year, it is easy to go overboard and spend a lot of money without realising it. This means that some people will start the new year in debt.

With the ongoing pandemic, it is unlikely that families are going to spend the holiday sharing meals together as is the norm for many.

Regardless, it is always good to be prepared. Whether you plan on going for a short vacation to the coast or decide to visit the folks back home, here are some tips to help you plan on a budget:

Write down your holiday expenses

The first step in planning for the holidays is writing down everything you want to do. These things may include buying gifts, travel expenses, accommodation, charitable donations and food.

Most people will only think of gifts and ignore all these other factors that play also cost a pretty penny during the holidays and once money starts getting tight they don’t understand how they ran short so fast.

Decide on your spending limit

Next, you want to put a limit on how much you are willing to spend during the holidays.

Remember most of us work with companies that pay salaries on a monthly basis, as you put aside an amount for the holidays keep in mind that the same coffers you are dipping your hands in should take you until the end of January.

Not unless you have been saving for the holidays, you can’t afford to spend as much as you like.

Allocate money to each category

You now have your list of holiday expenses and a spending limit, it is now time to assign an amount to each expense. Decide on the kind of hotel you can afford, your food expenses, what mode of transport will be best suited for your budget.

Placing price tags on activities and gifts will help you narrow down on ideas before you start spending money.

Make a shopping list

After assigning money to each category, you can further narrow it down by making a shopping list to help you differentiate your needs from luxuries. A shopping list will help you stick to your budget and avoid impulse buying especially at this time of the year when shopping discounts are rampant.

Unless you are eyeing the clearance sales, always walk with your list when going shopping. Also remember to pay with cash, when you have your debit or credit card at your disposal it is easy to deviate from your plans and over shop.

Track all your payments

In most cases, before we go on holidays and start spending money, we merely work with budget estimates and sometimes they can be higher or lower than what we anticipated. Whether it is the amount of money you spend on gifts, travel expenses or destination tours, always write down every amount you spend so you can gauge where your budget is likely to fall short or what you are going to save on. This can also help improve your experience next time.