How To Make A Christmas Budget So You Don’t Go Broke This Holiday Season

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The holidays are quickly approaching and I know it has you feeling stressed!

Between friends, family, coworkers, and more, the pressure to spend tons of money each holiday season is ever rising.

Here’s the deal, though:

You can have an epic, stress-free, and affordable Christmas when you use these 5 tips to prepare your budget for the holidays now!

You’re gonna wanna:

1. Evaluate your current budget
2. Create a savings plan
3. Be frugal
4. Start early
5. Collect cash back
6. Cut your expenses

Let’s dive in so you can start planning a magical – and affordable – holiday season!

1.  Evaluate Your current budget

When’s the last time you budgeted your money?

Can’t remember?

Well, here’s the deal:  Shopping for the holidays is sure to break your bank if you’re not prepared!

So, to prepare your finances for the extra expenses that come around the holidays, get your budget on point NOW.

Easily prep your finances for the holidays by downloading the Budget Boss Binder to quickly organize your finances and create a budget that will help you save money.

After you’ve gotten your budget in check, you’ll be able to easily afford everybody on your Christmas shopping list!

2.  Create a savings plan

Use a savings tracking printable, like the one below (found in our Budget Boss Binder), to create a holiday savings plan.

If you commit just $25 a week for a few weeks, you’ll have plenty of cash on hand for your holiday shopping.

3.  Be Frugal

Living frugally is beneficial all year round, but especially during the holidays.

Check out these ‘101 Ways to Be Frugal Without Trying’ so you can afford the Christmas of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Trust me, it is well worth the read to save hundreds of dollars a month.

Related Reads:  101 Super Simple Ways To Live Frugally Without Feeling Cheap, 10 Things You NEED To Stop Buying RIGHT NOW

4.  Start early

Truth:

When you start preparing for the holidays now, you won’t feel stressed later!

So, take the time today to organize your finances with our Budget Boss Binder and put a savings plan in place so you’re prepared for holiday shopping.

You can also organize your gift & shopping list, to-do list, party ideas, and more with our 2020 Christmas Planners!

5.  start collecting cash back now

Did you know that you can earn cashback on purchases you’re already making?  At no extra cost to you??

Soooooo…in other words…you can earn free money for shopping.

Yup!

You can start earning cash back now that you can use for Christmas gifts, later.

These are the best apps for earning cash back without even trying:

1. Rakuten (Ebates) (Freee $10 Sign-Up Bonus!)
2. Ibotta (Free $10 Sign-Up Bonus)
3. Dosh (Free $5 Sign-Up Bonus)

By earning cashback from these apps, you can buy Christmas gifts for free!

6.  cut costs & put more money in your pockets

Here’s the deal:

When you decrease your monthly expenses, you’ll end up putting more cash in your pockets each month.

(I know, I know…this is a very simple concept, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty, you’ll be surprised by how much money you could be saving without noticing!)

(Ahem…$5 for coffee every morning…)

So, I challenge you to take the time right now to evaluate your spending and cut costs so you have more flexibility in spending for the holidays.

(And then after the holidays, you can start saving all the extra money you found!)

These are some of the best ways to decrease your monthly expenses:

• Refinance your mortgage for a lower interest rate
• Get rid of cable (and WiFi if you have a mobile hotspot)
• Consolidate your credit cards into a personal loan with a lower interest rate
• Trade-in your current car (if you’re paying monthly for it) for a cheaper option
• Refinance your car loan for a lower interest rate
• Use Chime Bank’s car insurance tool called Gabi to compare rates and switch to the cheapest option
• Use Trim to negotiate lower prices for your cable, internet, and cell phone bills
• Refinance your student loans for a lower rate
• Switch to Mint Mobile to decrease your phone bill by over 50%
• Switch to Chime Bank to avoid monthly minimum fees, overdraft fees, and more

Related Reads:  How To Decrease Your Monthly Expenses

Seriously:

If you only do one thing on this list to prepare your finances for the holidays, let it be #6 – decreasing your monthly expenses.

Not only with this help you tremendously in affording a kickass Christmas, but it will also benefit you all year long!

All in all…

When you use these six tips to prep your Christmas budget now, you’ll be super prepared come the holiday shopping season!

Happy Holidays!

– Michelle

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