Get Smart About Christmas Shopping

-

 

Holiday shopping is a stressful time for many, specially when it comes to Christmas shopping. With the holidays just around the corner, you need to find ways to make this experience LESS stressful, right? Lucky for you we've gathered some helpful tips on ways you can get smart about Christmas shopping! 


1. Set Yourself a Budget

We wouldn't be a credit union if we didn't always talk about budgeting! To get smart about Christmas shopping, you first have to set aside a budget on how much you're willing to spend on each person. Try not to go over that spending so you can reach your shopping goals stress free! 

2. Shop the Sales Ahead of Time

Everyone loves a good sale, so why not shop for Christmas gifts then? It's always smart to think ahead and shop before the holidays roll around. You can easily get great deals throughout the year, especially the days AFTER Christmas. This smart way of shopping can save you the hassle of battling the holiday crowds at the mall, and will help you relax knowing you're already done with your Christmas list! Not only that, you're saving money, and we think that's smarter than paying full price for gifts.

3. Secondhand Gifts

Now, this may be taboo for some, specially when it involves gifts, but buying secondhand or used items and gifting them as new can save you money. Take some time to check out your local Goodwill or Dirt Cheap and sift through the thousands of items they have! Many of these items are marked down simply because they're not level, have a couple scratches on them, or are stained. Us budget friendly people like to see beyond that. There is nothing some cleaning wipes, a good wash, or some paint can't fix! If your money is tight and you have to get secondhand gifts, do not feel embarrassed. Christmas is about spending quality time with friends and family, not about gifting the most expensive gift. 

4. DIY Christmas Gifts

With that being said, you can always make your own Christmas gifts! Are you savvy with a stamp machine? Are you an amazing painter? Can you make one-of-a-kind shirts? If you can DIY a Christmas gift, why don't you? Most of the time you can DIY something to save money, and we are 100% sure the person will really appreciate a thoughtful gift. 

5. Gift Experiences

When people think of Christmas, they always think of expensive gifts and brand new items. But what is stopping you from gifting an experience? What we mean by this is, instead of buying expensive gifts that are probably going to be discarded in 2 years time, why not gift a fun vacation or quality time with your family or friends? Quality time with the people you love is the best gift of all. You can throw in some gift cards or small gifts if you want, but spending time together is the true gift.

The holidays are filled with joy and laughter, but they can equally be filled with stress. Be smart about Christmas shopping and plan ahead. Save up throughout the year and make sure to hit up those sales! When you become smart about Christmas shopping, you can save thousands of dollars (and headaches).

If you're looking for a place to save your holiday money, check out our Christmas Club Accounts! Easily set money aside in this account to make sure you have enough money for those gifts! 

Location: Mobile, AL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Steps to Take Before Retiring

-
Image
  Everyone counts down the years, days, and minutes until they can retire. But before you retire, there are six important steps you need to take to retire worry free.  1. Define Your Retirement When you define your retirement, you think about what it is you want to accomplish. Do you want to travel the world, the states, or stay at home and relax? Do you want to make improvement to your home, or sell your home and purchase an RV? When you know exactly what it is you want to do when you retire, you will have an easier time transitioning from work to retirement life. 2. Take Stock of Your "Assets" This is an important step because you're taking a look at all the money you have. Look at how much you have in your savings accounts, retirement accounts, stocks and bonds, and any other savings accounts you may have. This will give you a better idea on how much money you can allocate to everything
Read more

7 Steps to Start Saving

-
Image
  Saving can be a little intimidating when you don't know where to start. But remember, the biggest mistake you can make is not saving. Below are a few tips to help you get started with saving. 1. Track Your Expenses The first step to start saving is to track your expenses. Figure out where your money is going, how much you are earning and spending, and how much you have left over. If you use a credit card, you can get a chart with your expenses broken down where you can see what you're spending your money on. Once you figure out where all your money is going, categorize it so it's easier to see where you're spending most of your money. Use this to create a budget in step two.   2. Create a Budget Now that you have your categories, create a budget so you can minimize spending. Categories should include things like: rent / mortgage car payment / car maintenance bi
Read more

Get Your End-of-Year Financial Health Checkup

-
Image
As the eagerly awaited holiday season gets underway, the end of the year is a great  time to get a financial health checkup to make sure your finances are on track.    With regular checkups, you can fix small problems before they become big issues.   This year-end, keeping financially healthy is especially important due to many economic uncertainties  related to inflation, inventory shortages, as well as the expiration of COVID relief programs put in place more than a year ago to help people manage through the pandemic. Your Financial Health Check Up   Like a physical health checkup, a financial checkup examines your vital signs to be sure all is well when it comes to your financial health and wellness.  Do you have an emergency savings account? How do your credit card balances look? Are you tracking monthly income and expenses? What does your credit score and history look like? These are a few of the vitals reviewed during an end-of-year financial
Read more