Saagar Gupta Discusses Budgeting for Your Holiday Spending

For many individuals, holiday spending can get out of control if they don’t incorporate gifts into their existing budget. Giving gifts to your friends and family is one of the most rewarding parts of the holiday. I promise, your loved ones don't want you to stretch your budget on their behalf. Proper planning can make the gift-giving process less stressful for everyone.

Checking Debt
Obviously, a person’s bills will need to be paid before they can decide how much they want to spend on others during the holidays. They should look at their current debt first and analyze their financial situation. If they have a low balance or no debt at all, they can probably afford to spend extra money during the holidays.

Analyzing Income
If someone has extra cash to spend after paying their bills, they can calculate how much they want to splurge on holiday shopping. To find this amount, they’ll need to take their total monthly income and subtract the total amount of bills that they are required to pay. This discretionary income can be used when calculating their holiday spending.

However, if they are just skimping by each month, it’s probably better to give away handmade items instead of adding debt to a credit card. The friends and family receiving gifts would rather receive nothing or handmade gifts than have a person go into debt for the sake of an expensive present.

Making a List
After determining the amount of money that can be spent on gifts for others, a person should make a list of the individuals that they want to give gifts to. This should include every gift that is going to be given. Whether it is a monetary tip, bottle of wine or something more expensive. So, make a list. (And yes, you should check it twice.)

Tracking Prices
When spending for the holidays, it helps to be an informed buyer. This can be done by tracking prices at different stores. It’s much easier to do this in the current age due to online shopping and the ease of visiting new sites in just a matter of minutes.

Once prices are tracked, a person can start spending. However, it’s important to stick to their budget. Otherwise, an individual will risk facing a financial holiday hangover from spending too much.

With discipline and a solid budgeting plan in place, a person should be able to have fun buying for others during the holiday season without worrying about overspending.

What are your budgeting tips for this holiday season?

I originally discussed this topic on my professional blog page.