The Holidays are upon us… are you ready?

I guess I can safely say, “Happy Holidays!”  The leaves have fallen, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and turkeys are currently hard to find.  Yep, the holidays are here.

Although we get excited about spending time with family, shopping for gifts for those we love, and celebrating various holidays, this can become a very expensive time of year.  Today I want to help you handle the holidays with grace and enter 2022 with some money in your pocket.

First, beware of the budget busters.  During this time, you don’t want your pockets to leak or your budget to be out of balance.  As a financial coach, I see lots of different scenarios.  No household budget is the same. But I do see similar ways we can break the bank.  Check out these budget busters and see if you can reduce or eliminate them for yourself.

Budget Buster #1:Subscriptions!

It is time to review your bank statements.  Add up any subscriptions you have.  Most people are surprised at how much they are spending on repeat. Decide which ones you need and which ones you don’t. Usually, there are several that we forgot we even had.

Budget buster #2: Dining out!

Most of us are optimistic about our dining out expenses.  It is not uncommon for my clients to spend twice the amount they think is being spent in this area. It might be a good idea to have a no dine out month.

Budget buster #3: Amazon!

You know this is a problem area.  The ease and convenience of buy now and get it tomorrow has skyrocketed in the last 2 years for obvious reasons.  Look at your Amazon account and see how much you are spending.  Try disconnecting your credit card from the payment method and use a debit card instead.  Track how that affects your spending. 

In addition to reducing the budget busters, you may want to find ways to increase dollars this holiday season. Here are a few ideas to increase your cash position in the next 6 weeks.

• Go exempt or increase withholdings for 1 or 2 paychecks.  Only do this if you typically get a refund on your taxes. You don’t want to create a situation where you owe the IRS.

• Halt your 401k contributions.  Again, this is short-term to increase your take-home pay.

• Pay minimums on your debt if you are in debt reduction mode. Depending on how much extra you’ve been putting towards debt this could be a good amount of money.

• Check your health and childcare flexible savings accounts for any reimbursements you can request before the end of the year.

• Lean into a side hustle.  If you can bake, watch children, deliver pizzas, etc. you may be able to make some extra cash.  Remember, it’s just for a season. 😊

No matter how you approach the holidays this year, stay true to your goals.  It is easy to derail your plans and requires determination to stick to them.  Plus, nobody wants a holiday hanger in the New Year.  Avoid new credit card debt, don’t tap into your savings, and stay current on your bills.  Figure out which of the above tips resonates most with you and commit to it.  Then, think about how good you will feel when the New Year arrives and you have a fresh clean slate.

To Your Success!

Ericka Young