How to Save Money and Prepare for the Holiday Season

The holiday season can be stressful as well as expensive. It should be a time of joy, celebration, and connecting with friends and family. However, it often becomes a time of comparison, overbooked calendars, and social obligations.

This year, we have some tips on how to prepare for the holiday season both socially and financially. This isn’t as hard as it sounds – it just takes a little bit of planning.

Social Preparations

There’s no reason that the holidays have to be about ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. You should feel free to accept the invitations you want to accept, and decline the ones you know you and your family would not enjoy. Here are some tips to make that happen.

• Talk as a Family. As a family, sit down and discuss what you enjoy most about the holidays. Not only will this help you approach the season with more joy, it will help you know what’s important to each member.

• Set Limits Before the Season. Before the holiday season arrives, set limits on how many activities you will take on. You may decide that certain days are ‘no activity’ days, days you choose to stay at home and reflect. Make those decisions early, and saying ‘no’ later will be much easier.

• Refuse to Compare. Your holidays are not like other people’s holidays. And that’s OK. Don’t worry about whether you do less or more than friends or coworkers. Let the holidays be focused on your own celebration.

• Be Firm. It may take the support of a good friend or spouse to help you stick to your limits when you are put on the spot. However, remember that you set these limits for a reason, and that you and your family’s enjoyment of the holidays depends on you being firm.

Financial Preparations

A banker once told me that the #1 time of year that people ask for personal loans is the holidays. Too few people make preparations for this time, despite the fact that it comes every year. If that’s you, don’t despair – there are ways you can limit your spending and not go in debt. Here are some tips to help.

• Save in Advance. It may not be possible for this season, but it’s never too early to think ahead. Start putting money aside for next year, and make sure you don’t dip into it for other expenses.

• Set Spending Limits. It can be very helpful to get family members to agree to a spending limit for presents. This helps you budget and also helps you avoid feeling pressured to overspend on your super-cute little nephew.

• Try a Gift Exchange. For large families or a group of coworkers, try drawing names from a basket instead of having everyone buy for everyone else. That way, you can focus on getting one person what they really like, rather than being pressured to buy 30 gifts.

• Be OK Not Buying Presents. Presents are not the only way to show people they matter to you during the holidays. Try inviting a good friend over for dinner or coffee, and chat the night away. You can also do a thoughtful letter or card, with a message from the heart. You don’t have to spend to show love.

The holidays don’t have to be stressful and debt-filled. With a few simple social and financial preparations, this holiday season can be the joy that it was meant to be. Don’t let social and financial obligations obscure the true reason for the season.

Garfield Refining is a Philadelphia based precious metal refinery offering nation-wide gold refining service. This 120 year old refinery buys precious metals scrap and refines gold, silver, platinum, and palladium and services both B2B and B2C markets. Follow Garfield Refining on twitter for up to date gold prices.

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