It’s officially Fall! Get ready to pull out those warm sweaters & start planning for your holiday expenses!
In order to plan for your holiday expenses, you’ll need to think about Halloween costumes, decorations, and candy for trick or treaters. For Thanksgiving, you may need to purchase plane or bus tickets to see family members, or you may need to be the host this year. For Christmas, you’ll need to buy presents for your loved ones and possibly even save for a family vacation!
These next 3-4 months are the most expensive time of the year, but here are some financial plans & tips that can help you save this Fall!
- Budget for your holiday shopping: Make a list of everyone you are going to buy a present for. Create a budget for each gift & make sure you save a portion of that every paycheck. If you already have a gift idea for a specific person, buy it now so you have it out of the way when it comes to Christmas. You can also wait for the annual sales and buy it on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
- DIY presents can come in handy: The best gifts come from the heart. Homemade gifts can be the most thoughtful & they can save you a lot of money. Additionally, if you want fun new clothes for each holiday, you can create your own Halloween costume or sew your own Thanksgiving sweater or Ugly Christmas sweater.
- Second-hand shopping: Buying clothing, furniture, and house decor at thrift stores is very popular right now. Using this trend to your advantage can help you save a lot of money. Y2K & 90’s fashion is very popular right now as well as vintage house decor. Thrift stores all across the U.S. are carrying these items right now. Thrift stores are also essential in finding cheap Christmas sweaters, fashionable Fall sweaters & skirts, and clothes that can help you finalize your Halloween costume.
- Prioritize your needs over wants: Keep unnecessary purchases to a minimum. You know you’re going to have to spend more money than usual these next few months, so plan every purchase and DO NOT impulse buy items you don’t need.