Holiday spending plan could keep your budget on track this season
Have a plan to pay back charged purchases as soon as possible
InvestigateTV - The National Retail Federation predicted holiday shopping this year will approach $1 Trillion, up 6-8% over 2021. To make sure your holiday budget doesn’t balloon, the best strategy is to make a spending plan.
Cherry Dale, a financial coach with the Virginia Credit Union, shared several tips to rein in holiday spending:
- Make a budget and stick to it
- Try to avoid using credit cards and pay with cash
- If you have to use a credit card, use one with rewards points
- Make a plan to pay back any credit cards charges as quickly as possible
A recent study from our partners at NerdWallet reported that 31% of 2021 holiday shoppers have still not paid off their holiday shopping debt.
The study also estimates that holiday shoppers will spend an average of $823 in 2022.
NerdWallet had several tips to lower holiday spending:
Keep receipts handy: if you have purchased an item you see cheaper elsewhere, many retailers will offer price matching or offset price drops
Compare, compare, compare: There are many apps and browser extensions available to help find the lowest price on items
Talk to friends and family about scaling back: Discuss setting a price limit or doing a gift exchange instead of buying for everyone
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