Prepare Your Finances for the Holidays

Truth: The year-end holidays are expensive and they will be here soon.

With rising interest rates and inflation, this year may be the most expensive ever, gifts, decorations, and other seasonal purchases you expect to make, you might be surprised just how easily holiday spending can get out of control. Start your holiday planning now.

Make a holiday budget, well before the holidays.

Decide how much money you can afford to spend in total. Write it down and, most importantly, stick to the plan as the season progresses. It’s easy to be swept up in holiday cheer or caught off guard with last-minute purchases. Setting a budget in advance will help you figure out how much money you can devote to each category of expenses, including gifts, food, entertaining and other holiday cheer.

Be careful of spending on your credit cards.

Before sitting down to map out your holiday spending, make a list of how much debt you’re already carrying on your credit cards. Set a hard limit on the amount of credit you’ll use throughout the season and be firm about not spending more than you can realistically pay back. The next year’s holidays will quickly arrive so have a plan to pay off any holiday debt as soon as possible.

Save now—spend later.

Find a way to easily set aside a few dollars from each paycheck, whether it’s monthly, semi-monthly or weekly, and make sure that cash goes directly into a separate location or savings account. Bring your lunch to work once a week and put what you would have spent in an envelope marked “Holidays”. At $15 per week, you will have saved $750 to use for your holiday spending.

Make your travel plans as early as possible.

If you’re one of the more than 115 million Americans who travel during the holidays, you probably already know firsthand that booking flights, renting a car, and paying for gas or other travel expenses can add up quickly. Airlines, train stations, hotels, and others in the travel industry tend to charge higher rates around the holidays, and those prices only rise as year-end approaches.

Eliminate Unneeded Holiday Stress

The holidays are stressful enough without the added pressure of having debt or incurring more debt. However, if you find yourself facing a mountain of debt you will never be able to pay back call our offices. Our professional and caring debt relief attorneys will help develop a plan to eliminate or greatly reduce your debt. We provide, our gift to you, a program 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, that if followed, can restore your credit score to 720 in 12 to 24 months. Call the Bond & Botes Law Offices 1-877-581-3396, and give yourself the holiday gift of being debt free.