Holiday Spending Hacks

Jessica Quindlen: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Sound Cents podcast. I'm Jessica Quindlen. Today we're doing holiday spending hacks. It's that time of year. It's jolly, it's wonderful, but also can be a little difficult on our wallets. I have with us the queen of the holiday season, Bree Shellito, our Senior Manager of Community Well-being.

Hello, Bree.

Bree Shellito: Happy Holidays, Jess.

Jessica Quindlen: Yes, thank you. And Katie Griffin, our Supervisor of Community Education. Hello, Katie.

Katie Griffin: Oh, hello.

Jessica Quindlen: Oh, this is going to be a fun one. All right, so let's dive right in. Why is financial planning especially important during the holiday season?

Bree Shellito: It's certainly very important because there's increased expenses. We're seeing a lot more expenses, things like gifts, decorations, travel, festive meals. And without that planning, you're easily able to overspend and end up in debt. But this season also brings the temptation to spend more. There's a lot happening, a lot going on, lots of noises, colors, sounds, all the things.

So [00:01:00] having your budget to keep you on track will help you avoid those unexpected costs and helps you achieve those long-term financial goals that you have for the year. We're here at the end, getting ready even for the new year, so we want to make sure that we stay on track and know what we're looking to spend so that we keep ourselves together during this season.

Jessica Quindlen: What are some steps to create a realistic holiday budget?

Katie Griffin: A great first step to making a realistic holiday budget is to have a regular budget already in place first. If we don't have that, let’s make that a priority. This ensures that we are fully aware of what income we have going in and what expenses we have going out and what those different spending habits look like and our savings goals and things like that.

So have that regular budget in place first and then we can focus on the holiday budget. And when it comes to making a realistic holiday budget, first is knowing what you have to work with. What is your income? How much room do you have to spend on the holidays? Consider if you [00:02:00] might be getting a holiday bonus that you could contribute towards this time of the year, or if you expect to be working a bunch of overtime, depending what your job is, and you can include that into what you have to spend for this time of the year.

But also know that there's a lot involved when it comes to holiday spending, so it's not just the gifts. It's the food, and it's the travel, the activities, the parties, and the decorations. I know I'm somebody that has enough decorations.

Bree Shellito: You never have enough. Never enough decorations.

Katie Griffin: See Bree's over here encouraging me to spend more.

Bree Shellito: I mean, you can find them inexpensive.

Katie Griffin: Yeah, and you can make decorations too. But just knowing that there's a lot of different things involved, and all of this needs to be considered when we're coming up with that realistic holiday budget.

So, get organized. I'm somebody that loves to write stuff down. I can't just type it in my phone. I have to actually write things down. Make a spreadsheet or use[00:03:00] whatever method works for you, but list out all of those expected expenses and then see how it fits in your budget. And if you don't have quite enough room for everything, then you might have to start prioritizing different things.

So deciding, okay, this is what is truly most important to me. Let's say giving gifts is the number one goal this time of the year, prioritizing that. And then, maybe, if we can't get that extra decoration or something shiny that we saw in the store, we're going to put that on hold for this year.

So just deciding what is essential and what is not essential to you. And you have to make those decisions yourself as an individual. Nobody can tell you what the most important things are.

Bree Shellito: Our loyal listeners will not be surprised to hear that we need to go back to our values. What do we value? What do we want to get out of this holiday season? And communication is key with our family, friends, and loved ones that we’ll be spending time to get on the same page about that.

Katie Griffin: Finally, track that spending. [00:04:00] Have your plan of what you expect to spend money on and then track it along the way because it's probably not going to be all at one time. It's going to be sprinkled out throughout the whole holiday season. So keep track of everything, and that way you can hold yourself more accountable to sticking to that budget.

Jessica Quindlen: How can listeners anticipate holiday expenses that may surprise them?

Bree Shellito: There's quite a few hidden costs that come in the holiday season. Things like shipping, wrapping (all the supplies you need for that), the meals that you anticipated that you might be hosting. But what about any meals or activities that you're attending?

There's going to be costs that come with that. So just thinking through the entirety of the season. Are you buying the gifts online and having them shipped already, or do you intend to get them, wrap them and ship them yourselves? That's not an inexpensive cost, especially during the holidays.

Thinking about those wrapping supplies too. It's not just the paper, it's the tape, the bows, the tags, all the things that come along with it. If you're hosting, talk about sharing in that experience, seeing if others can bring [00:05:00] things along as well, but knowing what you're going to be covering.

Travel's another big one. It's not just the tickets, it's also once we get there, the activities, who we'll be spending the time with.

Katie Griffin: And we just recently learned, is it 50% of Americans travel more than 50 miles for the holidays? So, it's a lot of us.

Bree Shellito: From November through December and into January. It's a lot. So just try to think through those anticipated costs that may sneak up unless we really think through that. Also, try to make those lists as Katie said, because then we don't have to deal with those costs that pop up. We've already thought through those.

Jessica Quindlen: What are some ways to prioritize spending on gifts without going over budget?

Katie Griffin: So, I'll be honest. I'm not the best with gifts. Shopping really stresses me out and trying to figure out the perfect gift for all the different people in my life. I probably put more pressure than I need to on myself.

But if gift giving is your thing, first have [00:06:00] conversations with your friends and family. Do you want to exchange gifts, or does everyone want to agree on limit? Like we're not going to go over $50 and sticking to that. Or do you want to share a really nice meal together or go to the theater together? Have those conversations sooner than later with your friends and family.

But another thing that you can do is focus on meaningful gifts. I know I've done this in the past where I am buying gifts for the sake of buying gifts, or feel I need to get something and then I end up spending more money. So, focus on that meaningful part of what would this person would truly want rather than buying just to buy, and then you can zero in on how much you expect to spend on that one thing.

One more thing with prioritizing spending on gifts without going over budget is to get creative. If you have a particular skill or are crafty, you can look at doing [00:07:00] different DIY gifts or making something for the loved ones in your life. So, tap into your creative side and that's a way to save some money without overspending on that gift section. Also, don’t feel obligated to buy gifts for everybody. You can give the gift of time.

But I know gift giving is really big and a lot of people do love it. I think I might be in the minority of folks that don't like shopping this time of the year, but something that I'm trying to practice this year is shopping early. I'm definitely the one that will wait until the last minute, mid-December, to get my shopping done. And then I'll wait an hour in line at the post office and spend the most money on the most expensive shipping so that things get to folks on time because all of my family lives outside of the state. So, it's a lot. I have to factor in that shipping cost as well. Be sure to start early and that can help with spacing out those expenses and sticking to your budget.

Jessica Quindlen: Can you give tips on avoiding taking on debt for holiday spending?

Bree Shellito: Absolutely. Now, I certainly understand that it's a stressful season and not everybody got quite as prepared as they would have liked, so sometimes I [00:09:00] understand that we're using those things. I'm a credit card user for everything I do, so I certainly am using that card because I'm going to get those rewards.

But I want to make sure I'm keeping up with it as I go. So ideally using your credit cards, knowing you can pay off the balance and having a plan to do so. Even if it's not right away, which of course would be the best option, we want to make a plan for how soon we want to get that paid off and how we're going to do that.

We're a little late this year – not that it's ever too late to save – but depending on the timing, we may have been late, so we want to get ahead of it next year. We want to think how much we might want to set aside even starting in January to anticipate those holidays, especially if you have very large family and loved ones that you spend time with. It can get costly.

We also want to look out for discounts and deals. There are tons of those this time of year as well. So, we can take advantage of that, get ahead of those really steep shipping times. We want to make a plan and stick to it, make that [00:10:00] list, check it twice and come down to really ideally having that as a goal to not take on as much debt. Keeping that in mind, mindfulness will be key.

Jessica Quindlen: I love that. So how can individuals avoid a financial hangover once the holidays are over?

Katie Griffin: Again, back to the budget piece, knowing our budget, what we're working with, start planning for next year. If we did overspend a little bit this year, it's okay. What's great about our finances, as my coworker Laura says, is that we can always start over. We can always start fresh. Don't beat yourself up, just get back on track, assess your budget, look at your income and your expenses. start planning for the year, set different goals. Then you can see this is how much I spent this holiday season, so I'm going to start in January and plan the rest of the year, focusing on that periodic savings, setting aside a little bit each month to get ready for the next holiday season.

Jessica Quindlen: Great. How can listeners access more help or financial guidance for holiday planning?

Bree Shellito: First that they give themselves a [00:11:00] pat on the back for listening to this financial podcast at all. That's a great first step. You're definitely invested in improving your financial life and financial future, but we're here to support, we've got some incredible articles on holiday spending that have some amazing tips and tricks in there.

But we also have some incredible people here at Ent that want to help. We have some fantastic certified financial coaches that are completely free to members and non-members who can help review your budget.

And even continuing to use those budgeting apps and tools and resources, there's lots that's out there just depending on what you're looking for. But we'd love to see you at other things and have you listen in on some of the other resources we provide.

Jessica Quindlen: Anything else to add?

Katie Griffin: Happy Holidays!

Bree Shellito: I hope you have a great holiday season.

Jessica Quindlen: Happy Holidays. That brings us to the end of our show. Bree, Katie, thanks so much for being here. It was wonderful having you.

Katie Griffin: Thank you.

Bree Shellito: Thank you.

 Jessica Quindlen: And now for our new segment brought to you by Dave Logan, the iconic voice of the Denver Broncos.

Dave Logan:  Hi, this is Dave Logan, and it's time for your 2 Minute Money Drill. A quick tip to help you make smart money moves fast. Whether you're planning to save or looking for ways to get ahead, here's a financial play you can put into action right now.

 Budgeting really doesn't have to be complicated. Try the 50/30/20 rule. 50 percent of your income goes to needs, 30 percent to wants, and 20 percent to savings and debt repayment. This gives you a solid, flexible structure without being too rigid.

 Jessica Quindlen: Thank you for listening to Sound Cents from Ent Credit Union. Be sure to follow our podcast as well as rate and review us. I'm Jessica Quindlen. I will see you in two weeks. Same time, same place.