It’s that time of the year again, the time of the year when everyone starts making a list and checking it twice. It’s time to start planning your holiday shopping and making your holiday spending budget. The holidays are a cheerful time to spend with our closest friends and family but the holidays can also be a very difficult financial time if we don’t set a budget for our holiday spending.
If you start planning your holiday shopping list early it can help save you a lot of money because you have time to shop around for deals, discounts and coupons. However if you leave all of your holiday shopping until the very last minute you could end up overpaying for your holiday gifts and breaking your holiday spending budget.
Another great way to save money during the holidays is to cut expenses from your regular monthly budget in order to allocate more money towards your holiday spending. There are several different expenses that you can cut out of your monthly budget to help you save money during the holidays. There are also several different changes that you can make around your home in order to get ready for the cold winter season and to help you cut costs during the holiday season.
Use these helpful tips to save money during the holiday season:
1. Clean out your chimney. A natural wood burning fireplace is a cost efficient way to quickly heat your home. Cleaning out your chimney will help you save some money on your heating costs this winter by burning wood and having a natural fire. Having a natural fireplace not only helps heat your home it also makes your home smell great. There is something very comforting about the smell and the sound of a natural wood burning fireplace.
2. Keep windows closed and doors open. Make sure that your windows are closed, sealed and insulated this winter to help you save money during the holidays. Keeping all of your bedroom and bathroom doors open will help the heat circulate throughout your home. Making sure that the heat is warming up all of the rooms in your home also helps prevent spike heating costs. When you leave your indoor doors open to let the heat circulate you avoid turning the heat up way to high in order to quickly heat a room in your home. The more money you save on heating costs this winter the more money you can spend on your holiday shopping.
3. Empty your fridge. The power that you use to cool your fridge is just like the battery power that you use to listen to our iPods. The higher the volume the quicker it drains the battery, the same principal is used when it comes to saving money on your electric bill this winter. The colder you keep your fridge the more it will cost you on your electricity bill. Make sure to throw out unused and unwanted food in order to keep your fridge temperature at a cost efficient cool setting.
4. Invite your friends over for a party. One of the biggest expenses during the holiday season is the cost of holiday dinners and parties. Instead of going out to a restaurant invite your family and friends over to have dinner at your home and ask everyone to bring something. This helps everyone share the costs of the food and everyone gets to enjoy the party. Having a buffet style spread with finger foods is another great way to save costs and avoid cooking a big meal. A buffet style dinner also lets people mingle more, after all that is the point of the holidays…to mingle and socialize with friends and family.
