Five Tips to Keep You from Overspending During the Holidays
December 13, 2021 5:00AM CST
If you’ve been going a little crazy with holiday shopping & spending way too much money the last few weeks, here are five tips to help you keep things in check:
- Make a list. Write down everyone you need to buy for instead of just purchasing impulsively when you see a deal on something they’d like.
- Think about purchases in terms of hours worked. If you work a normal 40-hour a week job and make $60,000 a year, your hourly wage is right around $30. Try keeping that hourly rate in mind when you’re shopping. A $100 gift will cost you more than three hours at work.
- Turn off one-click ordering. The internet makes holiday shopping super convenient, but it’s also easy to get carried away with impulse purchases, especially when there’s one-click ordering.
- Wait a day before buying. If you’re shopping online, leave the items in your cart and wait a day before checking out. The next day, you’ll be able to look at the items with more analysis and less emotion. If you still want it, buy it.
- Unsubscribe from email newsletters. Every retailer you’ve ever bought anything from comes out of the woodwork during the holiday season. And it’s usually to try to entice you with a deal. Unsubscribing from the emails will help reduce the temptation to spend.
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