Five Tips to Keep You from Overspending During the Holidays

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

(GOBankingRates)