Allan Oulate shares a presentation discussing helpful ways to budget during the holiday season.

1. Holiday Shopping Budgeting Help

2. The holiday season is known
as “the most wonderful time
of the year.” Ideally, your
finances should stay in
wonderful shape throughout
the season, but this is hardly
the norm.

3. Consumer counseling
agencies report that, in
January and February,
there’s a 25 percent increase
in the number of people who
need help with debt. This
increase is largely fueled by
the holiday shopping season.

4. If you create a holiday budget
ahead of time, you can stay
out of financial hot water.
Here are six tips you can use
to create a holiday budget
and stick with it.

5. Start Saving
as Early as
Possible

6. Holiday shopping usually
begins on Black Friday, but
that doesn’t mean you can’t
start saving money well
before then.

7. If you open a holiday savings
account, you can deposit
money into it throughout the
year and even earn interest
on the account.

8. Create a
Spending
Plan

9. Create a list of all your
holiday-related purchases,
whether they’re gifts, food,
travel expenses or
decorations.

10. Decide how much you’re
going to spend on each item.
Once you’ve locked in a
number for each item, you’re
in a better position to avoid
overspending.

11. Make a
Shopping
List

12. Now that you have a budget,
it’s time to make a list of
everyone you’re going to buy
presents for. Make a note of
how much you want to spend
on each person.

13. It’s possible that you’ll want
to spend more money on
certain people than on
others.

14. Prioritize your gift giving,
and if you feel that your
finances are stretched thin,
don’t be afraid to tell some of
the people on your list that
you won’t be exchanging gifts
this year.

15. Come Up With
a Creative,
Zero-Cost Gift

16. You can give a gift without
needing to buy a gift. Make
something of your own, using
whatever natural talents you
have. You can make a
scrapbook, compose a short
story or knit a scarf. The
possibilities are endless.

17. If you have an old holiday
present that someone gave
you years ago, yet you never
use it, consider re-gifting
that present to someone who
might actually appreciate it.

18. Don’t Wait
Until the Last
Minute to
Shop

19. You want plenty of time to
compare prices and find
great deals. If you wait until
the last minute, you’re going
to be rushing through the
store, exhausted and stressed
out.

20. You’ll also be more tempted
to spend money on gifts
without considering how
much they cost.

21. Use Credit
Cards
Sparingly

22. If you have to use credit
cards, don’t use more than
two. That will make it easier
to keep track of your
spending.

23. The cards you use should
have low-interest rates. Stay
away from cards offered by
department stores.

24. If you have a credit card with
no balance, use that one to
pay off your upcoming
balance in full. Use the other
card for purchases that you
intend to pay off over the
coming months.

25. Spending money is arguably
the most stressful part of the
holiday season. If you begin
the season with a financial
plan in place, it will help take
some of the burdens off of
your shoulders.

26. Use these six tips to create a
holiday budget that works
best for you.