Holiday Season

5 Tips For Staying On Budget This Holiday Season

BY CHRIS TOBIAS

For many people, the holidays are the most delightful time of the year. There's a feeling of anticipation and excitement in the air as you count down to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. But for some, financial fears overshadow the festive joy. How can you afford to buy a present for that special someone? Can you feed your family a festive feast without breaking the bank? While these types of questions are common, they're not the only ones people have about the holidays. A significant portion of Americans, especially those in lower income households, don't have a stable income they can count on. Plus, self-employed people often have sporadic income coming. Some people are forced to cut shopping trips, skip holidays, or even get seriously behind on bills during this time. Are you financially prepared for the holidays? Here are some tips for holiday budgeting that will help you enjoy the holidays with less stress. List Holiday Expenses Early The earlier you know what you're up against, the better. Don't wait until the last minute to start listing expenses and budgeting for them. The earlier you start, the more time you'll have to allocate the necessary cash to your list. Holiday expenses involve more than merely gifts. They might be your biggest expense, but there are others to think about early on. Will you be hosting a party? That will entail buying food. What about gifts for the host or hostess of parties you'll be attending? Add that to the list. Be sure to list everyone you'll buy gifts for and how much you'll spend. If you're planning to send out holiday cards, include the cost of buying, printing, and mailing them in your budget. Holidays are a time to celebrate with family and friends, but be careful not to get too carried away. If you find yourself financially in over your head, start planning ways to curtail your holiday spending. Work with the amount of money you know you'll have. Don't use credit cards and pay it off later. That's how people get into financial trouble. The worst way to start a new year is with credit card debt. Whatever you do, don't wait! Budgeting well ahead of time will give you time to make adjustments and avoid overspending.

Put Aside Money Each Month If you start planning your holiday budget months ahead of time, you can put aside a certain amount of money each month to cover holiday expenses. That's why earlier is better. At least begin planning at least six months ahead of time, so you'll be ahead of the curve.

Comparison Shop Online Comparison shopping sites will help you find the best deals on gifts. The worst approach is to wait until the last minute and rush out to buy gifts. Shop for gifts without the added pressure of a deadline, and you'll make smarter decisions and get better deals. You can also take advantage of special sales throughout the year. If you find a site with good deals, buy for several people at once. You may get an additional discount, and you'll likely get free shipping if you purchase in volume. The earlier you start, the more flexibility you'll have. By starting early, you'll also have the luxury of waiting for a special coupon or discount.

Homemade Gifts Have Meaning Too If you have a special talent, trade money for time by making holiday gifts for friends and family. You might have crafts skills or art skills that lend themselves to gift making. If not, what could you prepare in your kitchen that people would appreciate? It could be anything from handmade soap or candles to pumpkin bread, pecan pie, or holiday cookies you prepare in your kitchen. No one will think less of you if you give a handmade gift, and they may even appreciate it more.

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ICYMI: Intensifying Food Insecurity Crisis in Central America Highlights Urgency for TPS

Anew piece in the Austin American-Statesman underscores the link between widespread hunger and migration pressures, especially in our hemisphere. More than two million people are estimated to have fled Haiti and the Northern Triangle region of Central America since 2014 as a result of food insecurity and child malnutrition, climate disasters, and civil unrest. Devastating twin hurricanes Eta and Iota compounded the issue by decimating crop harvests a year ago, destroying necessary infrastructure that supports food production like roads and bridges, and wiping out entire communities. A year after the storms, relief and recovery in these communities has been ineffective, slow, or nonexistent. New Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador could provide immediate humanitarian relief and work to stabilize the region long term through an increased flow of remittances from family members with work authorizations in the United States. The Biden Administration has the statutory authority to evaluate and grant TPS independently, without the engagement of Congress. The conditions on the ground in the region clearly meet the criteria for TPS and the Biden Administration should seize this opportunity to make concrete progress towards their commitments to enact humane, commonsense immigration policies instead of continuing to fall short. The article is excerpted below: “At the same time that President Biden announced making a $10 billion commitment to tackle hunger and malnutrition, the administration was expelling more than 12,000 migrants who had converged, hungry and desperate, in Del Rio. … tackling hunger sustainably is more complex than just distributing food parcels. It requires strengthening rural areas all over the world that support farmers and provide them livelihoods, improving the conditions that lead to migration, often first to cities and eventually overseas. …The fact is that hunger and migration are secondary consequences of the systemic failure to invest in small-scale farmers and rural communities …Firstly, the goal should be to grow livelihoods, not just food. Agriculture offers families a way to not only feed themselves but also to generate income, giving them the collateral to afford health care and education, and to cope with the unpredictable, like natural disasters or political instability. …The agricultural sector is one of few that provides both a basic human right and the opportunity to go beyond poverty alleviation for true social mobility that reduces irregular migration – when small-scale farmers are connected to productive and profitable markets. Surely, this is in everyone’s best interests, including the U.S.”l(America’s Voice) For people you don't know as well, a holiday card may be sufficient. Showing someone you appreciate them doesn't always require a gift. A beautiful card and meaningful words are often enough.

Stick to It! It's easy to get sucked in by the holiday spirit, as the holidays draw closer and spend more than you intended. Keep your budget close by and keep referring back to it. Stick to your list and budget, and track your expenses as you go. Keep a running tally of how you're doing so you don't overspend. You'll enjoy the holidays more if you don't overspend and end up financially flattened as you go into a new year.

The Bottom Line You'll enjoy the holidays more if you don't have the added stress of not budgeting, and then desperately trying to buy everything you need at the last minute using credit cards. Give yourself plenty of breathing room and flexibility before the holidays. Set guidelines and limits, and stick with them. You'll thank yourself when the next year rolls around.l

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