Add Self-Control to Your Holiday Shopping List
Add Self-Control to Your Holiday Shopping List
Tips to Avoid Overspending
Shopping, sales and savings are words that have become synonymous with Christmas, but bargain hunters should add one more word to their holiday vocabulary – self-control.
“There’s a lot of temptation to overspend for the holidays,” says Dr. Larry Connatser, family resource management Extension specialist at the Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University. “We are flooded with so much advertising and marketing now. We need to train ourselves and our kids that you cannot buy love, and realize what Christmas is really about.”
According to the National Retail Association (NRA), consumers were planning to spend $1,048 on average this holiday season, a 4% increase over last year. The NRA reports that 189.6 million U.S. consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, which included 142.2 million online shoppers. And even though the number of weekend shoppers increased by 14% this year, many shoppers are still scouring the internet for last-minute purchases as many online sites continue to offer deep discount deals to entice them to spend, spend, spend.
Shopping online has become increasingly popular because of its convenience and because bargain hunters often find better prices and take advantage of free shipping.
While it’s convenient, online shopping can bust your budget, if you don’t exercise self-control and plan your purchases, Connatser says.
“Know what you need, plan what you want to give others and have some self-control. Self-control is first.”
Connatser offers other tips to help you stay within budget, and not regret your holiday purchases later.
Plan ahead. Don’t wait until Christmas to create a budget. Start you own Christmas savings account at the beginning of the new year, and put a little away each month. Once you set a budget, stick to it and track your spending.
Draw names for gift giving instead of trying to buy a gift for everyone in your circle. Write a list of gifts you want to give, and stick to it!
Use credit cards as little as possible. Buy with cash instead of credit. If you have to use credit for online purchases, pay off your balance immediately.
Resist temptation to make impulse purchases. Just because a package is glittery and there’s a “sale” sign, doesn’t mean you need it.
Think out of the box. Christmas doesn’t have to mean a pricy present. Find other ways to give meaningful gifts to loved ones. Oftentimes older family members have what they want and need, and they really don’t need anymore “stuff,” Connatser says. “Sometimes they just need your love, time and attention.”
Gift cards are convenient for the people who have everything, but be aware that the cards may have time limits, can expire and have hidden fees.
Shop on reputable websites. Scam websites are very popular now, he says. There are fake sites that look real, but are set up to scam shoppers and get their personal information. It’s become a cliché, but the old adage about “if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is,” still rings true, Connatser says. “It’s very easy to get scammed.”