7 Ways to Prepare Financially for This Holiday Season

So, the holidays are fast approaching, and you need to get ready for them. After all, it's not a time for slacking, is it? You've got presents to buy, a tree to trim, and food to cook. You also need to prepare for extra company and prepare for the inevitable breakdown of one or more relatives as the season tends to be emotionally charged for everyone.

Here are seven ways to prepare financially for the holiday season.

1. Set yourself a budget. It's easy to get carried away during the holidays. That's why it's important to give yourself a budget for gifts. Without one, it's too easy to pull out the plastic and charge things. You'll then get the shock of your life when the next month's bill statement comes in the mail. Determine how much you can reasonably spend and try to stay under that amount.
2. Think thoughtful gifts not ridiculously priced ones. Pricey gifts are not a measure of your love. Thoughtful ones are better received by family and friends, anyway. When you give a gift with personal or sentimental meaning, it's almost always cherished and appreciated the way that it should be.
3. Take advantage of gift card offers. During the holidays, many companies offer free gifts for buying a certain dollar amount in gift cards. For example, spend $100 and get $25 in gift cards free. There is no harm in using the 'free' gift card to give to someone else on your gift list or to use on holiday gifts.
4. Buy discounted gift cards to use to purchase your holiday gifts. Use websites such as GiftCardGranny.com and GiftCards.com to save on the purchase price of a gift card. Then use the extra money that you received on the card to finish buying the things that you need.
5. Look for coupons and discount savings. You'll find them everywhere if you're willing to look for them. Score special savings by signing up for company mailing lists. Take the coupons out of the Sunday newspaper and look through them. Look at original prices to get a sense of how good of a discount you’re getting. The expensive sale price may be more than half off a high quality item like a 12 ft Christmas tree. You'll find rather quickly that there are lots of good discount savings and coupons available if you're willing to look for them.
6. Take advantage of price matching store policies. Many stores will match the price on identical items you find that are cheaper. If you're lucky, they'll match the price and you won't have to travel to the other store for the discount.
7. Add apps to your phone and computer that alert you to online discounts and coupon codes. There are apps that actually give you coupon codes that have been used and collected. One such app is Honey. It's a great way of making your own sales for yourself. You won't miss out on savings this way and you'll be able to stretch your hard-earned dollars further because you have access to it.

There are many ways to reduce your costs while preparing for the holidays. You don't even have to visit the secondhand shops for gifts although they offer wonderful discounts and brand-new items. You can buy the things you need and really enjoy the holidays by having a plan in place that allows you to save anytime of the year at any retailer you want.

Prepare for the holiday season with ease. Now that you've done some planning, you'll be more than ready for all the celebrating you plan to do. Thanks to your quick thinking and ability to get organized, you'll have a holiday season like no other you've had before in the past.