Shop Your Way to Holiday Savings | Cleveland Bradley County Teachers Federal Credit Union

Holiday shopping can be extremely stressful, especially financially. While our team at Cleveland Bradley County Teachers Federal Credit Union wants you to be able to buy for everyone on your holiday list, it’s also important to make sure that shopping list doesn’t lead you down the road to debt in 2018.

Planning for Holiday Shopping

Where there’s a plan, there is financial savings. Let’s take a look at ways to help you stay in line with your finances as you shop.

First, you want to make a list of everyone you want to shop for this holiday season. Then put a price point next to each person you listed. For example, while you might want to spend around $25 on a teacher gift, you might put a $50 budget for your mother and mother-in-law. By putting a dollar amount beside the person’s name, it can help give you an overall price tag on how much holiday gifts will cost you in total.

Now, it’s time to make sure that price tag you put on each person fits into your holiday budget. If it does, great! If it doesn’t, you will need to go in and adjust the gift price you put beside each name in order for the holiday list to fall within budget.

Second, go ahead and start shopping, if you haven’t already. There’s no need to wait to make sure you see all the deals that are going to happen. When you wait until last minute to buy gifts, you increase your chances of overspending because you need the gift now. Therefore, start shopping now so you can really thoughtfully consider what you’re buying and how it fits within your budget.

Finally, don’t underestimate the appreciation that comes when you give a gift that you handmade yourself. While some people might say that they want this or that from certain stores, you might find that they actually will love something you made even more! Plus, not only does a handmade gift bring sentiment, but it also can help you to stay in or below budget over the holidays.

Is your Christmas budget this year running a little tighter than you’d like? Visit the Cleveland Bradley County Teachers Federal Credit Union website today to learn about our Christmas Club Account that can help you be in better financial shape for the 2018 holiday season.