Learn to spread cheer without maxing out your credit.
Christmas came early this year.
Ready or not, the holiday shopping season is here — and has been for a while.
Retailers could be found rolling out Black Friday deals long before Thanksgiving week, and according to a report by McKinsey & Co., 45% of surveyed U.S. shoppers had begun their holiday shopping by early October.
To some, an earlier Black Friday may have seemed like an invitation to spend more money or accrue more debt; however, shoppers may have also used the early access to holiday cheer as a means to maintain control over their bank account and shop more mindfully this holiday season.
Putting money away — and also planning out holiday expenses in advance — are effective tactics to help mitigate overspending, according to Paul Golden, spokesperson for the National Endowment for Financial Education.
“The holiday spending season shouldn’t come as a budgeting surprise,” Golden says. However, he adds, all the bells and whistles that come along with the holidays, from gifts to wrapping paper, decorations, holiday parties, and more, can lead to the “potential for overspending and strain on your budget.”
Fortunately, implementing tactics like shopping lists and spending limits can help to manage cash flow and prevent overwhelming holiday debt. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how:
- U.S. shoppers plan to save, spend, borrow, and budget this holiday season
- Your own plans compare
- To prevent borrowing blunders as the holidays rev up.