The holiday season is pretty much the worst time to try to stick to a budget. It is SO hard to keep everything under control when there are so many great things out there that you can spend your hard earned money on. I will admit, there have been a few Christmas seasons in the past where I have gone a little overboard, but that isn’t really a problem anymore thanks to a few things I have learned! Here are a few of my tips for staying on a budget this holiday season.
1. Talk to your spouse about a budget- This may seem really obvious, but we didn’t really set Christmas budgets for a few years and things would always get way out of control. Once Dave and I actually chose to sit down and not only choose how much we could afford on Christmas, but then decide how much to spend on each person on our list, the budget could be worked with!
2. Use envelopes for each person- After choosing how much money we could afford for each person, we took cash out for each person and put it in a separate envelope. Once the cash is gone, the person’s Christmas gifts are done too. If their gift is something that is ordered online, we set the money aside and deposit it in the bank to reimburse the purchase.
3. Shop smart- This means it is important to do your research before making purchases. Make sure the items you are purchasing are the quality that you want them to be and make sure you are getting the best deal you possibly can on each item. One place that can be a huge help to doing this is ShopRunner. It is a website with over 100 partner stores that you can shop from. If you shop from ShopRunner, you get free two day shipping, free return shipping, special deals, and more! It helps take a lot of the hassle of online shopping out of the picture!
Right now, if you shop through ShopRunner and spend $100 on one order at any of the partner stores, you will get a free 1 year ShopRunner membership (valued at $79). You can find all full list of their partner stores, HERE.
I was really excited when I learned about ShopRunner and even purchased my daughter’s main Christmas present on Toys R Us through ShopRunner and got a discount that I wasn’t able to find anywhere else!
I highly recommend taking these steps to stay within your holiday budget so you can have the happiest of holidays without financial stress!
Shoprunner.com is the best way to shop online for the stuff you love. Visit www.shoprunner.com/2014holidayoffer to sign up! Plus, for a limited time only, make a $100 purchase at a partner store and get a 1-year membership to ShopRunner.com for free! A $79 Value!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ShopRunner. The opinions and text are all mine.