Trim Your Holiday Spending

Save that New Year’s resolution for something besides paying down holiday debt. With a bit of planning and saving, and a little help from the Internet, you can keep your holiday spending in check.

Plan ahead — Create a spending plan using an online budgeting tool or homemade spreadsheet. Make a list of recipients and establish a budget for each individual. Include gifts for family, friends, and teachers, as well as travel expenses, holiday parties, and items such as wrapping paper, postage, and holiday decorations and clothing.

Suggest a gift exchange – Gift exchange games can be an interactive and creative way to entertain guests, and to shrink the number of presents each person must purchase.

Forgo extended warranties – Most financial experts recommend skipping extended warranties. Shoppers rarely redeem them and, if they do, the average repair cost isn’t much more than the warranty cost.

Use coupon codes – Find thousands of coupon codes on the Internet, by searching sites like Tada, Coupons.com, RetailMeNot.com, Swagbucks, and many more.

Look for Black Friday and Cyber Monday online deals – Many of these sales are available online for the same price as in stores. Also, Cyber Monday deals often start well in advance of that day, so shop ahead.

Use daily deal sites — Deal sites like Groupon offer deeply discounted offers on things like restaurants, jewelry, spas, hotels, golf courses, gym memberships, home supplies, and much more. Purchase a gift item or give an activity like a kayak rental or a weekend getaway.

Use mobile shopping apps — Find the lowest prices on holiday items by comparing sites or downloading shopping apps.

Open a Holiday Savings account — To avoid credit card debt, save now so you can pay cash for these holiday items. Check out our Christmas Club account to set up a savings account for future holiday needs.