Holiday Spending Tips

Preparing for next year

By Karen Von Der Bruegge, Chief Marketing Officer for Pioneer Services, a Division of MidCountry Bank

Once you get your past spending taken care of, the next step is to plan ahead for next year’s holiday. There are several ways to do so:

• Plan ahead—Create a list of everyone who you would like to give gifts to throughout the year, including the holidays, and then create a budget. Then, keep the list at all times so you can buy presents as you find them throughout the year. The goal is to spread out the spending over time, instead of suddenly needing several hundred dollars all at once. It can also eliminate impulsive—and often costly—last minute decisions, and maintains preparedness for unexpected bargains.
• Make something—Have kids make something from the whole family. The gift of food almost always draws rave reviews. Or maybe building something with wood or metal is a viable idea. The goal here is creativity and cost-effectiveness, as well as a personal touch that makes the gift much more special.
• Consider a group gift—If family members and others will be purchasing a gift for the same person, consider pooling money to buy a single gift. A small contribution from several people is transformed into a larger gift when leveraging buying power.
• Do something special—Offer to spend time with a recipient in a way that is meaningful. For a child, that might be helping build a snow fort after the first snow or spending the afternoon at the movies or in the park. For a grandparent, it might be helping with repairs around the house or planting flowers in the yard. A coupon for free "babysitting" is always a welcomed gift for parents that cannot otherwise get away. Again, creativity is the most important thing.
• Make a donation to charity—For those who seem to have everything, giving them one more "thing" won't mean much. But making any size donation to their favorite charity in their honor would be a wonderful blessing and a special way to honor them. As a bonus, you can also get a tax deduction.

While these tips can be helpful, they won't mean much without financial discipline. So maintain the budget you drew up, avoid those last-minute decisions, and find creative solutions for sometimes-difficult problems. If you do, it'll make the holiday celebrations that much more sweet