Found yourself spending more than your budget this Black Friday weekend? While you are still trying to figure out how much money you “saved” from all those irresistible deals, you might get caught off guard when the bills start to show up.
With Christmas coming a month after and the bills pilling up, you might end up penny pinching ‘till the holidays. Here are some tips you can follow so you’ll finish the year financially stable.
You Can’t Keep Everything
Some of the things you bought might just be an impulse buy or something that you really won’t use or need. With all of those deals flashing right before you, there’s a huge chance that emotions got the best of you without any thought given to your finances.
One thing you can do is to look over you purchased items and sort out which items you need and which items are excessive or unnecessary. The sooner you can do this, the faster you’ll get out from a financial conundrum.
Remember to review the return policy from each store as each has a different one. Don’t wait a couple of days more to return those items as time isn’t really on your side on this one. Postponing this task will not help either as you might end up forgetting to return the items especially when plenty of other things are competing for your attention during the busy holiday season.
Balance Your Budget
Even if all unnecessary things are sorted out and returned, you still might find yourself struggling to pay for some other “necessary” items you bought. Another work around is to figure out how much money is coming in that will enable you to pay for the purchases. Look at expenses you can cut out or suspend temporarily and use that to offset the cost of your purchases.
Perhaps it’s the cable or Netflix and some other forms of entertainment that can help you save money during the upcoming moths. Whatever it is, make sure to review your finances and free yourself up from another financial obligation if possible.
Sell Pre-Loved Items
It’s just a matter of getting creative! Look around your house for items that you can sell that you no longer use. There’s a huge chance you’ll find a couple of items you can let go for a couple of dollars. One good thing is that you’ll sort out some house clutter right before New Year and will be ready to welcome 2019 with a lesser financial burden.
You’ll be happy to realize that you were able to accomplish your last year’s resolution and made it out of 2018 financially stable.
Cash Is King
When you’ve had enough credit, it’s not a good idea to continue to expense your purchases using your credit card. Using cash to pay for your additional purchases will also make you more cautious of your spending habits as you have an actual grasp of what’s going out of your wallet.
With so many activities going on during the holidays, it can get fairly easy to forget bills and give in to the habit of spending. Keep in mind that any amount you spent on Black Friday is an obligation to repay in the upcoming months. The worst thing that could happen when spending cash is using your emergency savings to stay afloat. If you dip into your emergency savings, find a way to replenish them ASAP.
It’s totally fine to reward yourself or even splurge on an item once in a while, however making sure you can pay for it before 2019 will ensure you have a stress free year ahead of you!