USA Today - 26.08.2019

MONEY USA TODAY z MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019 z 3B

PRESENTED BY

Create a Holiday

Shopping Plan

Plan holiday shopping and

year-end spending to prevent

holiday debt and know how to

claim charitable contributions

on your taxes.

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Even though the kids are just
heading back to school and De-
cember may seem far away, it’s
not too early to draw up a finan-
cial plan for the holidays.
That’s because creating your
financial blueprint now can
help avoid headaches later, like
overspending and sinking into
debt, experts say.
Heading into the holidays
without a plan can increase the
risk of unraveling an entire
year’s worth of financial disci-
pline – as well as undermining
your enjoyment of the season.
Unfortunately, most Ameri-
cans enter the holiday season
without a financial game plan.
“We found that two-thirds of
Americans do not have a holi-
day budget,” said Greg
McBride, chief financial ana-
lyst of Bankrate.com. “That can
certainly present problems giv-
en the fact that the holidays
generate lots of one-time big
expenses and it happens every
year.”
August is a prime time to
start planning, and this year
has a bonus: Because there are
five Fridays in the month, some
workers will receive an extra
paycheck, McBride says. It’s a
great opportunity to begin
building a cushion to weather
higher spending, he adds.
Below are tips from experts
on how to start a financial plan
for the holidays.

Create a budget

Racking up credit card bills
isn’t uncommon at the holi-

days, with more than one in

four adults conceding they go

into debt during the season, ac-

cording toDana Marineau, a fi-

nancial advocate at personal fi-

nance company Credit Karma.

Creating a budget can aid you

in sidestepping the debt trap,

she adds.

As part of the budget, make

a list of specific items you’d like

to buy for friends and family

members to help you avoid im-

pulse purchases, Marineau rec-

ommends.

“Be thoughtful about what

you want to buy,” she says.

“Maybe you see a great sweater

you get targeted on Instagram.

You think, ‘Maybe my Aunt Ma-

ry would like that,’ but don’t al-

low the impulse of the targeted

advertising” to sway you.

Don’t forget costs

beyond gifts

Holiday shoppers often for-

get about such costs as travel

and entertaining, McBride

says. When you create your

budget, add the expense of

flights, hotels, dining out and

other ancillary costs.

These costs often can ex-

ceed spending on gifts, with

credit bureau Experian finding

that the typical American who

plans to travel at the holidays

spends about $930, compared

with about $850 in gift pur-

chases.

Put money asidenow

Don’t wait until the last min-

ute to save for holiday shopping

and travel. If you receive an ex-

tra paycheck in August, sock

away part or all of the money, as

McBride recommends. And re-

member that some of your holi-

day expenses may occur far

earlier than you expect, such as

if you buy airline tickets in Oc-

tober for a family visit in De-

cember.

“Put a portion of every pay-

check toward holiday spend-

ing,” McBride recommends.

“When the fall comes and you

start to begin incurring holiday

expenses, you’ll have some

money set aside.”

Reconsider your

gift priorities

Lastly, rethinking gift-giv-

ing can help save money and

time.

Anne Van Donsel of Burling-

ton, Vermont, notes that her

family, which is scattered

around the country, opted to

stop exchanging gifts a few

years ago.

“It takes so much pressure

off everything because you can

enjoy the holidays without go-

ing broke,” she says. Instead of

buying gifts, family members

then have more money to

spend on travel to visit each

other, she adds.

“It makes it so it’s not over-

whelming from a time perspec-

tive or financial perspective,”

she says. “It takes you off that

roller-coaster.”

It’s not too early for holiday budget

Plan can help you

avoid overspending

Aimee Picchi
Special to USA TODAY

As part of your budget, make a list of specific items you’d like to buy for friends and family

members to help you avoid impulse purchases, financial experts say.YVONNE PADDIE