3 Tips For a More Merry, Stress-Free Holiday Shopping Season

The holiday season is right around the corner, a time for festivities, cheer, and reunions with family and friends. But as we deck the halls or spin the dreidel, many of us will have something else on our mind: money.

In fact, more than three in four Americans overspend during the holiday season, with the el hogar medio suma casi $1.000 de deuda. While it may seem like a fact of life, going into gift-purchase debt is not inevitable.

In today’s post, we’ll offer three key tips to stress-free holiday spending, allowing you to devote yourself to some worry-free celebrating.

1. Elaborar un presupuesto

Una buena regla general de los asesores financieros es no gastar más de 1.000 millones de euros. 1,5% de sus ingresos anuales en gastos de vacaciones. If you earn $65,000 a year, for example, your holiday budget should top out at $975.

Una vez que hayas establecido tu máximo, puedes hacer una lista de posibles gastos (en regalos, comida, entretenimiento, viajes) y ver lo que podría ser necesario modificar o recortar.

Para evitar tener que apresurarse a ahorrar justo antes de las fiestas, es una buena idea crear un fondo para las fiestas con antelación.

For instance, if you start at the beginning of the year and tuck away 10 percent of your holiday spending budget each month, you’ll roll into the holidays with the money you need and a spending limit to keep you in check.

¿Necesita refrescar sus conocimientos presupuestarios? Le ayudamos con nuestro budgeting tool.

“While it may seem like a fact of life, going into gift-purchase debt is not inevitable.”

2. Sea inteligente con el crédito

When used wisely, credit cards can be your friend: many of them offer special offers like reward points and travel miles, leveraging your everyday purchases to bring that perfect gift or special holiday trip within reach.

Y con la protección de compra, estará protegido frente a pérdidas de una forma que no podría estarlo si paga en efectivo.

Entonces, ¿cómo disfrutar de las ventajas de las tarjetas de crédito sin sus peligros?

First, choose a credit card that allows you to repay purchases over time, without interest.

Second, make sure you pay the balance due in full and on time – every single month.

Para conocer los entresijos de las tarjetas de crédito, consulte nuestro short interactive video.

3. Secure Your Information

With each passing year, more holiday shoppers opt to avoid the lines and crowds by purchasing their gifts online.

But however convenient and comfortable, online shopping is not risk-free: according to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research, 16,7 millones de clientes estadounidenses fueron víctimas de fraude de identidad en 2017con un total de $16.800 millones robados.

Afortunadamente, hay algunos medidas básicas que puede adoptar para proteger su información, such as monitoring your accounts, securing your devices, and placing security freezes on your credit reports.

And, of course, if you are the victim of identity theft, it is important to respond rapidly.

Learn how to keep yourself data safe with our short identity protection video.

It’s also very worth your while to learn how to protect yourself from the most common forms of credit card fraud.

En el mundo actual, el estrés navideño puede parecer tan americano como la tarta de manzana, ¡pero no tiene por qué!

With a budget, a holiday spending fund, smart use of credit, honest limits, and protected information, you can make your holiday season more like a Hallmark special and less like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

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Minutos de vida financiera

To find out more about stress-free holiday shopping and about smart finances in general, check out Minutos de vida financiera, our online financial education program.

This article was developed as part of Unitus’ partnership with EVERFI, Inc.