As millennials, we spend all year living on “Scrooge”wages, but when the holidays come...we decide to turn into some hipster Santa Claus. As if our debt just stops existing as soon as there is a tree in our living room!
Since November holiday spending pressure, here are some tips on how to enjoy the season without killing your credit score:
- Set realistic goals.Did you learn nothing from “Jingle All The Way?” Gift getting is all about preparation! If you wait until the last minute, instead of making a budget and a plan, you’re only going to regret it.
- Stay sober.Keep your Eggnog strictly egg and nog and skip the booze when it comes to getting gifts. Why? 61% of millennials admit to drunk shopping. So don’t/
- Save a little to spend a lot.It’s too late for 2019, but next year you should set up a savings account to automatically transfer a little bit of money into throughout the year. If you $600 of guilt free-spending for the holidays, have $50 go into the account every month.
- Make a list, check it twice.Become the Santa you were born to be. Make a spreadsheet of every person and pet you’re planning to buy for, and put how much you’re planning to spend on them. If you add this up, and you can’t afford it, read just.This doesn’t mean open a new credit card to meet that budget.
- Think outside the gift box.Get creative. For example, if you’re already paying for Netflix or Disney+ write your password in a card and gift them the gift of streaming.
The bottom line is you can’t treat your finances like a bottomless bag of presents. It’s not like you have an entire workforce slaving away in bad conditions like Santa or Jeff Bezos.
Source:CNBC