Budgeting for Your Holiday Joy

B U D G E T I N G F O R Y O U R H O L I D A Y J O Y

Tara Opie

C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R

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Budgeting for Your Holiday Joy

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The holidays are weeks away. Everyone from Amazon to CNN has been advertising holiday shopping since late September. We’re now shopping for Christmas gifts before Halloween. Although this fact sounds a little rushed, we have to consider the shipping delays we already experienced. Multiply that a few times. Numerator.com compiled a survey about what consumers intended to spend over the holidays. It states, “nearly two-fifths of consumers spend over $100 on their Christmas food & drinks in a typical year. This year, over two-thirds, expect to spend roughly the same amount as they have in the past, with one-fifth expecting to spend more” (Market Track, 2021).

With that being said…

Here are some tips and ideas for getting started with your shopping, while keeping your budget intact.

Find the Codes!

Nothing feels worse than going to your cart to check out your items and you don’t have a discount code. Who wants to pay full price for anything right now?

I am gifting you one of my favorite Facebook groups, Gullah Deals Page. This group shares daily discount codes for nearly everything and anything you and think of. Check out the link to learn more.

Amazon and Target are looking to grab some of your coins with their Black Friday Deals starting today. Makeup and toys are looking to have the lowest discounts of the season before the traditional Black Friday deals begin.

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Consider the meaning, not the price tag.

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Another plan I chose to do this year is making gift-giving more meaningful. Last year, my daughter’s school mailed out a care package, including a craft everyone could do over a video chat.

This year, I plan to send out a simple dessert recipe for a cup brownie, then plan an event on FaceTime with the family; we can cook it together. A simpler tip is to send an e-gift card, so everyone can purchase their own ingredients and you can save on postage. Click the link here for recipe ideas.

There is always a way to save. Send me an email at tarak@taraspecializes.com for more information.

Credits:

Allison. “Brownie in a Mug.” Celebrating Sweets, 21 June 2019, https://celebratingsweets.com/brownie-in-a-mug/.Deals, Gullah. “Log in or Sign up to View.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gualladeals/.

Numerator.com. “2021 Holiday Consumer Intentions Study.” Numerator, https://www.numerator.com/holiday-trends/consumer-survey.

Tara K. is a mother of three, a graduate from Independence University with a degree in Accounting with an emphasis of Forensic Accounting, and a minority business owner. Before then, she managed a small business for several years learning the needs and wants of small business owners. She has been practicing accounting and bookkeeping since 2016 with clients all over the world. She started Tara K. Specializes, LLC in 2019 with the goal of helping small business owners achieve financial health. She has published two books entitled How to Monetize Your Niche in

90 Days and Simple Credit Repair. Both are available at taraspecializes.com/products.

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