Last year, my bank account resembled the lyric from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – 6 geese a-laying giant zeros that looked like goose eggs in my checking account.
I made enough money to pay all my bills but had little money left over to buy Christmas gifts. Somehow, I managed to cut corners here and there – I didn’t food shop for two weeks – and found enough change in the couch to get everyone on my list at least a small gift.
Shopping this year will be much easier because of a) I’m fully employed and b) I learned the lesson of budgeting and getting creative.
With the Covid pandemic causing millions of people to be out of work, or low on funds, holiday shopping will be harder than ever this year.
Alexa Serrano is a banking and investments editor at Finder.com, guiding readers to the best savings, checking and investments account for their financial goals.
Here are Alexa’s tips for saving money for the holidays when you’re low on funds.
“When living paycheck-to-paycheck, it’s always trickier to plan and save. But you’ll want to start by creating a budget. Take your total monthly net income and add all your spend categories (e.g., internet, water, rent, miscellaneous, groceries, etc.),” explains Serrano.
Take a look at your receipts and bills to gather how much you typically spend every month in each category. Then subtract your total spending from your monthly net income.
“Whether or not you have money left over each month, you’ll want to carefully consider if there are any tweaks you can make to your budget. For instance, are you spending more on a specific area that you can cut back on?”
Budgeting Is Your Friend
Budgeting doesn’t have to be tedious. And it doesn’t mean you have to give up your morning lattes. It can be as simple as setting a lower spending limit on certain spend categories.
