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It’s the time of the year again!
We see Christmas decors everywhere. Christmas songs being heard on the radio, TV shows, malls, and even just people singing them.
The holiday atmosphere is infiltrating us with the spirit of giving and celebrating. Good vibes all over the place.
While we all want to be Santa Claus with all the gift-giving and festivities, our wallet may be objecting to the piling expenses that we will have.
And we do not want to be all grumpy and weeping after the holidays just because we have exceeded our budget and already drowning in debts.
We can actually avoid that while still being able to celebrate this holiday season decently. Here are some steps we can apply.
Everything starts with a plan. And what better way to plan than to write it down.
Make a list of the people you want to give gifts to.
Make a list of the food you want to prepare during Christmas and New Year.
Make a list of the parties you want to attend.
Having an actual list helps you keep track and gives you a clear number of how many people, food, and parties you will have. It’s like a checklist that you can tick off one by one. And seeing all those numbers may actually give you some sense of reality, forcing you to consider the next step, which is…
Now that you have seen the numbers, you will be concerned on how you will be able to pay for all of those items.
Setting a budget for each one on the list will allow you to compute for the overall expenses. For example…
Doing the computations may hit you hard with how expensive all of them will be. You can actually adjust the individual budget as you see them fit.
Remember, you still need to be practical and live within your means. So set a budget that is feasible for you and your pocket.
And while the price for each gift may go downhill with all the trial-and-error calculations, we can still rely on the next step, which is…
It’s always way cheaper and practical to buy wholesale items rather than individually. And since you already have the list, you can actually group similar items together. Like…
Gifts for women
Gifts for men
Gifts for kids
By categorizing the items you’ve listed, you will, in fact, lessen the things to purchase. For example…
You will not have to think of individual gift items for each of those 15 women anymore. This will give you lesser things to worry about, and you’ll be able to move on to the next step, which is…
While you are already purchasing in bulk, you may also want to look out for discounts. That will be double the savings for you!
There’s a lot of stores out there that offer wholesale and give out discounts as well. And you want to be on the lookout for them, such as…
S&R
Lazada
And of course, the good old Divisoria
Take advantage of those Black Friday Sale, 12.12 Sale, and even bidding for lower prices (Divisoria style).
It may be quite challenging to hustle your way through these sales, but you’ll reap the benefits of them, and your wallet will thank you for it.
While you wait for the next great sale, you may also consider this other step you can do for next year, which is…
Applying all the steps mentioned above combined with an earlier time frame will definitely give your wallet a breath of relief. This will actually distribute the expenses in other months, rather than pouring them all one-time-big-time during the holiday season. You may want to consider…
Buying gifts for women on September
Buying gifts for kids on October
Buying fruit salad ingredients (those in cans or jars) on late November
Plus, you also have ample time to choose what to purchase, where to purchase, and how many to purchase. You will be able to avoid cramming around with all the other shoppers during the Christmas rush. Not to mention the terrible traffic jam involved in it.
Of course, we should also remind ourselves that this will only be applicable for goods with expiration dates longer than 3 months. And make sure you have proper storage for them. Other than that, everything will be good.
But in case, you’ve done all the steps and still your running low on funds, maybe you’d like to consider the final step, which is…
If you’re feeling all generous and celebratory for the holidays, but your finances are not, you can try earning money from some part-time gigs – like Freelancing.
Freelancing offers a variety of decent things you can do while earning money. Like…
Doing data entry jobs for a medical company.
Transcribing a podcast episode for a show.
Or something like this – writing a guest blog article for a website.
The great thing is that most of these gigs actually pays you by Dollars or foreign currencies, depending on the client you acquire.
And if you just like a seasonal gig, there are one-time projects available here and there. You just need to know where to look. Head on over to VA Bootcamp to learn more.
And while we get excited with all the Christmas shopping, gift-giving, sumptuous meals, and fun parties, let us not forget the true meaning of the season.
Sure, material things do add up to the entire scenario, but nothing beats celebrating holidays with the people that genuinely matter to you.
So, go ahead. Make those list. Set your budgets. Buy wholesale items. Chase those discounts. Plan. Earn extra cash.
But most importantly, enjoy the holidays with the people you truly love and care for.
Not yet a freelancer? Sign up here to the FREE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT COURSE to get started.
