8+ Steps on How to Save for Christmas

Christmas is one of the most celebrated festivals among the millions of people. In North America and Europe, almost everyone celebrates Christmas each year. Celebrating a festival is a great way to meet almost everyone you know, but some people fail to do it because of their low income or any other financial problems. You can eliminate these types of problems by learning how to save for Christmas.

If your income is low or your family’s income is low then it will be very challenging for you to celebrate Christmas with full enjoyment. But it is the not problem of low income, you can enjoy the Christmas celebration with proper planning a few months before Christmas.

It is a very common thing that if you have a low income and want to celebrate any festival properly then you have to start planning or saving money a few months before Christmas. The problem is people don’t know how to save for Christmas without much compromise in the present life.

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Why Saving is Important?

Saving money is very important not only for Christmas but for everything like bills, insurance MEI, rent, and many more things. The people who party, celebrate festivals, organize any event, etc. without proper planning and saving money for it can be forced to get loans.

That’s why it is highly recommended for everyone if you have less income then you should start planning for any event, festival, etc. before a few months depending on how much you mean and what budget you will spend on the event or festival.

So, it is essential to start saving money for Christmas to celebrate the great festival without any tension during the festival. If you don’t know how to save for Christmas then follow the below tips.

How to Save for Christmas

There are various ways to save money for Christmas but it will be hard to execute until you properly follow them. That’s why I turned these ways into some steps, follow these steps according to your expenses or spending to save money for the festival.

Step 1: Set Budget

This step is the core of the process of saving money for Christmas. Each year inflating rate rise approximately similar to the last few years but this year 2023 the inflation rate is very high due to global condition like the Russia-Ukrain war, COVID, and many more.

The current inflation rate of the USA is approximately 3.7 manually and it increases each year. It does not mean that each year costs will increase by a similar rate of inflation. The cost of the different products increases differently, some product costs can rise very high and some not or very minor.

So, set a budget according to the current inflation rate and make sure to keep the amount higher a little bit from the calculation. As a result in a volatile condition, you will be tension-free about the cost of the Christmas celebration.

Step 2: Calculate Expenses

Once you set a budget for the Christmas celebration, in the second step you have to make a list of those things you want to do in your Christmas like giving gifts, decorating, house cleaning, etc. Once the list is prepared find out and write what is the cost of all the things you want to do on your Christmas.

By calculating expenses you can see that the total expenses that you want to spend on the things for Christmas come under the budget you set in the first steps.

The people who do not make a list of all things for Christmas and calculate their expenses just by setting a budget face problems when the cost goes above the set budget.

Once expenses are calculated then make sure it is under the budget you set. If you have to increase the budget (not recommended) do some cost-cutting and decrease your expenses.

There are a lot of affordable alternatives to almost everything you decide to do on Christmas. By using alternatives and some low-cost things you can save a lot of money and eventually the cost of the Christmas expense will come into the budget you set.

Step 3: Set a Monthly Saving Goal

This is very important to save money for Christmas. The monthly savings will help you to save money to celebrate Christmas by reaching the goal of the budget you set to spend on Christmas. In case, if you do not follow the step to save some part of the money for Christmas then it will be very hard to achieve your goal.

Suppose you are earning $1000 each month from your job or your profession then you have to save a part of money depending on your saving goals and the months or time left in the Christmas.

Suppose you want to save $1500 to celebrate Christmas (you can set your budget). and there are only 3 months left in the christmas then you have to save $500 each month for the christmas.

The monthly savings amount is very high it is 50% of your income. If you save this type of among there are very high chance that all the other things will be affected very badly like rent, bills, fees, etc.

To avoid these things you have to start saving before 6 to 7 months. If you set a target to save $1500 in 7 months then you have to save approximately $215. Saving $215 every month from $1000 is very easy.

Step 4: Save Money Somewhere

The money you are saving each month you have to keep at a place like a savings bank account or FD (fixed deposit). In both options, both are good and have a few negative points as well.

Saving Bank Account: You can save your money in a savings bank account, in a savings bank account you will some interest on your savings. Some banks ask you to have a minimum balance to keep your account active.

So, find out the bank that does not have any minimum balance criteria to open a savings bank account and save money in it. The problem is the interest rates in the saving bank account is very low compared to the FD rates.

FD (Fixed Deposit): FD (Fixed Despite) is another great way to save money but there are a few problems many banks charge a penalty if you withdraw the FD money before the maturity period of your FD.

Making FD of your monthly savings is very hard as there are only a few banks or non-finance companies that provide the facility to add money to your FD on a monthly basis.

The good thing about the FD is that the interest rates on your FD is very high compared to the interest rates of a saving bank account.

Step 5: Remove Unwanted Things

Remove unwanted things you want to do on Christmas, it will help you to save some money from the budget you st to spend on Christmas.

Make a list of those things that you are planning to do on Christmas and think for a few minutes that all things are important to do. Just by watching content on social media people make a lot of mistakes like doing wanted things, or extra decoration without any reason. So, do only the things on Christmas which are important.

Step 6: Shop Smartly

During the festival and some events, on e-commerce websites there are a lot of offers and cashback can be seen on thousands of products. So, you can use it and take benefits from the offers or cashback. As a result, you can save some money then you can use the money on Christmas or save for anything you want.

In case, if there are no discount offers or cashback on the products you want then check the alternative of the product and make sure there are some discount offers or cashback on the products.

Step 7: Handmade Gifts

On Christmas people spends a lot of money on gifts and in some case the average amount I approximately 30% to 35% of the total expenses on the Christmas celebration. This is a very huge amount but it can be reduced drastically.

Instead of buying gifts for your loved ones, you can make gifts by yourself and give them handmade gifts, crafts, etc. On the internet, there are thousands of ideas to make handmade gifts and their resources can be bought online in case it is not available in your region.

If you can not make gifts then consider buying handmade gifts from your local shop or market. In the local shop or market, the handmade gifts are very low as compared to the handmade gifts that are listed on the eCommerce website.

Step 8: Extra Income Sources

In case Christmas is near or the expenses for Christmas are going very high then you can do some job for a few weeks. There are hundreds of online and offline jobs you can do to make some extra money to celebrate Christmas without any stress.

With the online methods, you can start freelancing. As of now with the help of platforms like Fiverr freelancing become very easy. You can create a gig and start selling your services on Fiverr. In the online money-making method through Fiverr and other freelance platforms know and expect that the gig should be available to you. With no knowledge or less knowledge, it is nearly impossible to make a lot of money from freelancing.

Offline Methods: There are also hundreds of offline methods to make money where you can get payments very quickly. The methods or jobs are pet walking, online coaching, photography, tourist guide, food delivery, car washing, and many more.

Having skills, and knowledge about any field is very important as of now. In case you don’t have then find your interest and search for resources and master in your interest.

Final Words: Christmas is an amazing festival that millions of people celebrate with joy. On this day, people spend a lot of money to celebrate it but for the people who have a low-income job, it can be a problem for them. By following and executing the above-shared methods on how to save for Christmas, by these methods you can celebrate Christmas in the way you want.