7 Ways to Avoid Financial Stress Over the Holidays

In US News and World Report, Simon Constable lists some ways to save cash over the holidays. Here’s a sample:

Leave your credit card at home.

“Spend actual physical cash,” says Eddy Elfenbein, author of the Crossing Wall Street financial blog. “When you are turning over something you can touch, it sends a message to your brain,” he says. “It might sound ridiculous, but it works.” Better still, when the cash is spent, it is spent. It becomes very clear when you have reached your limit. If you allocate $500 for gifts and knick-knacks, call it a day when your stash gets close to zero.

Set a time deadline.

Elfenbein also advocates having a deadline by which point all the shopping should be complete. “Think of gift buying as akin to stock investing, as a business,” he says. “You need a clinical approach.” Setting a time limit is part of that business-like tactic, and helps avoid last-minute impulse purchases. To some people, that method might seem to take the joy out of the season. But when it comes down to it, doing otherwise might cause financial hardship, taking the pleasure out of other parts of your life.

Posted by on October 5th, 2016 at 2:08 pm


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