5 Tips to Avoid Holiday Over Spending

15 days and counting. I have heard my son tell me almost daily how many days left until Christmas since about 59 days until Christmas. With the holidays coming, a lot of planning around what to get friends and family which can be very overwhelming and hard on our budgets. Don't get caught this year with the of guilt, remorse or the ‘holiday shopping hangover’. I have a few tips that may help.

Before I share my 5 tips for avoiding the Holiday Shopping Hangover I wanted to share some survey stats that were recently taken by Mobilicity.

58% of Canadians say they spend more than they should during the holidays
59% find themselves making impulse purchases.
Young Canadians (under 35), women and households with children are at the greatest risk of suffering from the ‘holiday shopping hangover.’
1 in 5 Canadians identify themselves as ‘binge shoppers’ saying their holiday shopping is a whirlwind activity that packs a lot into a short period of time.
Out of these ‘binge shoppers’, 71% say they tend to spend more than they should.
70% are not planning on using a variety of apps/features on their mobile phone to help with their holiday shopping, even amidst the growing number of apps that do everything from scanning product barcodes to locating retailers with the best prices to organizing store loyalty cards.
46% of young Canadians said they plan on using their mobile phones as their holiday shopping sidekick this season.

Now my tips on getting through the holiday spending and coming out feeling good amount your gifts to family and friends and your wallet will still love you!

1. Budget - This is the first and very most important step in avoiding the Holiday Shopping Hangover. I have learned this the hard way and now have another way that I shop for the Holidays. As we approach the gift giving season I figure out how much we can afford to spend without using credit. If you can, start saving at the beginning of the year and put the money into a jar or envelope marked for presents. I make a "budget" of how much we can spend based on our monthly budgets. Then I decide how much we will spend on each person on our list.

2. Plan - Make a list of who you will be shopping for this holiday season. Once you have your list jot down ideas of what each person likes. Keep this list with your budget and as you pick up presents check off your list.

3. Shop ahead - Shop over the year with sales. As great deals come up all year round it is a great way to save money but also get a great gift for your loved ones. Keep your eyes open for online coupon codes and sales.

4. Gift cards - I find another great idea for gifts are gift cards. We have a ton of people on our Holiday shopping list that are hard to buy for, mostly the adults in the family. They already have a lot of things and when asked usually don't want anything or can't decide what they would like. This is a great way to stay on a budget is to find out what store they like and go back to our list we made on how much we will spend. Head over to the store or online shop and pick up a gift card in that amount.

5. Homemade -Why not make gifts for your friends and family? Enlist the kids help to make hand painted picture frames, birdhouses, ornaments, bake goods in a jar, the list of ideas are endless. These are usually inexpensive gift ideas that are sure to please grandma, poppa, aunts and uncles, your babysitter, teachers, etc.

Looking at getting yourself, or family members a new cell phone for the Holidays? Check out Mobilicity for great unlimited wireless plans that are 50% off the regular rate for the holidays. For just $22.50 a month, you can get unlimited data, talk and text plus North American long-distance, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, three-way calling, voicemail, global text and 30 minutes of included North American voice roaming minutes a month. Unlimited monthly talk-and-text plans start at just $12.50 during the special sale.

Content courtesy of Mobilicity, Canada’s smart mobile carrier. Find out how to avoid a holiday shopping hangover and reduce your monthly spending all year round with unlimited data, talk and text, without contracts and hidden fees at Mobilicity.ca. Now that’s smart!