Christmas is an expensive season and no one can deny that, but how much does a person really spend during Christmas? It’s a hard question to answer, as many of us don’t know for sure how much we spend during the year. This way, calculating how much we are actually spending during Christmas is a real challenge.
A social experiment on Christmas spending revealed only 16% of consumers and shoppers could remember just how much they had spent not two minutes before. In less than five minutes, more than 90 percent of people just forgot the sum of money!
In North America, every family with children under the age of 18 will spend between $1000 and $3,000 every Christmas. Or course, children are high-maintenance year-round, but presents can be incredibly expensive during this time of the year.
Still, there are some tips you can follow to keep your expenses to a minimum. The first one (and probably the most important one, even if it sounds a bit obvious) is to use a budget. This way, you can keep things under control much more easily.
The second tip is to slash your gift list, as harsh as it may sound. Try to get your different groups, like family and friends, to agree not to give any presents to each other this year. Or, better yet, organize a Secret Santa in each group. This way, everyone gets a present, but you don’t have to buy every single person a gift.
There are always ways to save money in this expensive season, just think outside the box and you’ll find wonderful ideas all around!