The holiday seasons crop up at various points throughout the year. Christmas is the biggest, but Easter, Halloween, and many other important festivals all need to be celebrated as well. And when you’re raising a family, that’s an expensive schedule to face down!
After all, you’ve got a lot of gifts and food to buy, as well as decorations and fun experiences. If you’re not careful, you can blow through a year’s worth of income in a matter of days. And that’s why it’s a good idea to save smartly for the holidays; here are some ideas to get you started.

Figure Out How Long You’ve Got
If the holidays are coming, work out right now how long you’ve got until the day hits. You’ll need to know ahead of time as some occasions can change – so many frustrated parents are out there wondering why does Easter change every year and you don’t want to be in the same boat! Once you’re aware of how many working weeks you’ve got left, you can make an estimate about the money coming in and how much you can funnel towards the holiday budget.
Put Away All Spare Change
Any spare change you get in the run up towards a holiday? Put it in the savings jar. This way, not only will you have the money you’re actively trying to save, but a top up here and there as well. This will help you reach your budget goal much faster, and even go over it in some cases! An extra $10 to $20 would be perfect for Christmas this year!
Watch for Sales Periods
If there’s a sale going on, grab the bargains while you can. However, you’ll need to know when these sales are likely to happen and how long for. In the run up to holiday seasons, or holiday events, you can bet discounts will start flying between a month and 2 weeks before.
Check on social media regularly – you may find new codes being released on a daily basis. And you can also bet that a lot of discounted stock will be put out just afterwards as well. Take advantage of these prices, as they’ll ensure you don’t have to spend as much next year!
Get Your Budget Out in Cash
Now you’ve saved all your money, get to spending it! But to make sure you don’t go over budget, get the money you saved out in cash and only use that for the holiday purchases. Get it all out at once, get it in your purse, and make sure you never reach for your card.
Of course, if you want to shop online-only, you might be able to set a ‘spending limit’ on your card which’ll also prevent you from going over your budget amount. Experiment around and see what works for you.
Saving for the holidays is a hard job. However, if you start early enough and try small savings tricks, you’ll be fine!