The Ultimate Guide To Holiday Shopping On A Budget

Holidays are the happiest time of the year, but the fact that holiday shopping can wipe your pockets clean can turn the cheer into a whole lot of stress. How can you manage the expense of gifts, decorations, food, and travel for the holidays on a budget?

We will give you some practical tips that will help you during the holidays, as well as in planning for them before they arrive. We’ll also cover how you can secure a car title loan if you’re facing an emergency.

Start As Early As Possible

Don’t wait for the holidays to come around and shop at the eleventh hour; start buying gifts early. This way you won’t have to save a huge amount for the holiday season, and the expenses will be spread over the year instead of piling up for one occasion.

Download A Budgeting App

If you’re not good at saving and always blow up your budget, it’s time to start writing and maintaining a record of everything through a budgeting app. Mint and YNAB are two of the best budgeting apps out there and can help you save proactively for the holidays.

Pick A Side Hustle

Doing some part-time work, especially for a couple of months before the holiday season, can help you make an extra $1000 and even more per month (easily). There are so many to choose from including freelancing, online tutoring, driving for ridesharing and delivery apps, becoming a host with Airbnb, renting out your car, babysitting children and pets, becoming an affiliate marketer, and many, many more.

Swagbucks is also a great site to earn cash prizes and gift cards doing trivial, fun tasks that don’t require brain or muscle.

Look Around Your Home

Before you go out to shop, look around your own house for any new items still with tags on them that someone else might love as gifts. Also, look for old wrapping paper and decorations that you can recycle from past holidays. If not wrapping paper, you might even find a simple but classy alternative, like plain brown kraft paper which is inexpensive but still looks elegant. Search Pinterest for more ideas.

Make The Most Of Sales and Discounts

Spring on to whatever sales and discount offer you hear about, especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

Get Cashback On Shopping

Shop through sites that give your cashback on your purchases such as Rakuten (formerly Ebates) and TopCashback. You can earn up to 40% cash back at over 2500 stores through Ebates. If you haven’t already, go check it out; you’ll be amazed at how much money you can save.

Look For Budget-Friendly Gift Ideas

If you think all the good gifts out there are expensive ones, you’re mistaken. There are so many cool budget-friendly gift ideas out there under $50 and even $30. You just have to look up “budget-friendly gift ideas” online- a lot of these are unbelievable for the price!

Find The Store With The Lowest Price

You can usually get the same items at different prices from different stores, especially electronics and gadgets. So always compare prices of products (and similar ones) between different stores before you buy them because sometimes, the price differences are quite big.

Make Them Yourself

Consider giving handmade gifts to people you are close to, and who will treasure them more than ready-made gifts. You can even talk about your budget constraints with close friends and family and set mutual spending limits. They would rather not see you overspend on gifts for them and end up in a financial crisis.

How Southwest Title Loans Can Help During An Emergency

If you find yourself facing a financial emergency that is jeopardizing your holiday budget, considering a title loan can help you out of a tough spot. Title loans are short-term unsecured loans that allow you access to funds by offering the title to your vehicle as collateral. They’re fast, easy to apply for, and they only have a few requirements in order for you to secure one today. A car title loan come with a few benefits, which includes:

• We accept all kinds of credit, good and bad.
• Title loans are fast loans, and the money is transferred within a day.
• You can secure up to $15,000.
• You start your application online.
• You can keep your car during the loan period.

 

Securing A Title Loan

Securing a title loan is easy and begins with you filling out a short form found on our homepage. From there, the process will look like this:

1. You’ll receive a phone call from a representative who will schedule a time to have your vehicle inspected.
2. Your car will be inspected and you’ll find out how much money you’ll receive.
3. You’ll fill out some brief paperwork after providing your ID, the title, and your vehicle.
4. Your loan money will be dispersed!

And you’ll receive the money in your account within a day! You can use it to pay for emergencies like urgent repairs, travel, and medical bills. Holiday shopping can be stressful, which is why our online title loan process is easy to complete and fast. Remember, we’re here for you when you need it most. Start your application today. 

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.