Holiday Planning in July Is a Real Activity

Christmas in July PDF

Maybe watching holidays movies in July is bit much for some people, however it should remind you that planning now will make the holidays less stressful from a financial perspective. There is no written rule that you can’t start holiday planning and maybe even shopping in July. Plus, starting early means you are very likely to avoid a financial crunch versus waiting until Black Friday to begin formulating a plan. Plus, who doesn’t like to have holiday cheer more than 1 month per year.

What is a good starting point for holiday planning in July?
Start with determining what all of your expenses will likely be for the holidays. If you are traveling in November and December and perhaps also hosting, you might have significant expenses even before you start buying gifts. For those traveling the first time with kids, there will be even more expenses. If you have pets then you need to figure all of that out. Finally, make a very good list of who all needs gifts and don’t forget teachers and other people who might be new to your list this year. From your list, allocate a potential amount for each item so that you can arrive at a total cost for the holidays.

After getting this total cost for the holidays what should be the next step?
First, decide if you are willing to spend that much on the holidays. If you are not, go over the list and find ways to reduce costs so that you have a number that is reasonable given your current financial situation. Once you have your proposed total cost decide how you will find the funds for the holidays. It might be savings a little every week, there are 18 weeks until Thanksgiving, or perhaps you will want to start a side hustle or become a gig worker to earn a little extra to use for the holidays. One you have the costs and funding figured out you can move the next step.

What are other steps that we can complete in July to be better prepared for the holiday?
One is start narrowing down gift ideas for each person on your list to perhaps 2 – 3 for each person. Then you can make sure your ideas will fit into your budget that you have allocated for that person. After you have ideas, start researching where will be the best place to purchase items and then start looking for sales or discounts on those items. A good idea is to sign up for emails or become an “insider” so that you can get special deals or first opportunities for sale items. Another reason to do this early is perhaps you want to get someone a summer item, it will be much easier to find now than in December and perhaps even less expensive.

What are other reasons that buying early is a good idea for the holidays?
If you have checked the return policies you might be able to get the item you want and then if it goes on sale, return it and buy it cheaper. Another reason to start buying early is that you can spread out the costs of the holiday over 5 – 6 months rather than just a month so you might be able to pay for more of the holidays out of your regular monthly cash flow. And if you are making a holiday gift, starting now might mean you will actually make the gift instead of giving up because you don’t have time to finish. This situation often leads to overspending on the gift you decide to purchase.