While it can be challenging to set and stick to a budget for holiday gift shopping, that facet of the holiday budgeting is actually one of the easiest to estimate and track. While you may ideally want to splurge on a fantastic new bike for your child, there are many other options that will delight your child and help you stick to your overall gift-giving budget. We may not like the other options as well, but we do have choices that are easy to see and consider.
When it comes to other aspects of this holiday season, there are many expenditures that sneak up on your bank account. The focus of this blog post from the team at FUTURES is to shed some light on seven big holiday budget drainers. From events to logistics, it can all add up to ultimately big subtractions from your already-strained December monthly budget.
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These invisible demands are easier than ever to miss these days. With the ability to quickly insert a credit card or hold your phone over the checkout kiosk, it’s easy to lose sight of the many out of-pocket expenses that happen over the holidays. The following Seven Surprise Costs can sneak right up on your budget if you aren’t mindful, so let’s explore each one. Check the Try This! alternate ideas for each, too.
1: That FREE Event is Far from Free
There’s a free concert at the park.
Ice skating is free on Tuesdays from 4 until 6.
The mall is offering a free chance for your kids to sit on Santa’s knee.
The local paper has a map showing six different free tree-lighting events this weekend.
Your office group isn’t going out for drinks this year; to save money, everyone’s baking cookies and you’ll celebrate in the break room.
It’s great to take advantage of these festive holiday happenings to get in the spirit of the season. While each of these events is technically FREE, check out these potential hidden expenses.
Free Concert at the Park: The concert is free, but the hot chocolate for all six of you isn’t. At $3.00 a cup plus a little something to put in the vendor’s tip cup you’re down a $20-bill and the singing hasn’t even begun.
Try This: Plan head and pack a thermos and some paper cups. Host your own little hot chocolate picnic while you wait for the concert to begin.
Free Skate on Tuesdays from 4 until 6: Free Skate is great and you don’t need to pay to be on the ice, but the skate rental fee is still $6.00 per child and how can you not buy your thirsty kids a bottle of water? On the way home, you realize it is far too late to begin to cook dinner, and even with that coupon, the pizza set you back another $10.
Try This: Call ahead to confirm the price of skates. See if you can borrow some. Free Skate Night is a great night to pop some taco fixings in the crock pot to be sure there’s a warm and economical dinner waiting for your hungry little skaters when you get home.
Santa’s Knee is Free: While Santa’s knee may be free, the photo isn’t. It’s a lot of pressure to choose the smallest photo package or to resist that fancy frame Grandma would love. Even a free visit with Santa and a quick photo on your cell phone can be costly if you yield to the temptation to see your child’s sweet face on a mug.
Try This: If a visit to Santa is super important, try going early to avoid the lines. This can help you get in and out more quickly, making temptations easier to avoid. Consider that coffee mug; what matters is your child’s sweet face, not Santa’s. Why not wait until after the holidays to order a personalized coffee cup on sale?
Not-so Free Tree Lighting: Free tree-lighting isn’t free when there’s a fee to get you there. The events are free, but transportation for such adventures can be pricey. Even buses and commuter trains can be expensive. Depending upon where the events are located and how familiar you are with the areas, you might end up making less economical choices than you might in your own more familiar neighborhood.
Try This: Scope out the neighborhood and know the public transportation schedules, keeping in mind that holiday schedules can be different. Also, check out your preferred transportation methods. Some trains offer free transportation at certain hours and on holiday weekends. You might also invite another family, carpool, and share the price of parking. That thermos and those pre-packed snacks from home can do wonders for keeping your holiday budget intact.
Costly Cookies: Cookies in the break room cost money, too. While you’re not spending on drinks for yourself and/or colleagues, making cookies can still be pricey. The ingredients and the time can add up. If you opt to make a fragile creation, you might further decide that the less-expensive train is out that day and decide instead to drive and instead to protect and transport your culinary creations. When you add in the $25/day for parking near your office to your ingredients list, those are some very expensive cookies.
Try This: Keep in mind that everyone will be bringing treats and even your hungry colleagues can only consume so much. Instead of giving up one night to bake and another to decorate, why not budget your time and finances differently? Research a bakery near the office. Request that they whip up a dozen fun or fancy cupcakes that you can swing by and pick up just as you head into the office on cookie day. These cupcakes are sure to cost less money, they’ll look wonderful, and you can still hop on the train to get to the office. You just might be the hit of the celebration with those sea-salt caramel cupcakes you only had to buy and pay for! Worried about showing up with only a dozen? Think quality, not quantity. Cupcakes are easy to share, too. Why not cut a few in half as you unbox your contributions. Besides, store-bought or home-made, cupcakes are never calorie-free and this approach lets everyone savor a taste!
2: Park the Hurried Angels Pay
Parking at malls may be free, but those dings to your bumper are anything but. In a hurry? Stayed too long at the store and got a ticket? Forget your commuter pass and had to pay extra? Even public transportation costs add up. When you consider the hidden costs of a few phone clicks away from a private car service like Uber or Lyft, the dents in your budget start to grow even bigger.
Try This: Add a “commuting” allowance to your budget to avoid these surprises. Keep an extra few dollars tucked away for quick transportation emergencies. Since it’s often easier to drive to do your shopping, why not plan to shop with a friend, share the cost of gas, and alternate to lighten the transportation burden on each of you. Lastly, try ordering online to save yourself all this extra expense. Just be sure to confirm the shipping terms and return policy to avoid surprises later.
3: Did You Want Fries with That Gift?
Shopper’s Paradise is often an elusive feeling during the holidays. It’s easy to find yourself momentarily delighted with that clearance coat for Uncle Max that is exactly his size. Two minutes later, you’re at the end of a very long line. When it’s finally your turn, they’re out of register tape, they’re out of boxes, and your coupon is expired! As your head starts to swirl, you remember you forgot to eat lunch. While the coat was budgeted on your gift-giving list, the fast-food snack you were too hungry to resist wasn’t.
Try This: Remember to stock your pockets with quick, nourishing snacks. Keep coupons on your phone, and save boxes in the back of the closet so you won’t need to stand in a second line or dash out to buy a box right before you see Uncle Max!
4: It’s a Wrap
While we painstakingly budget for the gifts we need to purchase for others, it’s easy to overlook the trimming for these gifts. The price of wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, tape, and tissue can swiftly swell to a very real number. On top of that, if gifts must be mailed, postage is often a further surprise to your budget.
Try This: At the end of this holiday season, why not stock up and stash away some much-discounted wrapping paper and other clearance-priced supplies for next season? As for postage, if you can order and ship directly from an online store, you might come out ahead, especially if stores are offering free shipping at the holidays. Many online stores also permit a free gift message, even if wrapping is extra.
5: Table for Six
Actual celebration days can be full of both stress and hidden costs. While it is difficult for some to avoid the stresses that can come with extended family visits and celebrations at the holidays, the hidden costs related to hosting major family meals is often a surprise to your budget’s bottom line. Even when everyone brings a covered dish, there are extra hidden costs associated with having the event in your home. From extra household supplies to more food and drinks than usual, entertaining costs add up. If it’s your turn to host this holiday season, be sure to include the foods, supplies, and any clean-up costs on your holiday planning budget. If the celebration is at another family member’s home this season, you still need to budget for gasoline or other travel expenses, the cost of ingredients in your covered dish or dessert, and even the cost of an oversized heavy-duty foil pan.
Try This: Come up with a crafty, inexpensive way to decorate the table. If you’re planning on place cards, opt for something simple and inexpensive like writing names on hand-cut paper snowflakes. If you need to prepare the main course, shop ahead and look for sales. When others ask what they can bring, suggest that in addition to their food contributions, everyone bring some soft drinks, someone else bring a big bag of ice, and another guest brings some disposable paper goods. This approach helps better distribute the hidden costs of hosting an event in your home. And of course, when it’s time to clean up and your guests offer to help, say yes!
6: Many Unhappy Returns
Did you ever forgot you bought a gift only to discover after the holidays, hidden in the back of the closet? What about that extra-small reindeer sweater your great aunt thought would surely fit you? While her sense of your size might be flattering, a store credit or the chance to exchange this for something you’ll truly wear, is likely more appealing. If the gift you wish to return was purchased online, be mindful of their return shipping policies. It could cost you more to return that reindeer sweater than you realize. While stores are often generous with return and exchange windows at the holidays, many policies have hidden costs like shipping fees, restocking fees, and a no refund policy.
Try This: When it comes to making returns, stay organized and be prompt. Keep gift receipts with the items and head off to make your returns as soon as possible. The sooner you return or exchange your purchases and gifts, the more accommodating stores are likely to be. If you can only return for an in-store credit, keep track of this found money, note the credit’s expiration date, and tuck these credits in a safe place. If you find yourself stranded in a long return line, try to be understanding. Kindness goes a long way. Before heading into the return line, check through the store to find another of the item you wish to return or exchange. This makes it easy for the cashier to make your return. Your thoughtfulness might just gain you a full refund.
7: Getting Carded!
Last but not least, a major holiday expense that it’s easy to overlook is the cost of creating or choosing, printing or buying, and mailing a long list of holiday greeting cards. Custom-designed family photo holiday cards, for example, may be a tradition or seen as expected in your family, but these photo-and-foil style holiday greeting cards can be very expensive. Stop to consider not only the cost of the card itself, but also the price to include extra envelopes, mailing and return labels, and of course, the postage. These cards are often oversized, hiking up the postage costs even more.
Try This: Instead of opting for a fancy photo holiday greeting card this year, why not consider approaching this tradition differently? What if you crafted a lovely email and attached a family photo, taking the time to personally connect individually with recipients, asking how their family is faring this year, and perhaps even begin a true exchange? You might also be on the lookout for seasonal specials on blank cards, stock up on a few different designs, and then tuck in a home-printed photo of the kids. Lastly, consider sending e-cards this year. There are lots of fun and animated greetings that are sure to delight recipients, without straining your wallet.
FUTURES™ is Always FREE!
As you work to tackle your hidden holiday expenses, remember to check out the one financial literacy program that truly is 100% FREE—every day! FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is the FREE, groundbreaking Financial Literacy Program that has 29 different sections across four instructional strands: Personal Finance, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and of course, Investing. Each section begins with a detailed ready-to-use planning guide and is brimming with handouts and resources—including worksheets, charts, and other handy tools. Who knows? There might be someone on your list who would love to receive this program as a gift!
Early next week, look for Post 4, where we will share with you how to Give a Gift for the Future: Stock up on Learning during this holiday season. Until then, when it comes to hidden costs, keep your eyes open and your wallet closed!