Don’t Suffer From Holiday Shopping Fatigue in Illinois; 5 Tips to Avoid Overspending

The holidays in Illinois bring frosty fun, festive lights, and unfortunately, the temptation to overspend. With thoughtful planning, you can enjoy the season without stretching your wallet too thin.

Holiday Shopping Stress

Some people finished their holiday shopping and wrapping long ago, and others, (like myself), are still in the thick of it and getting SUPER stressed out.

Every year I tell myself that I will begin my Christmas shopping earlier next year, and every year life happens and that plan becomes total garbage.

Just last night my husband and I sat down to finish holiday shopping for our kids, and after spending way more money than I care to talk about, I wake up and realize I still have several more people I need to buy for.

Ways to Avoid Overspending During the Holiday Season

Here's another truth about me, I do most of my shopping online because I am a horrible impulse buyer. Shopping online at local or national stores tends to help me stick to a budget, but even then I need help to keep me on track!

Apparently, shopping fatigue is a real thing many people suffer from each holiday season, and here are some tips from Fox2NOW   to avoid falling victim to it:

1. Set a Strict Budget - Look at how much you spent last year, and then set a budget for different categories like gifts, decorations, parties, and travel.
2. Avoid "Spaving" - In case you are unfamiliar with the term "spaving", it basically means spending more to save more. Example; when stores offer free shipping after your spend a certain amount. This usually leads to more needless spending and impulse buying.
3. Pay With Cash - Handing over big wads of cash tends to hurt more than putting it on a credit card that you can pay for later, so paying with cash makes you more aware of how much you are spending.
4. Take a Break From Social Media - If you stay off social media for a bit you won't be bombarded with ads that make you want to buy things you don't need and don't really want. (you also won't have to see all the cool things other people are buying that make you jealous. LOL)
5. Create Shopping Hurdles - Sometimes little things like not saving your credit card info on a store's website will make you reconsider your buying decision and ultimately save you money.

Here's one more fact about holiday shopping in Illinois; shipping deadlines for Christmas delivery are almost here, so that means last-minute shopping will have to be done IN stores. To avoid panic and impulse buying, you might want to check out these shopping tips from Bank of America.

Good luck, and happy shopping, friends!