The post-holiday season can be a chance to reset. While some people may focus on physical health, consider your financial health by
budgeting after the holidays. A financial diet could be, the key to renewing your financial health.
Luckily, working with a local financial institution like Camino can help you recuperate financially and put you on track to achieving your financial goals this year. Explore tips for post-holiday budgeting in our blog:
A Financial Diet: Tips for Budgeting After the Holidays
Assess Your Situation
Before you can start budgeting after the holidays, you must know where you stand. The holiday season could often be a blur with a flurry of expenses that are hard to track.
Review statements from loans and credit cards, and take necessities like rent, utilities, food, and gas into consideration. This is also the beginning of the year, so we advise evaluating your monthly income and short-term and long-term financial goals.
Don’t forget to set a target for when you’d like to pay off your debt. By assessing your situation, you will ensure that your budget aligns with your goals and needs. This should also include making a list of all debt:
- Amounts
- Payment due dates
- Minimum payment amounts
- Interest rates and other fees
Review, Redeem, and Return Items
Effective budgeting after the holidays can mean taking advantage of every savings opportunity. For example, if you used a cash-back rewards card for holiday expenses, redeem the perks you earned.
We also recommend looking at the gifts you received or those you purchased and held onto and determining what you will keep, exchange, and return, and don’t miss the return window. Missing out on this window could mean leaving money on the table.
Create a Post-Holiday Budget and Stick to It
The next tip is to plan for budgeting after the holidays by creating a post-holiday strategy and sticking to it. Start by giving yourself a monthly allowance.
Avoid the temptation of post-holiday deals and limit unnecessary spending as much as possible, which includes avoiding using credit cards, racking up more debt, and overextending your budget. Take advantage of things like discounts and coupons.
Still, realistically you can’t eliminate all spending. Give yourself some breathing room and determine a set amount for miscellaneous purchases and stick to it. Also, you could use tax returns and holiday bonuses wisely and start building an emergency savings fund.
Use HELOC or A Debt Consolidation Loan
A helpful tip for budgeting after the holidays is to take advantage of services from reputable financial institutions like Camino.
For example, Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) can enable you to borrow money against your home to pay off high-interest credit card debt, which reduces the interest you pay.
A debt consolidation loan can also be a great option. A debt consolidation loan combines debt from across different credit cards and loans to simplify payments and enable you to capitalize on the low interest rates and repay your loan on your terms.
Call Us to Learn More About How We Can Help with Budgeting After the Holidays with HELOC and Personal Loans
To learn more about how our personal loans and HELOCs can help with budgeting after the holidays, visit us at caminofcu.org or call us at 800-835-3400. Give yourself the gift of renewed financial health this holiday season, and contact us.