Holiday Habits You Have To Break To Save More This Season

2 min read By eCompareMo on October 8, 2014

We still have less than 50 days before Christmas yet the spirit of the holidays is already in the air. Come first day of the “Ber” months, and the country turns to a four-month Yuletide fiesta. However, we have long-running traditions that actually hurt our budget. What are the practices we have to finally let go to save more for Christmas Day? Here are a few of them:

Read: (Noche Buena, Medianoche Hacks For Your Holiday Binge-Eating)

Hold the lights until December
Decorating the house with Christmas ornaments as early as September is one of the many activities we just love to do during the holiday season. While it is good to go with the trees, garlands, and wreaths, you may want to hold the Christmas lights until December—even if you’re using LED lamps. A 100-bulb string of incandescent Christmas lights can consume up to 40 watts, which it means it consumes the same electricity as a fluorescent light! To keep your power bills low before the holidays, unplug the lights for now and save all the glitz for December.

Shop your groceries in one swoop

Some of us tend to hoard Noche Buena items like spaghetti, all-purpose cream, and other Christmas groceries in small trips to the grocery. Although we spend less on these items today as opposed to buying them in December, you are actually shelling out more cash because of the frequent trips we do to the supermarket. Instead of going to the grocery a few times to stockpile Christmas items, just save the money until you have enough and buy them all in one big shopping spree. Also, credit card owners can definitely take advantage of this because you can accumulate more points if you spend more, rather than buying items piece by piece. With the savings and the points, you can accrue, trust us, the trip is worth it.

Read: (Grocery Shopping Tips To Ensure Maximum Savings)

Skip the holiday shopping splurge
Most of us are guilty of this, with our rationale being the only time to splurge for ourselves every year. Sometimes, it’s not bad to reward ourselves with the latest fashion trends once a year for all the hard work we did 364 days a year. However, avoiding the urge to buy expensive yet unnecessary clothing items solely for the Christmas season can save you thousands. Alternately, you can look for marked-down items in boutiques and factory outlets or scour thrift shops or your neighborhood ukay-ukay for budget-friendly yet fashionable clothes.

While Christmas season is the time of sharing and giving, this doesn’t mean that you should be splurging during the most expensive time of the year. Remember, there is no season when it comes to saving because it is more than just keeping a huge amount in your bank account; saving is a way of life.