Guide to Offset Holiday Inflation

Hard to believe the holidays are here. Personally, it snuck up on my family and while I could start to panic, I won’t. This year, the key is not panicking. With inflation on food, supplies, travel to name a few, being focused is important. In this blog, I’ll share some of my family tricks to help offset the holiday increasing prices and inflation.

1. Evaluate what all of your holiday expenses will be. Think big: gifts, holiday meals and treats, travel, decorations, holiday cards (printing + shipping), etc.
2. Prep your holiday meal/gift list and shop early. List all the ingredients and gifts to buy. I strongly suggest assessing the items to buy early. This allows for the extra expenses to be spread out over time.
3. Limit the number of foods served at the holidays. At my house, we love trying new holiday recipes. That can be pricey and the recipe could be a flop. (It actually happened a few years ago). We learned and will be only be making the tried & true favorite recipes.

1. Look for deals. Whether it be online, magazines, mail, sales will be everywhere. Check out cash back options for stores you frequently shop at.
2. Stack your discounts. Use online shopping portals plus credit card rewards to maximize your savings.
3. Snap a picture of your receipts. There are many apps that send you gift cards for stores of your choice (Walmart, Amazon & Target for starters). For example, Fetch and Ibotta are popular apps.

1. Opt out of cooking the traditional turkey and consider a whole chicken or ham instead. As a matter of fact, the cost of turkeys will be up 73% from last year and they will be harder to find this year.
2. Get a smaller Christmas tree. In fact, tree prices are expected to increase 5%-15% this year.
3. Reduce your travel costs. Hence, work with flexible travel dates to reduce expenses during peak days. Stay with family or friends versus staying at a hotel or Air BnB.

I am here to remind you that the holidays are a time to be with family and friends. If your year has been half as crazy as mine, being with the ones you love should be more important than the money you spend on them this holiday season. Spend smartly and enjoy.

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