November is Financial Literacy Month but it can be a fiscally taxing time of year as holiday shopping hits full gear. Avai Kochanoff is a certified financial planner who says maintaining a holiday budget is stressful but you can stick to it by following a few simple steps. “Christmas in retail land starts like September,” Kochanoff says. “You’re just feeling it all around you.” Kochanoff says it can be hard to escape the pressure to spend. “The Black Friday sales, the Cyber Monday sales, so you’re feeling this pressure online,” she says. “It’s hard to tune it out. It makes people feel very anxious.” Preparation is key to keeping a budget says Kochanoff. “Have the conversation with your families,” she says. “If you come from a big family, do a lottery.” Kochanoff says everyone has the same financial concerns so having communication can temper expectations and bring down the stress. “The other thing is… set the budget. So many people don’t.” Even people who Christmas shop year-round forget to keep track of what they spend, Kochanoff says. “So they keep buying and buying and then when they come to Christmas, they’ve got a surplus,” she says. For her clients, Kochanoff sets a budget that includes the shopping, food, alcohol, decorations, travel and even New Year’s celebrations. She says people who follow the budget come through the holidays “a lot smoother” than the ones who don’t, even if it sounds boring. “A lot of my clients also budget all year long,” Kochanoff says. “So, if Christmas is like a $3,000 event, then you know that every month that’s $250 that you put aside.” When you do go shopping, Kochanoff recommends bringing cash so you only spend what you bring. “Some of my clients go to cash for all of Christmas,” she says. “What you have is what you spend.” If you’re feeling anxious and you’re overspending, Kochanoff says you can still prepare for the future. “Just make sure to keep track so that you know what Christmas does look like so that you can plan for next year.”
