By Canney Savanney Every holiday, people seem to be more and more inclined to participate in the vanity of gift giving. If you are still into the whole “going to the store” you will find yourself amongst sparse crowds. Most days, majority of the traffic you will be fighting is online in bidding ...

By Canney Savanney

Every holiday, people seem to be more and more inclined to participate in the vanity of gift giving. If you are still into the whole “going to the store” you will find yourself amongst sparse crowds. Most days, majority of the traffic you will be fighting is online in bidding wars to get the best deal on items like a new PS4 for your family. Insights show this past Cyber Monday was the most successful since it launched.

We are society that loves to have that information available in 3.5 seconds with the hottest gagets such as new phones, iPads, etc. Those gifts come with a hefty price tag though, and unless you are racking in serious dough you most likely do not have a couple hundred dollars lying around. So, it’s time to make sacrifices for the ones we love to save some change. Don’t worry, it is usually temporary.

1) Cut back on the Coffee Runs
Yes, as one of the biggest coffee lovers around I cannot believe I am saying this. Coffee costs can seriously rack up quicker than you like for that extra foam on a latte or mocha. But with an average medium luxury coffee costing $4.15 before tax and you find yourself going to a local coffee house 3-4 times a week, it can rapidly add up. Cutting back on going out for coffee for about 3 months could save you roughly $150. Think of what you could do with that money?

2) Save the Change
If you are one of the few select people who still chooses to handle cash than this tip is for you. Instead of trying to dump all your change on the counter for the cashier to handle, save those pennies! Go up in the attic and dig out that old piggy bank. Start building up that spare change. Once it is full, let your kids or grandkids count it instead of taking it in and losing a percentage of the profit to a machine or bank. Make it a fun rainy afternoon project amongst the family. Chances are when the holidays come around, they are going to be asking for some help spotting the presents they are trying to buy anyways.

3) Direct Deposit
If when pay day comes around and you are feeling like a queen being able to flash that cash maybe you should instead look into setting up a direct deposit account. Most companies already have this procedure implemented into their system when hiring new staff members. One thing you can ask at any time is to have the check broken down into being stored into various accounts. Ask to have about 5-10% of your check to go into what you call your holiday funds instead of 50% in checking and so on. If you start this early in new year, and do not touch this account until the holidays you will have enough to not look like a Scoorge during the season of giving.

No matter what method you try, just remember everything your Savvy Shopper has taught you all throughout the year of 2018 and you will be able to surely ring in the New Year with some new attainable goals. If you have something you would like to see covered in 2019 by your Savvy Shopper submit your request to submit@yourhwh.com and address your request to Savvy Shopper. On behalf of Your HWH, happy holidays and New Year’s!