Financial expert gives 10 money saving tips

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - With holidays around the corner, a Personal Finance Expert at TopCashback.com is giving you 10 money-saving tips.

TopCashback.com says the holiday season is less than three months away and it is ready to help you get ahead of the holiday madness.

Rebecca Gramuglia, Personal Finance Expert at Topcashback.com, said to help you prepare financially, and mentally, for the holidays, she is recommending the 10 following tips:

Determine how much you’re willing to spend on the holidays. Gramuglia said the holiday season can be stressful and expensive if a strategy is not in place. She said to ensure staying within budget, it is important to set up financial expectations and research items in advance. Se said while this holiday season may look different than it has in the past, it is still important to prepare. She said to make sure to calculate a budget by separating it into different categories like presents, food/decor and miscellaneous. She said to determine who to purchase gifts for and how much to spend on each person and then add everything up to get a gift budget. She said to not forget to determine budgets for each category and leave room in spending areas for additional costs and markups.
Cut unnecessary costs. Gramuglia said to make sure you know where your money is going. She said to take a look at monthly expenses and narrow down overspending to eliminate costs. She said to look at subscriptions, negotiate bills, stopping overspending and skipping take out are all good ways to save money. She said the savings can go toward funding holiday spending.
Implement a budget. Gramuglia said to save money, it is important to prioritize finances and limit spending. She said to consider adopting the 50/20/30 rule and to keep in mind rent or mortgages or any additional expenses like cable and electricity and to not spend more than 50% of your income on essentials, 20% on financial priorities and 30% on lifestyle choices.
Commit to a no spend month. Gramuglia said to consder putting more mone toward holida savngs by executing a no spend week or month. She said the key is to eliminate extra spending during a specific time frame. She said to limit spending to bare necessties like bills. She said to create a list of essesentials and avoid buying things that for a designated amount of time.
Set up weekly savings goals. Gramuglia said to count down how many weeks are left until the holidays and write down a set amount to save for each week. She said it can range from $50 to $100 or more and the goal is to save enough to cover holiday expenses by setting financial expectations and researching items in advance.
Shop smart. Gramuglia said it is important to plan large puchases ahead of time to make the most o a budget without compromising its quality. She said to puchase items agead of time during sales to not break the bank and not to forget maximizing savings by comparing prices, stacking coupons and shopping through cashback sites like Topcashback.com.
Pay in cash. Gramuglia said to avoid temptation, carry cash and limit yourself to a dollar amount to shop smatly. She said it is easy to limit costs when shopping with cash.
Start earning rewards now. Gramuglia said contrar to the cash only tip, to use credit wisely instead. She said to make sure to take advantage of rewards and put them in your bank account or use them during checkout while shopping online. She said to make sure to use the categories where you can earn the most rewards. She said it is important to weigh or options and make to be aware of all savings options.
Stop paying for convenience. Gramugia said paying for convenience might be beneficial at the time, but in reality, you are paying someone for something you can do for free. She said to look at food delivery services or purchasing pre cut produce and things that seem like a good deal but actually cost more. She said to save money by doing simple tasks and not paying others to do them for you.
Save change. Gramuglia said saving change is an easy way to build savings. She said to break a big bill and get smaller bills back and drop them in a jar at home. She said loose change will add up and can move into holiday funds.