The holiday marketing blitz is on! Festive commercials, emails and text messages may put you in the holiday spirit but also affects your holiday budget. The continuous exposure to festive commercials, fantastic bargains or limited-edition gifts encourages you to spend money.
Marketing techniques trigger spending. During the holidays, retailers will group items together to create overspending. For example, a sweater will have a scarf displayed by it creating the need to buy both the sweater and the scarf. An electronic item, a television for example will have two models displayed beside each other. One television is a great model and the second one is superior and 30% more in cost. Often shoppers spend the additional 30% without realizing this is a spending trigger. This will quickly ruin your holiday budget. Be aware of this additional holiday triggers:
- Holiday music plays in the stores while you shop.
- Seasonal scents
- Gift sets
- Mark up prices and offer holiday coupons.
- “Back in stock”
- Bulk pricing – 2 for 1 deal
No matter which holidays you celebrate many feel pressured to make them perfect. Social media images of picture-perfect holidays can create unrealistic expectations that are impossible to live up to. It’s important to focus on what’s important to you and your family. Your decorations, your traditions, and your happiness are more important than photos posted on social media sites.
Make a list-check it twice. Create a holiday spending list. Include gifts, food, and holiday baking in your spending plan. Black Friday and Cyber Monday also may be spending triggers. Often, we forget we are buying gifts and will purchase items for ourselves. Stick to your gift list.
To effectively manage your money this holiday season, unsubscribe from marketing emails and text messages and be aware of holiday ad triggers. Nothing is a bargain if you do not need it, or it was not on the list. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Written by:
Beth Stefura, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension Mahoning County, stefura.2@osu.ed
Reviewed by: Margaret Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension Clermont County, jenkins.188@osu.edu
References
Dealing With Holiday Depression and Stress – Cleveland Clinic
Holiday Gatherings With Family: Tips for Holiday Stress and Anxiety (webmd.com)
Compulsive Spending: What You Need to Know | Psychology Today
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/five-step-spending-plan-avoid-holiday-debt/
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