Budgeting Tips to Recuperate from the Holiday Season

The holidays are an amazing time to spend with family and friends, and to show others how much they mean to you through gift giving. While the season of joy is over, you might still be feeling the financial repercussions of spending in the last couple of months. Not to worry, as we’ve compiled a few budgeting tips to help everyone get back on track and recuperate from the holiday season!

Evaluate Your Monthly Spending

The first way to set yourself up for success if you’re trying to make a budget is to look at your spending habits in the past. Taking a look at previous bank statements and how much you spent on different categories such as food, personal items, outings, and other luxury purchases to determine how much you can realistically cut back on spending, or how much you want to!

Make A Detailed Calendar

Another tip in planning out a budget is to anticipate big events or things you have scheduled for the next few months. These will likely take a larger portion of your spending, so having them all written out can help you make a plan. Writing in everything you know you have coming up such as big dinners, family vacations, and back-to-school shopping can help you visualize what you’ll need to take into account when you allot your spending.

Try the 50/30/20 Rule

A popular budgeting technique is the 50/30/20 rule, which has proved successful for lots of people on a budget. The general idea is to split your income into three categories in which you’ll spend 50% on needs, 30% on things you want, and save the last 20% on savings or recuperation from the food, decorations, and presents you bought over the holidays. This can help you in the long run or the short term until you’ve reached your own personal goals for recuperation or savings. This divide is supposed to maximize your happiness and fulfillment in normal goods as well as necessities, however you can adjust it slightly depending on you and your family’s own specific needs.

Invest In More Efficient Home Systems

Aside from presents and cookies, a big expense this holiday season could have likely been your heating costs. Even though it’s inevitable over the holiday season to use more heat, having an efficient system could save you tons during the colder months and help you get back on track from your holiday spending. Furnaces and heat pumps that don’t have any damage will heat more of your home for the same amount of energy, and help you save on your energy bills in the long run. If you’re looking to continue budgeting in the future, the warmer months are a great time to save money as well with a high-efficiency air conditioner.

Check for Maintenance and Repair Needs

If you’re not quite ready to scrap your old appliance or have only had your HVAC system for a few years, a great way to save money and fit your energy needs into your budget is to schedule maintenance and repairs on your existing comfort systems. Cutting down on luxuries this winter to recuperate shouldn’t mean you have to live any less comfortably, and making sure your systems run efficiently is a great first step in eliminating extra costs for holidays to come. 

Contact Us

For any more information on repairs and maintenance for your current HVAC system or to inquire about a new system, you can visit our website or call us at 912-264-2159. Follow us on social media for more helpful home tips!