Expert tips to make the winter holidays easier on your wallet

(InvestigateTV) — Shoppers spent more than $957 billion on 2023 winter holidays, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Leslie Tayne, a debt relief attorney, said it’s never too early to start thinking about and budgeting for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah – especially when it comes to travel.

She said consumers can track flights up to a year ahead of time. Those who know they will be traveling over the winter holidays should start researching flights now.

“If you’re just going to travel haphazardly and you’re not aware of what the costs are and you’re just going to wait until the last minute you may pay exorbitant prices and you could end up getting bumped from flights if you’re on lesser expensive airlines where your seats aren’t guaranteed,” Tayne said.

She said Thanksgiving can be challenging because families have all different types of expectations. And with food prices still high, looking for ways to cut back is a must.

“And the fall is a great time to actually go pick your own foods. There’s a lot of harvesting going on in different parts of the country,” Tayne noted. “So, if you’re lucky enough to be an area with farm availability you can even go pick some of your own vegetables to use over the holidays.”

She encouraged people to watch the sales at grocery stores and to go ahead and stock up on pantry items that will be needed in November.

Green beans, cranberry sauce, and stuffing often go on sale in the weeks leading up to a winter holiday. Be sure to keep an eye out for these sales on non-perishable food items. This will help ease the hit on wallet when the big day arrives.

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