Make a Payment Rates About Careers Contact Locations

5 Steps To A Better Family Holiday Budget

December 3, 2018 Want to get your family on the same page with holiday spending? Set expectations now! Have your loved ones been dropping gift ideas into their Amazon wishlist since August? Or helpfully leaving earmarked copies of catalogs and store flyers where you’ll be sure to see them? If you’re beginning to feel your family’s idea of a perfect holiday might not match up with your determination to keep your budget in check, it’s time to sit down and have “The Talk.” Here’s a five-step plan that can make it nearly painless — and maybe even a little fun! Whip up mugs of hot chocolate, put on some holiday music and invite the gang to gather round.

Step 1: Have each person share a favorite holiday memory.

Sure, their best memory could be the time they found the Xbox under the tree, but we’ll go out on a limb and guess it won’t be. This is a fun way to set the mood for a more meaningful discussion and you can even add memories of your own childhood — or your parents’ or grandparents’.

Step 2: Introduce the idea of experiences vs. stuff.

Use the power of those memories to start a discussion about the real meaning of the holiday: getting together with people you love. We’re not saying getting or giving fancy gifts can’t be fun, but help your family appreciate the holidays on a deeper level. And maybe even ask them what they got for Christmas last year. Sure, there might have been a standout gift they remember immediately — but they could just as easily draw a blank.

Step 3: Talk about the importance of having a family budget.

How you tackle this will depend on your kids’ ages and how familiar they are with the concept of budgets. If they’re pretty young, you might need to say Santa’s sleigh can only hold so much. But if your kids are older, discuss how the holidays have to fit the budget, just like food and the phone bill. And how spending too much now might make it hard to pay your bills or mean your family can’t afford something else like a vacation or getting help with college. If your kids are old enough, consider including some real dollar figures to help them see what you’ll need to cover in the coming weeks.

Step 4: Have each person share a gift or two they’d really like and why.

Hopefully Steps 1-3 will help them keep your budget in mind!

Step 5: Brainstorm inexpensive or free ways to make the holidays fun.

End your discussion by having everyone share some fun ways they’d like to enjoy each other’s company over the coming weeks. Cookie making, sledding, checking out the neighborhood lights and binge watching Christmas specials are free or very inexpensive and are almost guaranteed to add to their holiday memory list. Will this solve all your budget-related holiday challenges? We can’t promise that! But it’s a good place to start and, even better, you’ll be doing it with the people you love most. You might also be interested in Financial success isn’t how much money you have — it’s feeling good about what you’re doing with the money you have. Here are some tips on how to prioritize your debts and bills, negotiate with creditors and get your late payments back on solid ground. Even in these challenging times, there's  whole lot of good happening! At Summit, we've always believed financial success happens together and that's been truer than ever this past month. Here's what "together" has meant for our community. Navigating finances after college is hard, but you can take it one lesson at a time. Get tips for managing money and paying off student debt after graduation. Navigating finances after college is hard, but you can take it one lesson at a time. Get tips for managing money and paying off student debt after graduation. If you’re not sure if something is a scam, it’s ALWAYS better to act like it could be! Fraudsters are always coming up with creative new ways to steal from you and quick to take advantage of a crisis. Here are some of the most popular recent scams to watch for. With a little planning, you may be able to actually save a little money during the holidays. Check out these tips to keep costs down without missing out on the holiday fun. Some scams go right for your money; others try to get you to part with personal information – like account numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords, and personal identification numbers (PINs). Find out what you should look for and how to protect yourself. The holidays can be stressful & that’s why it’s important to prioritize your self-care. Use these tips to reduce stress without draining your bank account. Your home is your castle, your refuge and—let’s face it—a place where it can be very easy to sink a big chunk of money. Which is why you’re always on the lookout for “sweet spots”:  those home improvements that add comfort, safety or a little zing of style while you’re living in your house and will boost the asking price when it’s time to sell. And if you can find a way to save money on those improvements or cut home expenses at the same time, well that sweet spot just got a little sweeter! Featured Products Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Financial Education Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts About Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Help & Support Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Please read the following before proceeding to: The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. The content of this third-party site, including materials and information, is solely the responsibility of the provider of the site. The Credit Union is not responsible for any such third-party content. Any transactions that you enter into with a vendor, merchant or other party that you access through this third-party site are solely between you and that vendor, merchant or other party. The Credit Union does not endorse the content contained in this third-party site, nor the organization publishing the site, and hereby disclaims any responsibility for such content. The Credit Union Privacy Policy does not apply to this third-party site, and for further information you should consult the privacy disclosures of the third-party site. NCUA Insurance Estimator Privacy, Security & Accessibility Rates, Fees, Terms & Disclosures Routing Number *  The Wisconsin's #1 Mortgage Lender designation is based on the number of loans in 2022, gathered from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data compiled annually by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The results of the data were obtained through the LEI: 254900NTAC4H10MGSU23 **  SBA Lender of the Year Award for Credit Unions as awarded by the Small Business Administration of Wisconsin in 2023. Copyright 2024 © Summit Credit Union. All rights reserved. If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website, please call 608-243-5000 for assistance. Insured by NCUA