Hi, I’m Stephanie and I’m a chronic procrastinator. In fact, my goal for 2018 was to procrastinate less and really commit to my blog.  Yes, I procrastinated that goal too (this is only 30% funny and 70% really embarrassing).

This was the first year that I didn’t procrastinate on buying Christmas gifts. I started in September and I have a goal (fingers crossed I’ll achieve this one) to be done by the first week in December.

If you’re wondering why I chose to start early and why you should start, go ahead and keep reading.

There’s life to be lived before/ after Christmas

In the past I’ve spent almost all of my December paychecks on Christmas gifts. This left me with little money to do other things that I wanted to do to celebrate the holiday season. It would also leave me with little money to spend after Christmas had came and went. I’d head back to my college town with bags full of leftover Christmas dinner, meats out of my parent’s deep freezer, etc. because I wouldn’t want to spend too much money at the grocery store until I got paid again (I know for a fact, I’m not alone in this one).

This year is my first year as a salaried adult and I’ll be frank, ya girl only gets paid once a month. I’ll get paid right before Christmas and I won’t get paid again for another six weeks (whew chile). That being said, by shopping early I’ve also set a goal to not spend any of my December paycheck on anything related to Christmas. Planning and shopping early can really help all my paycheck budgeters out there.  Speaking from experience, especially for my college students, don’t spend your whole December paycheck(s) on Christmas gifts.

Reclaiming my time

I love the holiday season. I love snuggling up on the couch, drinking hot chocolate, and watching the same Christmas movies over and over. I do significantly less of that when I’m standing in long lines or scrolling online trying to buy Christmas gifts. This year I decided to eliminate the stress and just start shopping earlier. Just think,instead of waiting in that extremely long (it’s actually ridiculous how long it is) Pandora line, you can be listening to John Legend’s new Christmas album and watching the Grinch for the millionth time.

Saving money

You already know I’m not into paying full price so starting early helps me keep an eye on when certain potential gifts go on sale. The more time between you and Christmas, the more potential sales can pop up. For example, I purchased two gifts during the Kate Spade surprise sale in September and both gifts were 70% off. In October during an Indigenous People’s Day sale (because I don’t rock with Columbus) I purchased an appliance for a family member at 60% off the original price.

Here’s the tea sis, half of the sales you see closer to Christmas aren’t really good sales, you’re just stressed and desperate to find a gift. Companies know that people are drawn to sale signs so they put big-ticket items on “sale” when in reality you probably could’ve gotten that item for cheaper a few weeks before.

Planning and starting your Christmas shopping early can eliminate wasted time and money but it can also help you go into the holiday season stress-free. If you know you’re still going to procrastinate just slide over to my tips and tricks for last-minute holiday shopping here.