The holidays are a fun time of year, but they can also be expensive. There’s pressure to spend everywhere on gifts, decorations and food. The holidays can be a lot of fun, until you get your credit card statement in the mail in January and are shocked to find out how much you spent. Not only can this set you back financially, it may cause you to reduce the amount you were planning to contribute to your child’s RESP. Don’t let this happen to you.

Here are some simple ways to save money during the holidays to keep your child’s RESP fund on track.

Planning Ahead
Don’t wait until the very last moment to shop for the holidays. By planning ahead, you can avoid those last minute shopping trips to the mall where you’ll likely to pay top dollar for gifts. Make a list of presents with loved ones well in advance. If you’re really organized, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start talking about what everyone wants.

Once you know the gifts you’re going to pick up, you can keep an eye on advertisement flyers leading up to the holidays. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are dates you should have circled on your calendar. On those dates you can snag some great deals on gifts for the holidays. It’s a lot better than waiting until Christmas eve when all the good gifts are likely already sold out.

Don’t forget to request gift receipts for any gifts that you purchase. That way if any clothing doesn’t fit, it can be returned or exchanged.

Host a Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Do you have a big family? Instead of purchasing gifts for everyone and spending a lot, why not host a Secret Santa gift exchange? If you’re not familiar with a Secret Santa gift exchange, here’s the premise. You write everybody’s name on pieces of paper and put them in a Santa hat for a random draw. Whoever’s name you pull out of the hat, you must buy a present for them. However, what’s secret about it is that you don’t put your name on the gift you give.

Hosting a Secret Santa is an affordable way to give holiday gifts. You can set a spending limit of $20 to avoid spending too much.

Host a Holiday Potluck
Who said you have to give gifts over the holidays? Why not host a holiday get together with family and friends? But I know what you’re thinking; organizing a holiday get together is a lot of work, especially if you have a large extended family.

To help share the responsibility, you can host a holiday potluck instead where each family member brings their own dish. Just make sure you figure out who’s going to bring what, otherwise you could end up with everyone bringing mashed potatoes to the potluck.

These are just a few simple ways to cut back on spending and still have enough money left over to provide your child with a brighter future via their RESP. Wishing your family and you a happy holiday season this year!