CINCINNATI — With Christmas 6 months away, financial educator Al Riddick says July is actually the ideal time to start planning holiday spending — not November.
Riddick, founder of Game Time Budgeting, said the earlier you plan for a future expense, the easier it is to reach your savings goal.
"If you typically spend, I don't know, let's just say $600 around Christmas time, wouldn't it be a lot easier to start saving $100 a month today rather than waiting until like, uh, the day after Thanksgiving," Riddick said.
He said waiting too long is one of the most common mistakes people make.
"We've wasted so much time and typically hitting financial goals like saving for Christmas, it's a lot easier the earlier you start," Riddick said.
His first recommendation is straightforward: count your money.
"Most people don't count their money today because we live in a very high tech society where all of these other technological advances are kind of counting your money for you, which is a very dangerous habit," Riddick said.
Once you know where your money stands, Riddick said the next step is opening a separate account dedicated solely to holiday savings. He said doing so not only eases cash flow pressure but also builds confidence.
"You're also going to increase your self-esteem because now you're planning in advance for a future expense that you know is going to happen," Riddick said.
For those wondering whether small contributions are worth it, Riddick said the math speaks for itself.
"$100 a month is $1,200 a year," Riddick said. "I don't know about you, but if we walk out of the studio today and saw $1,200 on the ground, we will probably pick it up."
He said the key to financial freedom is widening the gap between income and spending.
"Before you make any type of financial decision you have to make the gap between income and spending as wide as possible because that gap, so to speak, that's where your financial freedom comes in," Riddick said.
His signature tip is what he calls the "rule of 6": divide your total holiday budget by the number of months remaining before Christmas and save that amount each month.
"If you need $600 in 3 months, then that's $200 you have to save now instead of the $100 you could have been saving all along," Riddick said.
Riddick also encouraged people to think even further ahead, suggesting shoppers begin planning 18 months in advance for the following Christmas once this year's holiday season wraps up.
Riddick can be reached by phone at 513-813-3275 or online at gametimebudgeting.com.
This segment aired on CINCY LIFESTYLE and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI.
