With today being Christmas Eve, a lot of people are headed out to do their last minute Christmas shopping. This is all well and good (mostly for the retailers), but there are a few things to remember so you don’t “break the bank” as they say.

1. Don’t buy something just because it’s there. Far too many people scramble at the last minute to buy a gift for someone that they end up buying something they don’t really care to give and the person won’t care to get. If you don’t have a well thought out gift, or the store is out of stock of the item, don’t feel bad giving a gift card instead that the person can use to purchase the item later. And with a gift card you can at least limit what you’re going to spend.

2. Don’t buy another gift for someone you’ve already bought for. When you’re out shopping, stick to your remaining list and forgo the five dollar knick knack that’s “just perfect” for Susie. All these little things will add up and the recipient probably won’t care about the extra little gifts. You also don’t need to buy extra things just so people have more things to open.

3. Just stop shopping and go home. Besides this just saving money, don’t forget what the holiday season is all about, spending time with friends and family. If you’re too caught up in the shopping frenzy, you’ll miss the time that you could have spent at home. Any more shopping that you could do will probably have a marginal impact anyway. So just go home and have a Merry Christmas.

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