How to Organize Your Holiday Gift Receipts

Hi, Susan from Organized 31 here. I’m excited because it’s the most wonderful time of the year (to quote a well-known Christmas carol). This time of year is filled with such wonderful traditions, one of which involves gift giving. I don’t know about you, but I often need to find the receipt for gifts I’ve purchased for the holidays. Having the receipt makes exchanges and returns so much easier and makes watching the budget much easier, too.

Why should you keep your holiday gift receipts in one easy-to-find spot?

Budgeting – Keeping your receipts helps you track your purchases and stick to your budgeted gift amount.

Returns – There are so many different reasons you may need to return a gift. I have 2 teen daughters, need I say more?

Exchanges – Again, there are many reasons that you may need to exchange an item.

Damaged item – It’s possible that you bring a new item home, wrap it, and then find out when it’s opened that the item is damaged and will need to be exchanged or returned. One year my son’s radio controlled dinosaur was damaged in Santa’s sleigh. Fortunately, Santa has an agreement with Walmart to make exchanges. Unfortunately, that dinosaur had been very popular that year, so it was extremely difficult to exchange. Having the receipt made it much easier to finally exchange it and bring home a brand-new working dinosaur toy. Whew.

Check your debit or credit card statement – It’s a good habit to check your receipts against your credit/debit card statement each month, but particularly around the holiday season. By checking my receipts against my statement, I’ve found more than one incorrect charge and was able to prove with the receipt that the charge was incorrect.

Plan for next year’s gift budget – At some point in the upcoming year, you’ll want to plan next year’s gift budget. Being able to review what you actually spent (not what you think you spent) on gifts will help you accurately plan your budgeted gift amount.

I have found it helpful to keep all my receipts in one easily identified pocket folder.

Supplies

Pocket folder
Decorative paper (I like to use holiday wrapping paper)
Double stick tape
Scissors
Label maker or pen

Cover your folder with paper so that you can easily identify it during the busy holiday season. Add a label so that everyone in your family knows exactly where to file all gift receipts.