While you might have your sites set on getting through the next major holiday, Thanksgiving, savvy shoppers are already planning for the holidays. Yes, we know thinking about holiday shopping now seems too early, but by taking just a little time now (even just an hour) can save you a lot of stress, money and time.

Are we starting to pique your interest? Read on for some tips on how to get organized and start saving:

1. Review last year’s shopping list. Pull up last year’s shopping list and take a look at who you shopped for the previous year and how much you spent. This review can refresh your memory and kick-start your new shopping list.
2. Create a budget. Compare last year’s budget with your current financial situation to see how much you can afford to spend this coming holiday season. Also, see what expenses are coming up and make sure you have a cushion for emergencies.
   • When creating a budget for the holidays, give yourself a spending limit for gifts and don’t forget to account for entertaining and party hosting, decorations, and travel costs.
   • Consider setting up a separate savings account, just for holiday shopping. That way you can avoid overspending.
   • For even more control over your budget, you can narrow down a budget per person on your shopping list.
3. Download a holiday planning app. To prepare for this expensive time of year, you should start saving and planning now. There are a bunch of apps out there that will help you track your gifts, set budgets, and find the best deals.
   • Santa’s Bag (iTunes) – Input every person you’re buying for, what they want most, gifts you’ve gotten them, and your budget. Then, check off as you go and enjoy a more organized holiday.
   • The Christmas List (iTunes) – Keep track of stores where you’re doing holiday shopping, so you don’t waste money on shipping or trips out. It also lets you set a max spending budget and allocate how much to spend on who—so you stick to your financial goals. The lists you create are shareable so that you can loop someone else into the shopping plan too.
   • GiftPlanner (iTunes) – Track gifts for any event with GiftPlanner. Send gift cards straight from the app, bookmark online shopping items through a widget, and stay on top of your finances by balancing your budget.
   • Christmas Gift List (Android) – This app lets you budget, buy and manage your holiday shopping list. If you use it year to year, you can look up past gift history to make sure you don’t double up on the same gift. It’s also just a convenient tool to monitor your spending and gift list.
   • Christmas Gifts and Budget (Android): With this application, you can track gift ideas and your budget as you do your Christmas shopping.
   • Slickdeals (Both) – Do you love a good deal? Get deal alerts to your phone on items you’re searching for, and displays handpicked deals from the Slickdeals team and deals from sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to make sure you don’t have to break your budget this holiday season.
4. Prioritize your shopping. Now that you have a good start on your shopping list, you might notice there are a few gifts that are more specific than others. Your wife might be hoping for a new cashmere sweater, but your daughter has that particular new smartphone in mind – plus, she’d love it in that hard-to-find color. For gifts that will fly off the shelves early, make a priority to get these first. Of course, waiting for the week of Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday will give you the best chance of finding a deal, but you may want to keep an eye out for savings starting now. Note which gifts on your list need early attention and which ones are more generic or flexible that can wait until later.
5. Subscribe to stores and coupon websites. Now is the perfect time to get on the email lists of the stores where you know you’ll do most of your shopping. You’ll be first to know when they have flash sales or free shipping days. You can also follow the accounts of your favorite shops on social media for exclusive sales and promotions. Subscribe to coupon and cash back websites and sign up for alerts now, and you’ll have all the best deals hitting your inbox directly – the perfect solution when you need an idea for the sibling who has everything.

See, that wasn’t too hard. Now that you spent a little time getting organized for the holidays, you can go back to enjoying fall.