Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it also happens to be the most stressful time of the year. Well it is in my household! I want to make sure it is better than the last, a great day for all family and friends. But I don’t want to spend an excessive amount on stuff I wont even need, nor use or eat. This special occasion doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. There are so many easy ways to budget for Christmas and stick with it. Trust me!
Here are some thrifty financial tips to implement before the silly season so you don’t go too silly!
Start saving some money now
Look towards your paychecks as a place where you can save money. There’s still plenty more paychecks that you’ll receive before your holidays and a clever tip for budgeting for Christmas is to look at these and take out a certain amount from each paycheck cycle. Set aside an amount that you are comfortable with that you can use towards your Christmas expenses. This is a simple and easy way you can save money for necessary items.
Detail all of your expenses
Have a plan of attack for your expenses and adhere to this plan. Set aside a figure for how much you’re willing to spend on certain things. Disregard gifts in this step because you want to have a set figure for how much you’ll spend outside of gifting to others. Think about holiday meals that you could be having with family and friends. All that driving around visiting your loved ones will use up gas. And expenditure for gas in the festive season isn’t cheap. Having a list of your expenses and how much you would ideally like to spend in each area is a good way to keep track of your money and make sure you’re being careful with your spending.
List the people you are shopping for
Writing a list of all the people you are buying gifts for is such a simple tip for you to be able to budget well for Christmas. You’re in control of how you distribute your money and where you distribute it. Therefore you don’t need to buy gifts for everyone you know. Be reasonable! You should write a list in a priority order of where you will be distributing your gifts, so you can manage where your money is going.
Select an appropriate amount for each person
After listing the people you are shopping for, choose an amount of money you are comfortable in spending on each person. Write this amount next to each name. After you’ve gone through the list, total the amount from each person to see whether you’d be willing to spend that amount on gifting alone. Remember about the miscellaneous items that come with gifting too, such as wrapping paper and cards.
Figure out where you are purchasing the gifts
Do some research to find the best place to shop for the gifts you are buying each person. Be sure to shop around for the best price for the items you are looking at buying. There will be competitive pricing between stores during the Christmas season and you always want to get the best price. You might even find yourself not spending all of your allotted money on gifts and have some extra cash to spare!
