Whether you are on a tight budget, barely making it paycheck to paycheck, or comfortably setting aside a chunk of change into a robust savings account each week, it’s time to start thinking about your Christmas budget! Have a more joyful and stress free Christmas season by getting organized for Christmas NOW in 5 easy steps!
It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is closer than you think.
If you are like me, I like to take life one day and one HOLIDAY at a time.
However, this can be short sighted when it comes to BIG holidays like Christmas. Preparation and good financial planning is important to truly enjoy these holidays that often come with a big price tag.
A well thought out Christmas Budget can make a HUGE difference in your enjoyment of the most wonderful time of the year.
Here are a few things you can do NOW to make your Christmas season a bit more stress free!
Christmas Budget Tip #1: Decide What Your Realistic Christmas Budget Will Be
What can you afford? This will involve you sitting down with whoever else is involved in the financial decisions in your household and having a conversation about what is realistic. Do you already have money set aside?
Do you need to start saving? What is a reasonable amount to save each week? Do you need to cut something that you aren’t really using anyways?
Some banks and credit unions offer special Christmas accounts that automatically take a set amount of money from your bank account each month and set it aside for you. This can be an awesome way to make adding to your Christmas Budget a bit less stressful!
Christmas Budget Tip #2: Write Up A List of Who You Need To Buy For
Who are you buying for this year? It’s time to make a list of alllll your loved ones and decide who is getting a gift from you this year.
In addition, don’t forget teachers, extra tips for hairstylists, etc.
Basically, if you even *think* you will spend more money on this person than you ordinarily would the rest of the year, include them on this list.
Christmas Budget Tip #3: Decide How Much You Will Spend Per Person
Now it’s time to decide how much you want to spend on each individual. It might be a good idea to write down your ideal next to everybody’s name and then work backwards. After you have all of the dollar amounts written down, compare that to the number you worked out in step 1.
It it’s equal to, or less than, your set budget…great job!
If it’s more than your set Christmas budget, you have a few options. First option is to go back and start decreasing the amounts you will spend on each person.
You other option is to see tip #4!
Christmas Budget Tip #4: Do You Need To Make Extra Money?
Maybe you only need a bit more money to hit your Christmas budget! Or maybe, you realized on your current income, you can’t afford Christmas gifts at all!
I encourage you to check out the following posts to learn how you can make OR find more money to add to your Christmas Budget:
Baby Clothes: How To Save Money and How To Make Money
10 Ways to Make Living On One Income Easier
WMFW: Small Trickles Make A Stream (Make Money Online)
How to Shop a Thrift Store
How to Start a (Money Making) Mom Blog
10 Tips For Learning How to Use Coupons
Christmas Budget Tip #5 Start Shopping
Start shopping right away!
I post deals ALL YEAR LONG. I highly encourage you to create a gift closet! If you periodically stock your gift closet all year long, not only will it help you at Christmas time, but it can also help you with birthday parties, housewarming parties, baby showers, etc!
If you have specific ideas for what you want to get each person, be sure to join my Family Friendly Frugality facebook group to keep up with the deals I post each day. You can also email me directly to let me know what you are looking for a deal on!
