6 Steps to Stick to a Holiday Budget

With Black Friday (or is it Black Thursday now?!) just around the corner, many people are preparing to make some of their biggest purchases for the year in preparation for the holidays. With all the excitement and frenzy that accompanies holiday shopping, is it possible to stick to a budget when it comes to holiday shopping? Absolutely. However, as with most things that are of value, it will take some work. But, it does not have to take a lot of work. And, the money that you can save when you stick to a budget will make your time more than worth it.

Here is the typical way that holiday shopping goes for a vast majority of people. Around Thanksgiving, you start to hear about and/or see the deals that will be available on Black Friday. Everything sounds like such a great deal that you cannot wait for the day after Thanksgiving to come. You either brave the stores or try to find deals that are online. Maybe you have an amount in mind that you want to spend, maybe you don’t. The countdown starts. Ready, set, SHOP! Especially if you are actually in a store, there is such anxiety and frantic energy that you just start grabbing everything. Everything is such a great deal anyway, right? You run to the counter with your arms full of hard-fought finds and pay for your goods. Wait a minute? Who are all these gifts for anyway? No, really, who are they for?

To have a chance of sticking to some type of budget for your holiday shopping, the following six steps might be helpful:

1. Make a list of all of the people to whom you are planning on giving a gift. (Note: Do not forget to include all the little gifts that you give, such as for holiday party hosts/hostesses, office mates, neighbors, your child’s teacher, etc.)

2. If you remember the gifts that you gave those people last year and the amounts you spent, quickly jot that down.

3. Determine what your budget is for this holiday season. (In other words, the amount that you can “afford,” not the amount that you usually spend.)

4. Right down ideas for gifts for each person and estimate the costs of such gifts.

5. For people for whom you can’t figure out any gift ideas, right down what that person is interested in, what they like to do, etc. This could spark ideas.

6. Now, with your list in hand, it is time to shop.

These six steps may help you stick to a budget this holiday season and may also help you to give more thoughtful gifts, regardless of the cost. Believe it or not, chances are the people on your holiday list are people that you have known for a long time (maybe all your life!) and chances are that the reason that they stay in your life is not due to the type of gifts that you give them or how much you spend on those gifts.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

M