Do This NOW So The Holidays Won’t Mess Up Your Budget!

Oh the holidays! It’s a great time of year, you’re invited to tons of holiday parties, you get to see your family, eat lots of good food…oh and of course we can’t forget the gifts!!

Each party we go to we take a bottle of wine or some other small token so you don’t show up empty handed, and you have to buy a gift for everyone you love. As great as this time of year can be…it’s also the time of year when your diet and healthy eating plan can go down the drain and all of the conscious spending and saving you have done can all go to waste!

Now I’m sure you’re asking…“Dominique! Help me what should I do!” Don’t worry my friend… I have a answer!

To prevent you from overspending on the holidays this is what you should do:

1) Make a list of everyone that you need to buy a gift for. Have you ever noticed when you’re in the store and you see something that would be cute for so and so…and you originally had no intention of buying so and so a gift…and now you’re off track. So make a list of EVERYONE that you would like give a gift to.

2) Next, you can decide the total amount that you would like to spend for the holidays. Let’s say you decide to spend $500 total.

3) Now that we have our list and amount that we want to spend…start designating a amount for each person. Some people may have a higher designated amount than others. Total the amount up and make sure you are within your spending limits.

4) Congrats! You’ve made your holiday budget. Now make sure you take it with you! Email it to yourself, put a copy in your purse. Whatever works for you. Make sure you stick to it and only buy for the people on the list!

5) Start buying now.  When we wait to the last minute to purchase gifts we are more inclined to spend more, since time is of the essence.  Take the time to start searching for the gifts that you would like to buy, that way you can look for coupons or deal sites to help reduce the cost.

You can use this spreadsheet I created to do the steps listed above and manage your holiday budget.

Finances Demystified Holiday Budget Worksheet

Happy Holiday Spending!