Budgeting for the Holidays

If you’re reading this today is Black Friday and you’ve survived Thanksgiving. Yeah!!! Today is the first official day of the holiday shopping seasoning (even though the stores have been ready since August). How do you navigate your way through without leaving your family in the red? Well, budgeting, of course. Read the following for a guide on how to navigate your family’s finances this special time of year.

Create a Budget

If you would consider yourself a shopaholic, even slightly, a budget is essential to making it through this season without paying for it next year. Don’t just consider gift purchases when deciding how much to spend, but ALL the expenses you are likely to incur before the New Year. Here’s a list of what to include in your holiday budget:

• Gifts
• Christmas Cards and Postage
• Holiday Meals
• Decorations
• Travel Expenses
• Charitable Donations
• Holiday Wardrobe

Avoid Financial Infidelity

Did you know that 29% of North American’s admit to lying to their partners about money? Don’t be like them! If you are, admit your financial infidelity and change your ways today.

Once you have set a budget with your spouse, do you part and stick to it. Be honest about what you have spent and disclose any financial missteps as soon as they occur. Your spouse will then be better able to hold you accountable the next time you are tempted to splurge on something off-budget!

The True Meaning

Remember that end the end, the true meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with how much or how little you are able to spend during this time of year. Quite the opposite, actually. It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the life he gave for all of us. Put this truth into perspective next time you find yourself stuck focusing on the materialism of this holiday.

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss