Blog Challenge: Day 4

Today's theme is:

Tips and Tricks for a Budget-Friendly Holiday

My middle name is "Budget". Actually it might be more accurate to say that my middle name is "poor". Haha. Being money-conscious during the holiday season is very important (because money doesn't grow on trees) but Christmas is my favorite holiday and it also involves my favorite hobby, which is buying presents for people.

For a budget-friendly holiday, I'd suggest making a list of how much you'd like to spend on each person, then trying your best to stick to it. Since I have been doing my shopping over the last several months, that's worked out pretty well. I was able to make a plan for my paychecks (since I get paid every other Friday, I know when that money will appear in my bank account) and say things like "ok, this week I will buy the presents I'm getting for my mom, then two weeks from now I'll get dad's presents" and so on and so forth. I also went through my address book early to see who we would need to send Christmas cards to, so I know how many stamps I need to get the first paycheck of December. My shopping list has morphed several times since I first wrote it down however many months ago, but the important thing is, once I purchased a certain amount for a person, I didn't keep buying for them just because I would see something they'd like. I think it's important to have a plan when shopping for anything- whether it's Christmas, wedding presents, birthdays, whatever. If you just go to the store and wander around until you see something you just have to get for that person, you'll probably end up spending too much. I'd love it if I could buy everything I thought my parents would like for Christmas, or everything that I think Brandon would enjoy, but my bank account doesn't work that way. Most people would agree with me, I think.

I have one more tip, if you can call it that. If you want to get gifts for your coworkers for the holidays, there's nothing wrong with being "budget conscious". Many people don't expect anything from their coworkers for Christmas. You can show your appreciation for them without spending a ton of money on personalized mugs filled with imported chocolates. Most grocery stores (and places like Target) have really cute cellophane bags on the shelves right after Halloween. They come in packs of a few dozen for less than two dollars. Fill them with Christmas candy when it's on sale or you have a coupon (like 2 for $5 with an extra $1 off coupon from the Sunday newspaper). I like to get those tiny ornaments made for miniature Christmas trees and loop them around the tops of the bags- one year I had snowmen, another year it was penguins. That way they have a tiny, cute gift that will last (in other words, it's not candy so they won't eat it and forget about it).

So there are my tips, as helpful as they may be.