Christmas Budget

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I'm curious how many of us occur debt for the Christmas season? If so, how soon do you pay it off?

For those that don't go into debt for Christmas, what are your saving and budget tips you can share?

Thanks!

 

[Justsyd2]

We start buying in December for Christmas for the next year. We buy our gifts all year long. We always use cash to buy gifts. We never go into debt for any purchase we make. Doing this makes sense to us because we all know when Christmas is coming so buying all year makes it easy to deal with!

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

I am willing to charge a big ticket item to the card. I got the wife a pro kitchenaide mixer and had it paid off in a few months.
This year is different, since we go to DisneyWorld right after the holidays we aren't splurging on christmas presents as we would rather shop down in the big O

 

[sydneysmom]

we've got a separate savings acct just for Christmas.....and kind of just put away some each paycheck. it works really well for us because the amounts aren't large, so you really don't miss it. we just decide approx. how much we're going to spend and try to stick to that. (best that we can) but we don't use credit cards, so if it's over our budgeted amount, it's coming from savings. ( so you think hard about if you want to buy it !!)

 

[tinkarooni]

I do the same as PP. I figure out how much I will want to sped next year and divide it by months and put a little aside each month. No cc debt. I'm just about done too, just stockings left .

Happy Holidays!

 

[carj]

I start buying gifts when I see a good price for extended family. When the kids were younger, I was able to buy clearance toys and get them stuff they would be happy with. Now they are older and have more definite preferences which may change throughout the year.

I don't have a set budget for gifts. I know what I am comfortable spending and that doesn't seem to be an issue.

The bigger budget buster for our family is that we are off for a full 2 weeks together with no specific plans. We eat out a lot, go to the movies a lot and in general, blow through the cash! Last year I set aside a ridiculous amount of money for those two weeks and we made it under budget! I think that it helped that we weren't trying to stick to a really small budget for that time period.

My only advice that might help is to take a step back and evaluate where you are spending your money for Christmas. Like with us, the biggest expense wasn't the presents but the activities. See where you are spending and see if that matches your priorities. If not, make your spending match your priorities.

 

[mebbradley]

I'm a college student, so I have to budget or nobody is getting presents I can't go into debt with Christmas, I'm one of those weird college students who does not have a credit card!

I put stuff on Layaway in certain store starting in October and just pay that like 20 dollars per store per month. Then, at the end of the semester (mid-decemberish) I get my final paycheck from my work study at school and use that to finish paying layaways and get anything else I want to buy for presents. Total, for my entire family and friends; I usually spend about 300 dollars. This year, I'm getting my mom a stand mixer but my total is about the same

I also make hand-painted ornaments for each of my family memebers and friends!

 

[quentina]

Been there, done that....no more. It is cash or nothing. I do a Christmas club with the bank that has automatic payment each week. In addition, I buy things along the way as I see them.

 

[peekinglemer]

Cash only here. I usually start buying in June or July. Also, starting in September I take a portion of every check and set it aside for gifts. Then when I find what I am looking for I already have the money set aside. This way I am not scrambling to come up with money when I find what I am looking for.

 

[Mathfailure]

I learned that I need a written, on paper, budget. Then I have enough to do what I want/need. If I do not write it down, and follow it, money goes and we have less.

I have a gifts catagory that I put money in each payday, all money is saved together but I have an old fashioned ledger to mark catagories. All birthday and Christmas comes out of this, and we usually have a bit of a balance for unexpected occasions like weddings ect.

My gift giving has been fine tuned also, we get our children one large present and small stocking stuffers. No buying items just to have a large pile etc.

So I might charge something to get the added protection, or buy off line, but the money is in the savings and paid off immediately.

I hate the feeling of owing money. That would suck out the joy of the gifts to me.

 

[Chicago526]

I spend roughly the same amount every year, so I take that amount, divide by 26 (the number of paychecks I get in a year) and have it direct deposited into an ING account every pay day. I withdraw it when the CC bill with all the gifts is due and pay it off in full. Easy-peasy!

If one rather use debit, then you can just transfer it to your debit card, of course. Either way it's a great way to make Christmas painless! And if you come in under budget while shoping, you can put the extra back, buy additional gifts, or just buy yourself something nice!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We use the credit card but pay it off each month. In January when we're sure to have a higher bill, we pull a little from savings to cover it. It's better to do that than to pay outrageous finance charges.

 

[crisi]

No debt, we keep enough in savings to cover the months where we spend more than we make.

We don't buy much for Christmas. If I got my son EVERYTHING on his list it would be $400 worth of stuff. And we only buy for them, for my nephews and that's it.

 

[nowellsl]

I don't go into debt, and try not to take money out of savings. What usually happens is I use the money out of my regular income that normally would go into savings and buy presents (usually spread out over 2-3 months). Plus I've gotten a bonus from work the last few years in November and I use that as well.

 

[mcco5543]

We review our finances before the holidays and see what is feasible for us to spend on each person without going in the poor house for ourselves. We then find gifts that absolutely and strictly adhere to the budget. If it's not in budget then we're not getting that gift. Period. The only way the budget changes for a gift, is if we found the "perfect" gift for someone that didn't hit the maximum price. The extra money can then go to a more expensive gift for someone else if we need/want it to.

This year my side of the family has decided to do a "gift card" Christmas. (Not my idea, but everyone else is sold on it so I'm going to go with it). Everyone is giving eachother gift cards. So my wife and I decided on a set amount for each gift card and tha's what everyone is getting. It was super easy this year.

I love love love receiving gift cards but hate hate hate giving them! I love the thrill of watching people unwrap a gift and the look on their face when they are surprised about what is inside. Oh well maybe next year,

But I digress... back to the original question..A strict budget and we use a debit card.



Happy Holidays!

 

[DawnM]

We don't have debt and won't go into debt. If we can't afford it, we don't buy it, period! We owe on our mortgage and that is it.

I save during the year and have a budget and don't go over it.

This year I have decided to sell things on CL and ebay and whatever I can sell, that is what I will spend on Christmas!

Dawn

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

I am willing to charge a big ticket item to the card. I got the wife a pro kitchenaide mixer and had it paid off in a few months.
This year is different, since we go to DisneyWorld right after the holidays we aren't splurging on christmas presents as we would rather shop down in the big O

I almost always charge big ticket items for the protections a cc offers, vs debit card or cash. I learned the hard way when I purchased a computer on sale with cash and got it home and it was broken. Returning it was a mega hassle, I lost about $65 in "restock fees" even though the item was clearly broken. Had I used a cc, I could have disputed the charge for the restock.

Normally I wouldn't charge anything I couldn't pay off within 2 months. Sometimes it's worth it for a good deal.

My Christmas budget this year is:

~dinner for my parents at home, including food, wine & nice holiday table decor = $50 (salad,chicken parm, cheese sticks, pasta, cake mix, frosting, coffee, wine). I just picked up a set of 4 plates/mugs/wineglasses/salad bowls at the dollar tree (for $16 total!)

~supplies to make wreaths for parents & inlaws - $20 total.

~Neices - $20 (or $10 each at max)

So $90.

FI & I won't be exchanging with each other. Though we might have a special dinner and we might make each other things.

FI doesn't exchange with his parents and they don't exchange with us for financial reasons.

We don't exchange with my brother & SIL or FI's siblings.

We don't exchange with friends.

 

[taximomfor4]

we start buying in the summer (after 3 kids' birthdays) although I do put up little stuff right after Christmas the year before.

This year, we have very VERY VERY VERY little to work with. I SHOULD spend absolutely $0, because of prior debt (out of work for too long now). We are having to do some handing down, as gifts, although the recipients will be THRILLED. I am handing down my purple ipod nano to dd16. DD16 is handing down her silver ipod nano to dd11. DD11 has a 2 yr old shuffle, bought refurbished for $29. She will LOVE having a nano, hand-me-down or not.

They will get a few little things, but that's it. DD7 has asked for a dolly bunkbed for 3 yrs now. This year, I ordered one right after my garage sale in Sept -- not the American Girl $200 one, but a Walmart one that was $34 AFTER shipping. It is put together, put up in my closet, and waiting.

DH and I will get each other nothing. Our anniversary is in January. I hope we can spend a little then.

On a normal year, I don't save money, I buy off a list for each kid starting really early. HOWEVER, our best Christmas we only spent between $75-150 per kid (not the same amount. We figure it all evens out by the time their childhoods end, lol).

When I worked at a large insurance company, we got a gainsharing check on 12/22 or 12/23 each year. I always ran out, cashed it, and it was my CHristmas budget. $500 or $1200, I didn't go over it. But had to shop at the last minute. Ahhhhhh, those were simpler days!