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For many the Christmas season is a depressing time of the year. Add that to the fact that Christmas season shopping can be a significant financial burden, it is especially burdensome for those who have a large family or group of people whom they exchange gifts with. Many at the holiday time try to keep up with the “Jonses” by buying expensive gifts for each person on their list and have difficulty managing debt. One of the easiest ways is to shop throughout the year, but we all say that we are going to do it next year and we find ourselves in the same situation the following year.
Start by creating a list of all the people you need to buy Christmas presents for and a realistic budget for which you are trying to get all of your shopping done within. Obviously set aside a little more for people you may have overlooked. You may also want to include in your budget if you give to charitable organizations or toy drives.
Once you have the list of Christmas gift recipients there are a few different approaches you could take to dividing up the money you budgeted. One approach is to break up the total dollar figure into a few categories such as family, friends, and colleagues. Then you would take each of the categories and determine what percentage of the total budget you would like to spend. For example you might decide to spend 60% of your total budget on close friends and relatives, 15% of your total budget on colleagues, and 15% of your total budget on acquaintances and the remaining 10% on Christmas gifts for charitable organizations. These numbers can then be used to determine the total amount of money you will spend on each category and divide that number by the total number of people in each category to figure out a dollar amount for each person on your Christmas list.
Another Christmas shopping budget strategy is to figure out who on your list that you would like to spend the most money one, then set that money aside. Once you have this money set aside for family and close friends it is time to divide up the remaining money for the rest of your Christmas budget. You can divide the remainder arbitrarily by the number of people left or you can continue to go about this process by selecting the next group you wish to set aside money for and so on.
Christmas Season is not meant to be stressful it is meant to spend time with friends and family and enjoy their company. These Christmas shopping budget strategies are there to help alleviate some of that stress and give you additional avenues to explore when setting a budget.
Do you have any Christmas shopping budget strategies that work well for you?
Photo by: IainFarrell
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This article is written by Christopher at This That and the MBA. He writes about personal finance and any topic related to finance. One motto that he has tried to embrace recently is “Mange your money before it manages you!”
I like your idea of setting aside money for family and close friends and then leaving the rest for everyone else. That way you make sure the important people are looked after and that you don’t go over your budget.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..30 Tips – How to Stay Safe on the Internet
Exactly. Sometimes you may have an exception pop up but it makes sure that your loved ones are covered and you are spending what you want on them.
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..CouponChief: Find The Best CafePress Coupon Code
Great tips, Christopher, although it should have read, “set aside money for family, close friends, and Joe.” Doesn’t that sound better?
AverageJoe recently posted..Year End Business Tax Planning – Stop Uncle Sam From Eating Your Lunch
Yes it does sound better. Maybe we can get Greg to amend the post…
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..CouponChief: Find The Best CafePress Coupon Code
Next year I am certainly going to put an unexpected category for those stinkin last minute people you have to buy for. Jolly, huh?
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..It’s Fun to Stay at the YMCA-Gift Exchange Reveal
bah humbug…lol…it always happens like that..my wife decided she wanted to buy for everyone at her school…its her first job and she was excited so she spent close to 150 on her staff and boss…
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..CouponChief: Find The Best CafePress Coupon Code
We budget for Christmas and pull out cash throughout the year so we have what we need come the time. We also cap the amount we spend on each person, which can make it much easier.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..5 Fun and Frugal Last Minute Christmas Gifts
It does make it much easier…I have set up something like that, I make the money leave one account and move over to my christmas fund account at another bank. Bank accounts are so easy to set up now I just set one up for christmas the money is automatically withdrawn throughout the year and similar to my 401k its gone before I know it.
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..CouponChief: Find The Best CafePress Coupon Code
Plan and budget! I also have a list, a present ide and rough cost of the gift in mind and jotted down somewhere. Otherwise things get out of control easily and before you know it you’ve spend far more than you intended!
Jamie Dickinson recently posted..Travelling at Christmas
They sure do.. the dollar sure doesn’t go very far anymore either.
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..CouponChief: Find The Best CafePress Coupon Code
I think the biggest thing that has helped me over the years is setting a budget for each person I am getting a gift for. That way I know exactly how much my “max spend” is going to be before I even start shopping.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..5 Tips To Help You Save Money
Do you write it down or do you have just a ball park in mind? Adjusted for inflation lately…sheesh everything is so darn expensive…I got a laptop in the mail yesterday wow it is made so cheaply compared to my old one where it actually felt like something of quality in my hand..
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..Debt Consolidation – Is it right for you?
Great tips. We actually have a gift section built into our budget that we use to save every month. That way birthdays and holidays don’t sneak up on us.
Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter recently posted..Healthy Habits To Keep You Living Younger Longer
It certainly does sneak up on you if you are not prepared especially Christmas where there is a mass of gifts that you need to purchase along with a christmas tree if you get a real one…and new lights…it all adds up and adds up quickly!
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..Debt Consolidation – Is it right for you?
Great points! I would add to use a list to help you disciplined and adhere to your budget. I would use online shopping to find the lowest prices.
krantcents recently posted..Plan the End!
Good point…and if you have a smart phone you can download the barcode scanners to scan products that can search out the product while you are standing in the store to see if you are getting the lowest price.
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..Debt Consolidation – Is it right for you?
“Christmas Season is not meant to be stressful “. Exactly!
We make a budget and try to stick as close to it as possible.
Mackenzie recently posted..Candy Canes and Credit Cards
How many people do you have to buy gifts for…I should have included a survey in this post…What do some of you typically spend on christmas? Just number of people and total how much spent for everyone.
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..Debt Consolidation – Is it right for you?
I usually decide on who I will buy for, how much I’d like to spend overall and then decide how much I’d spend on each individual. I usually don’t go over!
Gillian @ Money After Graduation recently posted..I’m still having a minimalist Christmas
Trying to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to gift buying seems so ridiculous, especially if it puts you in debt. I know it still happens, but in my neck of the woods people are really cutting back this Christmas and focusing on time together as a family which has been a nice breath of fresh air. Hoping this becomes a trend across the country.
Kyle | Rather-Be-Shopping.com recently posted..4 Inexpensive Last Minute Gift Strategies
I totally agree, Kyle. Hopefully it will catch on!
We use Dave Ramsey’s idea: the envelope system where we put aside money each month. Come December, what’s there is all that is spent. Period, no exceptions (most of the time).
Rod J. Rogers (@FreeAgentRogers) recently posted..What Tom Brady taught me about attitude.
We’ve spent the same amount of money on our family members for years. That makes it easy! This year, I told a lot of people that we don’t need any gifts, but if they have to get us something, we’d rather they spend it on our kids. No one listens to us, though!
Oh well, at least we already budgeted for the gifts!
Michelle recently posted..Great Part-time Jobs For Busy Parents
Lately, a good strategy for me has been going on with other people on combined gifts. That lets us get someone (usually a family member) a larger gift that they might make more use of, but also tends to reduce the individual contribution of each person. A win-win situation!
Alex recently posted..Positive Thought for the Day
I typically try to ask around who wants what before gifting them something they don’t want. I’ve saved a lot of money this way and people end up being happier with their gifts.
Veronica @ Pelican on Money recently posted..Sometimes It’s Better to Pay Up
I love the idea of setting aside money for people you may have forgotten. Or people who unexpectedly give you something and you’re like, “Shoot, I left yours at my house,” when really you’ve got nothing.
femmefrugality recently posted..The Versatility of Cookie Cutters
My main Christmas budgeting strategy involves setting average gift cost limits (say, $10 for kids or $20 for adults), then being flexible within those guidelines. For instance, if I have to buy two gifts for sister’s kids, and I spend $6 on one child, then I give myself up to $14 to spend on the other kid. That way I’m not forcing myself to stay within an arbitrary spending range when one perfectly good gift costs very little but I really want to spend a bit more on the other one.
Lena @ WhatMommyDoes recently posted..24 New Ways to Save Money Added to the Ultimate List
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