I get what you are thinking.
"Great, it's not even October and I'm seeing Christmas stuff already!"
I get that. I'm one to complain to my wife about the fact that Costco puts out Christmas stuff way too early for my taste. However, I'm not doing this to get you prematurely into the Christmas spirit. Rather, to illustrate a point. Christmas again falls on December 25 this year. Have you been preparing for your spending during this time? If so, great!
If not, why is that? Do you expect a big Christmas bonus to cover your gift-giving? Will there be the post-Christmas financial hangover as you are paying off your purchases until Tax Day or longer?
Regardless of how you will be covering Christmas this year, the fact remains that it shouldn't be something that "creeps" up on you. You can be prepared for it each year. Let's dig into how that works.
Say you have 10 people you want to buy gifts for. You have set a limit on how much you will spend at $50 per person. So you have a total Christmas budget of $500. What if you were building that up throughout the year so you had the cash when Christmas came? Would that help ease some stress?
Would you like to know how to do that?
Here are the steps you can take in 2022 and beyond to prepare and have your Christmas spending money ready!
Calculate your total amount to spend.
Divide that amount by 12 (twelve months in a year.) ($500 / 12 = $42 per month)
Add a budget item for that amount in each month's budget.
Accumulate that cash and enjoy more stress-free shopping next Christmas!
There you go! I encourage you to keep track of how much you spend this Christmas to see how much you may want for next year. You can use that as a starting point.
During Christmas we enjoy time with family, reflect on the past year, and celebrate the birth of Jesus. I encourage you to not let the stress of buying stuff get in the way. Plan ahead for next year so your next Christmas can be more enjoyable!