Take a Look Back

How did you do with your holiday spending this year? Did you make a list of people to give gifts to? Did you have a spending plan? Did you pay cash? =)

Take a quick look back. Go over your receipts. Write it down and see how much you actually spent. One of the holiday items on my spending plan is photos and/or cards that I send out. I include them in my spending plan, however I usually forget to include the cost of stamps!

Write down your spending plan and the amount actually spent. Tuck it away in a Christmas or Holiday folder or even better, create a manilla folder labeled "Christmas" or "Holidays" and put it with your bills. So you'll be prepared for next year.

Also look at your spending plan. How much did you spend? According to The Buffalo News, the average cost of holiday spending is $923.36. Let's use that an an example. If you spent $923.36 for the holidays, divide it by 12 months in a year. That's $76.95 a month. Is that affordable for you? Is that what you'd like to spend? Whatever the cost of your holiday spending was, divide it by 12 and save that amount per month. That way you'll be ahead for next year with your spending plan and your money already saved, so you can pay cash and enjoy spending time with family.

Ready for the Holidays?

Earlier this week I was shopping at a really big retail store that offers food shopping as well as all household products. I entered the store and there was a BIG Christmas tree staring at me! I can see quickly that things have been moved around, out with Halloween stuff. Those things were hidden in an aisle with 75% off on them. In front of the store, next to the Christmas tree, was a big assortment of gift cards with a big sign on them – only 52 days left until Christmas!

Now as Dave Ramsey says Christmas (Hanukkah or Kwanza) all come EVERY year, once a year about the same time. Are you ready? This is something we should have in our yearly spending plan.

I thought I would take a moment to get organized. Are you shopping this year? Do you have a list of gifts to purchase and do you have a spending plan? I really encourage you to pay cash if you can for your gifts. You may want to consider making gifts as well! Some are very simple and fun!