Get Battle Ready
The Holidays are here.
Prepare your wallets for battle.
Amazon, Target, and Walmart all eagerly mentioned incoming holiday spending in their most recent earnings calls.
- Buy Now, Pay Later
- Interest Free Financing
- Every Sale Imaginable, all come at us full-force trying to separate us from our green in November and December.
They’re banking on us to spend big. And we do.
Holiday spending is up 33% since 2019 (Statista).
Over-spending is a problem and holidays give us the best excuses:
- It’s not for ME, it’s for FAMILY
- Okay maybe it is for me, but LOOK at this DEAL
So, how can we:
- Be generous with our family and friends
- Take advantage of a deal or two
- And NOT end up blowing our budget?
It all starts with a good plan.
I’ve written about budgets in the past (link here).
Gifts are in the Random Wants category of a budget.
Remember, Random Wants are the wild cards of your budget: Things you won’t spend money on EVERY month, but will pop up at SOME point throughout the year (birthday/holiday gifts, concerts, etc.).
So, how do you make a gift budget?
Simple:
- Who do you want to buy gifts for?
- How much do you want to spend on each person?
- Add them up – that’s your number!
- Pro Tip: Add a cushion for last minute White Elephants or Secret Santa's
I’ll admit, it can seem mechanical or heartless (?) to put a number on something as personal as a gift to a family member.
I also felt that way.
But over time, I’ve found budgeting doesn’t take the joy out of giving; it frees you to generously give without the stress of a drained bank account.
If budgeting puts you to sleep, remember every dollar you save during the holidays can move you closer to that dream vacation or paying off student debt.
It’s not just about "saying no", it’s about "saying yes" to what’s most important to you long-term.
So, this season make a plan, get out there, and shop hard!
Giving gifts feels amazing.
Giving gifts guilt-free? Priceless.
