Hello Friends,
I hope you are doing well. I don't usually talk money on my blog, but it is a topic I am really interested in. My mom and I always discussed money growing up and she was always watching shows on TV about money like Suze Orman and Til Debt Do us part. For this reason I have an interest in savings and how to spend responsibly. I also spend time budgeting and really like the Dave Ramsey method of the baby steps. I am currently working on baby step 2. I have student loans and paid some of them off this year and am currently working on more of it but next year's goal is to be in the green. I know most of us have debt and Christmas is a time of the year we want to enjoy and spend all we can on loved ones. This year my family and I decided to discuss how much we'd spend on each other. I started a sinking fund for Christmas at the start of the year in January. For those who aren't familiar with Dave Ramsey's strategy or terminology of sinking funds, you can put money towards events or items in your savings account and these are funds that you pay into over a length of time so that when the event comes along you have the savings to spend on that event or thing you would like to buy. These events or things can be for car repairs,Christmas, or a vacation, and having the money saved will help to prevent you from going into more debt over not having the money saved and having to put it on a credit card. The sinking fund for Christmas was so helpful because I saved a large part of my goal and it has made Christmas less stressful this year of where I will find the money for gifts and avoiding using credit cards. I put a little towards Christmas each month while paying my debt and little by little I was able to save up enough so that Christmas was not too hard on me financially. Christmas should be a time spent with family enjoying the season, not stressing over what we are spending and this can be possible if we plan ahead.
The Plan:
Total budget: $650
How it is going:
It is so hard to stick to the $100 each budget at Christmas! I started off buying things here and there and realized how quickly it would creep up to over $100 per person. I did not plan ahead enough for how much decor and other items such as wrapping and events would cost. I think because we always want to make the holiday special for others and keep seeing things we think they'd like so we keep on buying.
Going forward:
My goal for the rest of the time up until Christmas is to look over the people I have gone over budget for and not spend more on them and to buy more for others I still need to spend on. I have gone over for my mom and Fiance, but still under for the rest of my family. I will work on keeping to my budget with maybe 100$ over at max for Christmas. It is my favourite time of the year, so I admit I go overboard with decor and presents and really enjoy buying new things and treating my family and friends to nice gifts.
Also something that I have thought of is donating a small amount to a charity soon and start that as a tradition so any money that I can save I can donate to those in need. I want to start a sinking fund for this next year, so each Christmas I can help others and it is the best time of the year to do this. I will be sharing a post next week about ways to give back at this time of the year.
Here's a link to Dave Ramsey's Christmas budget and how to start one for next year or to plan out spending for this year:
How to set up your Christmas Budget
Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope that you can get some tips from this post. I switched the plan around a bit today was going to be a Christmas DIY, but I still need to pick up a few things for that so I will be sharing that post another time. I think budgeting and deciding where to spend my money more responsibly made a big difference this year already, even though my spending is a bit higher than planned. It keeps me from spending money on things people didn't even really want or ask for and focus on getting them the things they really want. This is better for all of us in the end.
Have a great day!
I hope you are doing well. I don't usually talk money on my blog, but it is a topic I am really interested in. My mom and I always discussed money growing up and she was always watching shows on TV about money like Suze Orman and Til Debt Do us part. For this reason I have an interest in savings and how to spend responsibly. I also spend time budgeting and really like the Dave Ramsey method of the baby steps. I am currently working on baby step 2. I have student loans and paid some of them off this year and am currently working on more of it but next year's goal is to be in the green. I know most of us have debt and Christmas is a time of the year we want to enjoy and spend all we can on loved ones. This year my family and I decided to discuss how much we'd spend on each other. I started a sinking fund for Christmas at the start of the year in January. For those who aren't familiar with Dave Ramsey's strategy or terminology of sinking funds, you can put money towards events or items in your savings account and these are funds that you pay into over a length of time so that when the event comes along you have the savings to spend on that event or thing you would like to buy. These events or things can be for car repairs,Christmas, or a vacation, and having the money saved will help to prevent you from going into more debt over not having the money saved and having to put it on a credit card. The sinking fund for Christmas was so helpful because I saved a large part of my goal and it has made Christmas less stressful this year of where I will find the money for gifts and avoiding using credit cards. I put a little towards Christmas each month while paying my debt and little by little I was able to save up enough so that Christmas was not too hard on me financially. Christmas should be a time spent with family enjoying the season, not stressing over what we are spending and this can be possible if we plan ahead.
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| Photo source |
The Plan:
- $100 to my mom, sister, Fiance,brother in law, and dad each.
- $50 total to others
- $100 for decor, Christmas events etc.
Total budget: $650
How it is going:
It is so hard to stick to the $100 each budget at Christmas! I started off buying things here and there and realized how quickly it would creep up to over $100 per person. I did not plan ahead enough for how much decor and other items such as wrapping and events would cost. I think because we always want to make the holiday special for others and keep seeing things we think they'd like so we keep on buying.
 |
| Photo source |
Going forward:
My goal for the rest of the time up until Christmas is to look over the people I have gone over budget for and not spend more on them and to buy more for others I still need to spend on. I have gone over for my mom and Fiance, but still under for the rest of my family. I will work on keeping to my budget with maybe 100$ over at max for Christmas. It is my favourite time of the year, so I admit I go overboard with decor and presents and really enjoy buying new things and treating my family and friends to nice gifts.
Also something that I have thought of is donating a small amount to a charity soon and start that as a tradition so any money that I can save I can donate to those in need. I want to start a sinking fund for this next year, so each Christmas I can help others and it is the best time of the year to do this. I will be sharing a post next week about ways to give back at this time of the year.
Here's a link to Dave Ramsey's Christmas budget and how to start one for next year or to plan out spending for this year:
How to set up your Christmas Budget
Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope that you can get some tips from this post. I switched the plan around a bit today was going to be a Christmas DIY, but I still need to pick up a few things for that so I will be sharing that post another time. I think budgeting and deciding where to spend my money more responsibly made a big difference this year already, even though my spending is a bit higher than planned. It keeps me from spending money on things people didn't even really want or ask for and focus on getting them the things they really want. This is better for all of us in the end.
Have a great day!
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Lisa