Try This Gifting Strategy To Stay On Budget Without Being Scrooge

December 05, 2017

I was so excited the first Christmas when my daughter was about 1 year old. I scoured the ads to find the latest “must haves” for the toddler in your life — it was the year of Elmo. I carefully mapped out all the stores that carried the exclusive Elmo gift; I was determined to get her that toy, no matter how many other desperate parents I had to mow over.

After finally getting the Elmo (I only knocked over one parent and she already had one Elmo doll — greedy!) and other presents for her, I spent 20 minutes on YouTube learning how to create award-winning gift wrapping designs and carefully put my awesomely wrapped gifts for her under the tree. I was so excited.

When Christmas came, I had the camera ready to take pictures of her anticipated excitement over the gifts. When she saw the wrapped Elmo, she clapped her hands and started playing with the bows — it took me a second to realize that she thought the box was the gift. Understandable, I guess, for someone’s first Christmas. So I helped her unwrap the gift and showed her the Elmo doll.

She held Elmo for a second, then literally threw it at her dad and climbed in the box, laughing with glee over her newfound toy. As I watched her happily play with the box, I learned very quickly the value of taking the time to think through gift-giving.

Mapping out a strategy

Now that I’m older, much more seasoned, and living on a budget, we sit down months before Christmas to map out a gift giving strategy. First is our budget — we decide exactly how much we are going to spend overall on gifts for everyone (friends and family). We create a budget for the kids and how much my husband and I will spend on each other. When my husband and I were on a “debt- payoff mission” we even decided not to give each other Christmas gifts those years.

Next we decide how many gifts each child gets (we typically give 3-4 per child) and decide on the type of gift we will give our kids. The younger the child, the smaller the budget. (Boxes are pretty cheap!)

One article I read had a great idea to not only limit the number of gifts to your kids to 4, but to have the following strategy for the types of gifts:

Something they want
Something they need
Something to wear
Something to read

Brilliant! A tweak to this can be if your child is a tween or older. If there is an expensive gift on their want list (as long as it’s within your budget), talk to your teen about receiving less gifts so they can have their one big “want” gift — a powerful way to help them understand the need for trade-offs in life.

Creating gratitude

A few of my friends have mentioned a struggle to reduce the number of gifts when their kids are so used to receiving several. I’ve found that the greatest way to help your kids appreciate the gifts they do receive is to engage them in an act of service. My family donates our time to homeless shelters with children and donates gifts to the families. Over time, our kids have begun to ask for less gifts and are far more appreciative of the gifts they do receive.

Having a budget and a gift giving strategy can make the holidays a lot less stressful. And sticking to the plan makes the January aftermath much less painful.

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Don’t Let Black Friday Put You In The Red

November 20, 2017

It’s official. The Holiday shopping season has begun. If you are like me and my family, spending for the holidays is one of the biggest budget busters you will face. Even if you have done a great job controlling your spending up until now (and I hope you have!), the desire to splurge during the holidays is all too real.

To help, I’ve put together some tips on how to manage your spending while keeping that holiday cheer:

Create and execute a detailed budget

I know, it sounds cliche, but it works. Start by breaking your spending down into categories. I suggest:

Gifts
Décor
Entertainment
Travel
Food
Last minute miscellaneous

Then, write down how much you are willing to spend in each category. Consider using a spreadsheet with a separate tab for each category or envelopes – the more detailed the better.

For every person you want to buy a gift for, record their name and the amount of money you want to spend on them. If you feel like it’s “you against the world” when you are budgeting, don’t create your budget in a bubble – include your significant other or a close friend to serve as both a reality check and an accountability partner.

Finally, beware the impulse buy – don’t make any holiday purchases before confirming that it fits in your budget or that it’s already in your plan.

Be careful of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

If you’re planning to be one of the over 154 million consumers expected to make a purchase on Black Friday, this one’s for you. The sales can be great, but don’t buy something unless it is specifically covered by your budget and in your plan. So, if you find that 70-inch TV at 50% off, but the price still exceeds your budget, consider not making the purchase – especially not for yourself.

If you feel like you spend more on yourself than other on Black Friday, you’re not alone. Studies show that 60% of the people who make purchases on Black Friday are “self-gifting.” If you can’t find the perfect sale on Black Friday to fit your budget, don’t worry – you still have about 4 weeks until the end of the holiday season and there will be other sales.

If you fall into the category of feeling obligated to shop on Black Friday because it is a family tradition or you like the rush, consider starting a new tradition such as volunteering in your community. Helping others while sticking to your budget sounds like a win/win situation to me.

Find creative ways to save money

If you are getting nickeled and dimed to death by buying a small gift for several people (teachers, neighbors, not-so-close friends, etc.), think of ways to spend less and still provide a personal gift.

If you are a baker, consider making a huge batch of your favorite cookies or pastries and pass them out (just don’t defeat the purpose by going crazy on cute packaging). A good sweet gift can go a long way toward putting a smile on someone’s face while keeping you on budget.

If you are hosting a family dinner for the holidays, consider baking a lasagna or using a more budget-friendly cut of meat, rather than prime rib, and ask your guests to bring their favorite beverage. You will still be serving a great meal and your guests will have the drink of their choice – that makes for a festive and affordable evening.

Managing your money effectively during the holidays does not mean you have to be a Grinch. Just sit with your accountability partner and write down a realistic budget that will still allow you to enjoy giving to others. Start some new traditions that are fun and affordable, and always remember that spending time with others is more valuable than spending money on others.

Happy holidays!

5 Seasonal Job Ideas To Earn Extra Holiday Cash

November 01, 2017

Whether you’re a holiday purist who loathes the fact that Christmas displays start popping up even before Sweetest Day, or if you’re one of those who is excited that certain radio stations are already playing holiday tunes, there’s no escaping that the beginning of November pretty much means we’re off to the races for the holiday season. I personally LOVE this time of year — any excuse for merry-making is a good excuse for me! But it’s also a time of busy-ness and stress, and can also get very expensive if you’re not careful.

If you’re looking for a way to help balance the budget against increased spending on things like gifts, travel, meals, etc., how about finding a way to earn some extra bucks? Here are five flexible ways that you can work into your schedule.

Delivery driver — As online shopping continues to take over, more drivers will be needed to deliver purchases to shoppers. For example, Amazon Flex allows drivers to choose when they want to deliver and can be a quick way to pick up an extra fifty bucks for a quick after-work or weekend delivery shift. Look to bakeries, flower shops or meal services for seasonal opportunities as well.
Grocery shopper — Most large grocery chains now have at least one service that allows customers to submit orders online for delivery within a certain window. The delivery shoppers choose which orders they want to fill and the tips aren’t bad either — one of my friends squeezes in a few shopping runs between work and picking her kids up from after-school sports, and it’s allowed her to completely fund their next family vacation.
Pet and house sitting — I’ve personally done this to boost my holiday budget, although the most plum earning opportunities are on the actual holidays, so if you’re one who travels or doesn’t have time to run out for a few hours before serving the holiday meal, it may not work. There are services that allow you to sign up as a contractor and they set up the clients in exchange for keeping up to half the fee, or you can just post in your neighborhood Facebook group or send out the word at work that you’re available to help out with pets and empty houses while people travel.
Gift wrapper/order filler — Many department and big box stores offer complimentary gift wrapping during the holidays, so if you’re pretty good with your hands, this could be a fun night and weekend gig that could also allow you to exercise some creativity. Are there any small businesses in your community that have a large mail-order presence? My mom worked one season for a local gift shop where she hand-wrote all the notes that went with gifts that customers ordered. The coolest part was when she had to write a note from one country music star to another.
Retail — This one may be the most obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning. I’ve held several seasonal retail jobs, including a season at Michael’s Crafts where I became known as “Yarn Kelley” for my Type A obsession with organizing the yarn bins. It’s hard work, but if you’re just doing it for a few weeks, a few shifts at a time, the money adds up and it can also give you an appreciation for your non-retail day job. Just take care not to spend all your earnings taking advantage of the employee discount! (and consider wearing compression stockings)

With a little creativity, there are earning opportunities all around you! Just be sure that you are strategic with the extra money — maybe open up a separate account to make sure you don’t fritter it away or designate the money to pay a certain bill like your cable and internet for the winter months.