Making a Christmas gift budget and list
When it comes to Christmas gifts, it’s good to start with a budget. Give some serious thought to what’s affordable for you right now, and try not to fall into the trap of overspending or putting it onto a credit card.
If you haven’t done this already, set a limit for how much you’re going to spend and make a list of people you’ve decided to buy for. Then cost out how much you’re going to spend on each one.
There’s also still time to nip ‘giftmageddon’ in the bud – i.e. discuss with friends and relatives about not buying too much stuff for each other. Many families concentrate on buying gifts for the kids, and give token or homemade gifts to the adults, for example.
Beau and I have a price cap for what we spend on each other, and I like the challenge of finding gifts that have personal meaning rather than anything flashy. I’ve also stopped buying gifts for extended family for a number of reasons, and it was such a relief to break the cycle.
Once you have your budget and list of recipients, have a good think about what they’d like. Research possible gifts online, and start monitoring prices. Depending upon what you’re buying, there might be price drops or discounts coming over the next couple of weeks.
What’s happening here
I managed another no-spend day yesterday, but will be going out for coffees tomorrow to avoid being too anti-social. Last night’s dinner was casserole base (cooked pearl barley, split peas, lentils, onion, carrots and herbs) from the freezer, with added smoked paprika and sliced veggie sausages. It was pretty good, very filling.
Today I’ll be looking at my budget, and factoring in things I’ve already bought into the total amount. Think I’ve done about half of the shopping already, and just need to have a quick think about the rest of it.
Still sticking to the TV diet as well. So far I’ve watched a 20 minute short, and a recording of an episode of Fargo. Being picky is good and it definitely gives me more time to think, plan and come up with new ideas.
Money spent yesterday: £0.00
Total spent so far this week: £0.00
How are you getting on?
On Christmas presents I have done my list the other way round. I made my list of presents I wanted for my children, now have the pleasure of finding the cheapest price even if it means waiting!
Budget this week was £40 (four of us) weekly shop from Tesco was £16 (£40 delivery threshold so stocked up with things for next week) + £3.68 from Monday, zero spend yesterday as I’m. Poorly and not going out!
I save a set amount from my wages each month put into an account for Christmas and birthdays, so I have my Christmas budget in place and I have kept a note page on my phone of ideas for presents for those I buy for at Christmastime. We made the break from buying for extended family years ago and my friends and I have an agreement that we won’t buy presents for each other, but must make the effort to see each other at Some point over the festive season. I have subscribed to 100 days to Christmas with organised home for a number of years and I find this helps me to be organised and realistic when it comes to spending at Christmas. As for tenner week, no spend days on Monday and Tuesday but Children in need is on Friday so have spent £2.50 today on some Pusey ears for my Daughter for school and made her superhero cape from left-over / scrap material that I already had lying around.
Hi JBM2 – your budget’s going well so far. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Hi Jo – saving a little bit each month makes it so much more affordable, doesn’t it? Well done on the no spend days.