Developing a Holiday Budget

   

Hopefully my holiday spending will be nothing like this cartoon, but I can relate. Whether it's eating up all the excess food, or juggling the timing of bills to make room for the credit card bill, it's easy to let the little extras derail our January financial picture-or worse, let it linger into spring or dare I say the following year. Next year I am going to do an envelope system, whether that is real or virtual,  is still to be determined. If anyone knows any good banks that allow you to set up different funding streams within an account, I'd love to check it out. When I had my first checking account, and that bank no longer exists having been bought out several times over since I was 16, they had this nice little pass book system. You could earmark where you wanted your deposit to go. That's how I was disciplined enough to buy my first car. while simultaneously saving for my summer in France, and first college expenses. After putting in the various buckets, there just was pretty much spare change left, but I met my goals. 

     

     In our paper budget, I have funds earmarked-they will just come out of the regular cash flow and figured in as part of annual spending. It can be harder though to stay to that budget so I have to think of it as no different than if I had an actual stack of cash with a finite end. I need to plan my holiday budget the same way, making it last for all categories, or eliminating items and expenses that just won't fit. I start with the bulk categories and then add details.

• Gifts: who to shop for an the budget per person
• Food for parties/gatherings: where are we going, who am I hosting, what meals are served
• Baking and Treats: What do I need for the various items I pan to make, what is the plan for said items so we are not still eating them in March
• Decorations: I am well beyond needing to create themes and use my decades  acquired items over and over again. However some things break and lights burn out, and some fresh  pieces may be too hard to pass up, so I give myself a little budget there. 
• Wrapping and cards" This one is greatly paid forward each year as I try and buy as much on clearance after Christmas, but it is still an expense between Thanksgiving and New Years to account for. I still do physical Christmas
• Entertainment: Let's not forget to add this in. Drinks with friends in town, extra meals out when our son is here, Christmas concert tickets, free will donations/tips for live musicians. It all can add up. Leaving the house with what you thought was plenty of cash and still need to pull out the credit card or find an ATM is never a pleasant surprise. I try to plan for it, or be deliberate about skipping something that puts me in a position of spending more than you budgeted for 
• Travel: We share some of DS's travel expenses with him, depending on the deal he can find with air fair. I tend to cut back a bit on spending on him for his December birthday and Christmas to even out what we might put towards his travel.There also will be a tank here and there extra for gas, and  with getting DD2 home, more costs. 
• End of year giving: We just have our regular giving cycle as part of our spending cycle, but I find adding a little cushion for some extra giving helps me feel in the holiday spirit. 

One of my tasks this weekend is to put some numbers to the categories. I'll keep that to myself as for every family, it is highly individual. The point is to have a budget and stick with it whether that is $100 or $5,000 or all parts in between.