Everyone wants their Christmas to be special and memorable. Unfortunately, it’s easy for your budget to spin out of control if you get caught up in the hype and frenzy of the commercial aspect of the season. My husband and I have to make sure we tighten our belts and stick to our pre-planned budget to be successful in managing our Christmas finances.
Sometimes in a marriage, the ideas about Christmas spending may differ between spouses. It’s important to open the lines of communication early to make sure everyone is on the same page. You may have to negotiate and compromise to make sure your budget aligns with your spending goals. Genworth Financial shared some tips on How to Talk to Your Spouse about Money, that helped me and my husband come to a mutual decision about Christmas spending. Our spending habits differ, but we are working on making sure we are on the same track so our financial goals can be accomplished. Marriage is a two way street and even after being married many years, we are still learning about finances on a daily basis.
Planning early and using online resources can help you stay on track this holiday season. Christmas budget spreadsheets are a good place to start. Spreadsheets help me track spending and keep me accountable for where the money is going. Plus, it helps me make sure I buy for everyone on our list and don’t buy more than we need.
Paying with cash is also very important. Using credit can be dangerous and if you over spend at Christmas time, the new year may not be very happy.
Do you have any good tips to share about Christmas spending and budgeting? I would love to have you share you tips with us.
Information sourced from Genworth Financial. Regardless all opinions are 100% my own. For more information about budgeting and finance visit the Genworth website.
Mallery Schuplin says
Budgets really are the way to go when it comes to Christmas! We usually put a cash limit on each person so we don’t have any surprises later on.
Michele says
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Kathleen Kennedy-Leon says
what a great reminder, becasue I do my best to start shopping early in the year to get the best deals for things I think people will really like/ use–but then as I’m shopping closer I tend to pick up just one more thing which leads to another and another–thanks for sharing!
Michele says
It’s easy to caught up in the Christmas spirit and over spend!
Stef says
I hate December, between taxes, 3 birthdays and the holidays there is no way to stick to a budget. We just do our best and do t use credit cards’
Michele says
Good thing you can work it out not to use credit. Thanks for the reminder, I need to pay my taxes too!
Kristin Wheeler (Mama Luvs Books) says
We’ve moved away from anything on credit, so whatever I can pay for upfront is what we spend.
Michele says
Good for you to get out of the credit trap! It’s nice to end the holidays with no credit card debt!
Joyce says
Oh I remember my single days when I worked full-time and I had a few great years where I put away money each month for a Christmas fund. This way I didn’t have a huge bill and the end of the year and I could buy everything with cash.