Money Saving Monday-Creating a Christmas Budget WITHOUT credit cards!!

Are you ready for Christmas yet??? We are currently hitting highs over 100 degrees here in eastern Washington, so it is hard to believe that Christmas is coming up fast, but there are only 150 days left until Christmas Eve…less than 5 months…21 weekends!!! Do you have your Christmas budget ready??

Last September I explained ALLLL about how I try to plan ahead by using sinking funds to be prepared for extra expenses, but what if it is now July and you DO NOT have sinking funds set aside for Christmas?? We all know 2020 has started off really crap-tastic and ALL planning has LITERALLY gone out the window. SOOOO let’s talk about how to salvage your 2020 budget and still plan ahead for Christmas WITHOUT using credit cards!!!

First off, if you have not read my post about SINKING FUNDS, start there. If that all sounds like a GREAT PLAN and you want to jump on board for these last 150 days, buckle on up because Christmas is coming in hot!!

Create a Christmas Budget

Step ONE, figure out how much you need to budget for Christmas. Remember that you waited until July, 2020 has been a year from hell, and Christmas will MOST LIKELY be a different sort of holiday this year. SOOO keep your plans simple. Draw your line in the sand and decide what is a MUST and what is just fluff. Fluff is for when you have extra money in your budget. Fluff is not necessary. We are in survival mode. CUT the fluff and create an honest budget for a 2020 version of Christmas. Maybe 2021 will be the year of Christmas Fluff:)

Write it all down. Create a list of everyone you need to buy for and how much you would like to spend. Remember that at Christmas we spend money on WAYYYY more than just gifts. For 3 months I feel like money is just flowing like water out of my wallet during the holidays. How much extra will you need for holiday food, treats, decorations, Christmas cards, neighbor gifts, clothing, family pictures, teacher gifts, wrapping paper, travel expenses, etc.

Add up what you THINK you will need for EVERYTHING and see what that number is. It might be scary. But once you see THAT number, you can decided if THAT number is realistic for your current circumstances. We have 21 weeks until Christmas, so let’s say we want to save for 15 weeks…that will give us until the first weekend of November to lock in our Christmas savings. BUT if you want to save longer and spend it all on Black Friday, count how many weeks you have until you are ready to shop.

SOOOO hypothetically let’s say your final number is $1,000. You want to start shopping in November and so that gives you 15 weeks to save. Divide that $1000 by 15 weeks, and that means you would need to save $67 per week for 15 weeks to cash-flow your holiday season. Is that doable?? $266 each month?? Can you realistically save $266 each month until November to pay for Christmas?? If so, you are done. If you begin now, and put your money aside each week or month, you will have enough money to pay for Christmas WITHOUT STRESS. YAY!!!

What if I cannot afford my Christmas Budget??

Ok, but what if you CANNOT realistically save that amount?? NOW WHAT?? Well, that means it is time cut the fluff. This can be painful. It might actually hurt a little…or a lot. You may be forced to say no to a few things you REALLY want to say yes to. BUT remember…debt sucks. Credit card debt is the enemy. Feeling stressed and over-extended during the holidays is NOT the answer. Think about what you REALLY need to have a wonderful Christmas and start there. Look at that list and see if anything can be cut. Maybe you cannot afford to send a Christmas picture out this year. Maybe this year you can determine to use ONLY what decorations you already have and NOT buy anything new from the Target Dollar Spot (I understand the struggle is real). These are the hard cuts. What can you give up THIS year…knowing that next year you can start earlier and plan ahead and add the fluff back in??

For example, what if you cannot afford to put aside $67 each week, but you CAN save $50? What can you cut from your Christmas budget?? Maybe you cannot afford to make Christmas treats this year. Can you cut that item from your list?? Can you borrow a holiday dress from a friend?? Think outside of the box this year…remember the point is to TEMPORARILY do without a few things so that LATER, you can enjoy more financial freedom. SO make the tough calls. Ask your adult family members if you can all skip exchanging gifts this year. Or plan for a white elephant exchange instead. Offer to volunteer your time and talents to your kid’s teachers instead of buying them a gift. Plan a more simplified budget friendly Christmas meal and save on food and supplies.

There are A LOT of things that have become expectations for Christmas that are REALLY not necessary…matching jammies immediately comes to mind. Maybe THIS is the year you just wear REGULAR jammies for Christmas Eve and NOT stress out to post a family picture to facebook…just a thought. Take a hard look at it. If jammies are in the budget and make you happy…dress like elves and smile pretty. BUT if you are stressing over your finances and looking for help…skip the fluff!! There are SOOOO many ways to cut back if you sit down and plan instead of just heading into the Holiday season without a financial plan. Be ready to say no…even when it hurts.

What if I am not willing to cut out ANYTHING?!

Soooo what if you want it all?? You want the BIG Christmas you are used to, but you also cannot figure out where the money will come from?? It is hard cutting out WANTS when it seems like everyone else is living the high life, but remember that change is temporary. You are giving up a few things NOW so that you can have ALL THE THINGS later. I wrote a whole post on it over HERE. BUT essentially you have to remember your WHY?? WHY do you need to spend less?? Do you need to pay off debt, fill your emergency fund, pay your bills, stop using credit cards? Whatever the reason, keep that in mind. You cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results.

Next, you can head over here to find out 15 ways to find MORE money in your budget. This might help you find some extra dollar bills to use for Christmas. BUT remember that each time you save money, you have to then put it aside specifically for your Christmas fund. Be VERY conscious of EVERY dollar you spend. If you decide to skip the coffee stand this week and save $20, take that $20 and add it to your Christmas fund. It can turn in to a fun game. And it can help to be very specific. Maybe this week you are going to save for Little Tommy’s bike. Create a Tommy’s Bike envelope and start adding your saved dollars to it. When you are thinking of eating out instead of making dinner, consider the money you can save for Tommy and how excited he will be for that bike on Christmas morning. Then if you DON’T eat out, take the $40 bucks you planned on spending and pop it in the Tommy envelope. It will make cooking dinner feel like a win instead of a chore.

If you want to save a quick chunk to add to your Christmas fund, try a spending freeze. I discuss all of my favorite spending freeze tips and tricks over HERE. It can be a fun way to save a big chunk all at once. For example, say you are able to hold a freeze for one week each month from now until November. You save $150, each time, that is $600 to add to your Christmas fund!!! ORRR maybe decided that for the entire month of September you will ONLY spend money on NEEDS…NO WANTS. Maybe you could save an extra few hundred dollars for the Holidays in a month that should NOT be a big spend month. Every sacrifice you are willing to make will help add money to your sinking funds…but it WILL NOT be easy…keep that why in mind!!!

Phew. Are you ready for this?? I swear once school starts, we hit Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, in a dang flash. Take the time NOW to figure out if you are REALLY ready for the BIG SPEND that is coming, or if you need to cut the fat a little and tighten up those purse strings. Christmas is supposed to be filled with family and joy…NOT stress and pressure. Did I mention I skipped adding to my sinking funds when the craziness of 2020 hit full on. SO we are in this together (hang out with me on Facebook and Instagram for every day updates). LET’s DO IT!!! We will chat soon. Jess

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