{"id":1948,"date":"2015-10-14T00:15:56","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T08:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/?p=1948"},"modified":"2015-10-13T08:56:22","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T16:56:22","slug":"how-to-plan-and-save-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/how-to-plan-and-save-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Plan and Save for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"As<\/a>I saw a post on Facebook the other day stating there was only ten Saturdays left until Christmas. While part of me was highly annoyed that we\u2019re being sold to ten weeks before Christmas, the other part was thinking \u201cHoly Cow! There\u2019s only ten weeks until Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

While I won\u2019t be baking Christmas cookies or buying the ten tons of Christmas decorations I see inside every store, I do think now is a great time to plan for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

And by planning, I mean saving.<\/p>\n

There are ten Saturdays left until Christmas and if you\u2019re creative that\u2019s plenty of time to get your finances in order and avoid paying with plastic this year.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to do.<\/p>\n

Determine What You\u2019ll Spend<\/h2>\n

How much do you spend each Christmas? This obviously differs from person to person. I have two kids to purchase for, one niece and nephew, my parents and in-laws.<\/p>\n

My kids take the bulk of my Christmas shopping money and I normally spend around $500 on Christmas gifts for everyone.<\/p>\n

That means I just need to save $50 per week for the next ten weeks to amass the $500.<\/p>\n

Determine how much you normally spend and then take it one step farther\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

Make a List (And Check It Twice)<\/h2>\n

After you ballpark your Christmas spending number write out a list of everyone you\u2019ll buy for, budget amounts, and gift ideas.<\/p>\n

This not only makes sure you keep your spending in line with amount you originally budgeted but it will help you stay organized and will also help you try and score some deals. When you have an idea of what you\u2019ll buy the people on your list you\u2019ll be able to watch for savings.<\/p>\n

Determine What You Can Save<\/h2>\n

If you need to save $50 per week is that realistic for you? If it\u2019s not you\u2019ll need to either a) get more creative with your gift giving or b) earn more money.<\/p>\n

Figure out how much money you\u2019re going to need to save each week. If you can\u2019t manage to squeeze that much from your budget, make a plan.<\/p>\n

Your plan can be one of two things \u2013 earning more or spending less. (There\u2019s no right or wrong here!)<\/p>\n

Earning More<\/h2>\n

Earning more money doesn\u2019t have to be as hard as it sounds. In fact, I encourage you to keep it simple.<\/p>\n

One of the best places to start is by seeing if you can work more hours at your current job. If you can, try taking on a few extra hours each week up until Christmas.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t or just don\u2019t like that option then consider the second best: selling. Declutter your house and list the stuff you no longer use or want on Facebook Yard Sales or Craigslist. You can even take it a step farther and flip items on Craigslist. (Buy low, sell high.)<\/p>\n

If you need more ideas check out my post 5 Ways to Make $500\/Month From Home.<\/a><\/p>\n

Spend Less<\/h2>\n

If the earn more option isn\u2019t going too great your next stop is spending less. There\u2019s nothing wrong with spending less this year than previous years.<\/p>\n

Start with adults.<\/strong> If you buy for adults in your family simply let them know that you don\u2019t have the money to buy them gifts this year and you\u2019d appreciate it if they didn\u2019t buy you anything either. Your family members will likely be completely understanding and respectful of your situation.<\/p>\n

Start scouting deals early.<\/strong> You can make a small budget stretch far if you start looking for deals early on. You\u2019ve got ten weeks!<\/p>\n

Focus on experiences rather than gifts.<\/strong> Let\u2019s be real. Kids lose interest in toys extremely fast. A few hours after opening presents my kid\u2019s excitement is gone. And on Christmas morning they are more interested in unwrapping gifts than the actual gifts themselves.<\/p>\n

Do fun things with your kids that aren\u2019t expensive. Bake cookies. Go sledding. Watch Christmas movies together. Read books.<\/p>\n

Shift the focus from gifts to memories.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on a limited budget you\u2019ve got ten weeks to plan and find deals. If you use some creativity you should be able to plan an amazing Christmas on a small budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I saw a post on Facebook the other day stating there was only ten Saturdays left until Christmas. While part of me was highly annoyed that we\u2019re being sold to ten weeks before Christmas, the other part was thinking \u201cHoly Cow! There\u2019s only ten weeks until Christmas.\u201d While I won\u2019t be baking Christmas cookies or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[425,522],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cultofmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}