Set Your Budget & Determine Who You’re Shopping For

Whether or not you personally celebrate Christmas, December 25 marks the height of the holiday (and shopping) season. But it can get so stressful if you wait until December to start your shopping.

To help you plan more effectively, we're offering tips and strategies each month so you can stay on pace with your holiday shopping... rather than needing to brave the waves of crowds late at night.

By the end of August, we recommend you set your holiday shopping budget. Here's how you can do that: 

Step #1: Set a realistic budget, and (if necessary) start saving. 

First of all, assess your finances. What can you realistically spend this holiday season and feel good, comfortable, and abundant afterward?

This is your large, overarching number... maybe it's $100, $200, $500 or more. If you haven't been saving for the holidays yet, now's a great time to start. A little bit each week can still mean a lot of cash by Christmas.

If you start saving by the end of August:

• $10 per week:  $160 by Christmas
• $20 per week: $320 by Christmas
• $35 per week: $560 by Christmas
• $50 per week:  $800 by Christmas

Be sure to set up separate savings and/or checking accounts and give them a specific name, like “Holiday Gift Fund” or something else memorable, so you don't feel tempted to pull money from the account(s) prematurely. 

You can also withdraw this amount in cash from your primary checking or savings account and put it in a special envelope you take with you when you go shopping in-person. This is a great strategy if you prefer to physically use cash rather than a debit or credit card.

Step #2: Make a list of everyone you plan to buy gifts for.

After you've determined your overall holiday gift budget, make a list of everyone you plan to get gifts for, and then assign each person a percentage. 

Here's an example:

• Spouse: 20%
• Kiddo: 30%
• Parents: 10%
• Sibling: 10%
• Best Friend: 20%
• Other Friends (5): 2% x 5 = 10%

If my overall budget is $500, then here's how I would divvy that up:

• Spouse (20%): $100
• Kiddo (30%): $150
• Parents (10%): $50
• Sibling (10%): $50
• Best Friend (20%): $100
• Each Friend (2%): $10 x 5

This approach will help you know exactly how much you're spending on each friend and loved one rather than feeling surprised or overwhelmed by how much you've spent at the end of December if you go in without a strategy first.

Step #3: Consider adding a buffer.

Once you've established your core budget, think about adding a buffer for unexpected expenses or additional gifts. 

Maybe there's the perfect gift you've been eyeing for your spouse but it's a tiny bit more than you've budgeted. You can still splurge without feeling stressed if you've added a buffer to your budget. 

We recommend adding a buffer of 10-20% of your original budget to your total budget. In the example above, adding a 20% buffer would make my total holiday gift budget $600. That buffer can go towards sales tax, shipping, or simply helping you cover the extra costs for a special item.

In Part 2 of this blog post series, we share additional strategies and tips to shop consciously during the holiday season and to create your gift list in the most pain-free way possible.