Budgeting for the Holidays can be tough, overwhelming, and frustrating all rolled into one season. I am so excited to be partner with Walmart to share how I budget for the holidays. There are so many things to stress about during the holidays don’t let spending money be one of them! Walmart is one of my favorite places to shop for the holidays.
Y’all before I share some of my tips and tricks on how to budget let me just get one thing straight-I HATE saving money and I use to be terrible at saving money. I really identify with the Carrie Bradshaw quote, “I like my money right where I can see it...hanging in my closet.” Luckily, through trial and error (and a lot of buyer’s remorse) I have learned HOW to spend money well. Gift giving, as I’ve found out, is one of my love languages, so I have become an expert in the field! In this post I am going to help you be better prepared and have a better understanding of what you should be shopping for and how I will be spending money over the Holiday season. So let’s get ready to rumble and shop smart!
First things first, you need to sit down and make a list of every single person you will be buying for. For example, I will be using one of my followers who needs to buy for her mother-in-law, father-in-law, two Aunts (on her husband’s side), two uncles (on her husband’s side), and her husband’s three siblings-that is 9 people just on the in-law side! A good rule to follow is keep immediate family at a higher price point and extended family a step lower. For the mother-in-law and father-in-law, I would stick to around $50 and seven others at or around $30. The total for in-law spending should be around $300 and you can use that same price point for your side of the family as well.
After you have the number of people you are buying for listed and the price points in mind, this is when you start brainstorming what gifts are in your price range. If you are also expecting to be super busy during the month of December, I would go ahead and start buying presents now so you aren't running around like crazy in December. Make sure you also aren’t relying on your credit cards to fill in the gaps. During the holidays, I always make sure to turn on my bank notifications so I don’t end up coasting through the last week of December on the little money I have left!
During the rest of the year, I typically budget with the 50/30/10/10 rule. 50% goes towards cost of living, gas for my car, and utilities. 30% goes towards my lifestyle, that’s when I eat out, my shopping, and any money I spend traveling. 10% goes towards my Church, or money I donate to my favorite charities. And then finally the last 10% goes towards savings. During November and December, however, I tend to alter this scale a little bit by changing the 30% of lifestyle to 10% lifestyle and 20% Holiday Budget. That means 20% of your salary from November and December can be for budgeting, if you scale back on buying for yourself. Also, I should note that 20% of your salary, is at the higher end of what you should be spending. I love to shop for my holiday gifts at Walmart. I always knock so many people off my list. Please don’t add to your holiday stress by going into debt over gift buying!!!
And thank you, Walmart for sponsoring this post!
Women's Gifts Under $100
Shop This Look
