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Christmas Shopping Season 2017
Make a list for Christmas Shopping
This is a famous line from one of the most beloved Christmas songs. Everyone who celebrates Christmas knows all about Santa’s good and naughty lists. Most people do their best to stay off of Santa’s naughty list. While the concept of Santa’s lists is a fun way to convince children to be on their best behavior during the Christmas season, the concept of a list should one that all Christmas shoppers depend on while they are doing their Christmas shopping. In fact, your Christmas shopping should be filled with a variety of lists. You can create lists for everyone you plan to give gifts to this year. You should make lists of potential gift ideas and narrow them down to the actual gifts you’ll buy. All of this list making may sound tedious but we’ll see how all of these lists can be very helpful.
Making a list of everyone you plan to give a Christmas present to should be the first step in any Christmas shopping expedition. This list is important because it gives you a handy reference to all the people you want to surprise with a holiday treat while you are shopping. It also gives you a tally of the number of people on your Christmas list. Knowing how many people are on your list is important for setting a budget. Determine how much money you can afford to spend and divide this amount by the number of people on your list and this will give you an idea of how much you can spend on each person on your Christmas list.
After you make this list and set your budget, it is a good idea to make a new list of potential gift ideas for each person on your Christmas gift list. It’s a good idea to brainstorm and come up with a couple of viable gift ideas for each person on your first list. When you are out Christmas shopping, it will help you to know where to start your search. You’ll have a few choices on hand if you are having difficulty finding just the right presents for someone. You may find items that are not on your list but are perfect for the person you are shopping for. It’s okay to buy gifts that are not on the list as long as you stick to your budget. Your list of gift ideas is just a point of departure. If you find a more appropriate gift that is not on your list, go ahead and roll with it.
When Christmas shopping, you should also keep a list of the items you actually purchase. This is particularly helpful if you have a very long list. You might have difficulty remembering all the items you already bought if you don’t mark them down. Keeping an updated list will minimize this problem. This list also comes in handy when it is time to start wrapping all the Christmas gifts you’ve purchased. If you have a closet full of gifts, you may have trouble remembering which one goes to whom. However, if you kept an accurate list while you shopped, this should not be a problem.
Setting a Budget for Christmas Shopping
It is never too early to start thinking about setting a budget for Christmas shopping. As much as we would like to be able to purchase anything and everything we want for our friends and relatives, most of us have to budget carefully to be able to get Christmas gifts for all of our friends and relatives withouth breaking the bank. As such, it is very important to set a budget for Christmas shopping and to do your best to really stick to it.
Some people take an interesting approach to setting their Christmas shopping budget by waiting until they are ready to start shopping to actually set the budget. They usually do this because they are saving specifically for the purpose of Christmas shopping. Whether they open up a bank account specifically for Christmas shopping, set aside money in a piggy bank each week or plan on using a percentage of their income from the month of November for Christmas shopping it is important to set your budget and determine a plan for purchasing all of the Christmas gifts without exceeding your shopping budget.
Other people take a different approach to setting a budget for Christmas shopping. They do this by shopping throughout the year and incorporating their spending for Christmas presents into their monthly budgets. These individuals may designate a percentage of their monthly income to Christmas gift giving. They might either purchase the gifts on a monthly basis or simply set aside the money for a Christmas shopping spree later in the year. Those who spread out the Christmas shopping by doing a little bit of shopping each month not only keep their budget in control but they also eliminate a great deal of the stress which often accompanies last minute Christmas shopping.
Another interesting approach to setting a budget for Christmas shopping is waiting for an end of year bonanza. Those who typically receive a financial bonus at work around Christmas time may base their budget on the amount of money they are awarded in this bonus. This strategy may work out well since it does not cause them to alter their normal monthly spending. These bonuses are independent of their regular monthly budgeting. However, unless these bonuses are guaranteed annually, there is some risk involved. Often, annual bonuses are awarded based on criteria such as the company’s earnings and the individual employee’s contributions to the success of the company. The company may not enjoy financial success or the contributions of the employee may not be highly valued. There may be either no bonus or a bonus much lower than expected. When this happens, those who count on bonuses for Christmas shopping may find themselves in a pinch with no recourse but to stack up debt on their credit cards instead.
Budgeting for Christmas shopping is especially important for those who plan to use credit cards to make their purchases. In the case of credit card purchases, it would be worthwhile to spread the Christmas shopping out over the entire year in order to repay the debts associated with the shopping on a monthly basis. This will help to prevent carrying a huge balance and being charged interest on that balance each month. However, if must do all of your Christmas shopping at one time, it’s best to save up during the year instead of running up your cards. Before you begin shopping, evaluate the amount of money you have saved and set the budget for your Christmas shopping. This way even though you are using a credit card and will receive a large bill the following month, you will already have enough money to pay the bill in its entirety and avoid paying interest on the debt.
Even those with the best of intentions can find themselves going over their Christmas shopping budget. When this happens, it’s important to keep your generosity under control and avoid going too far over budget. You may spend too much on one or two people on your Christmas list but you can offset this by purchasing less expensive gifts for a few other people to stay within the overall budget.
We hope this has helped you keep a bit of a tight rein on your shopping forays. Be kind and courteous to family and friends, but be kind to yourself by not burying yourself in debt.