Work it Out with Chellie Mejia

25 November 2011 3 Comments

Chellie Mejia

By Chellie Mejia, B.Sc.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! At least, that’s what my bank account is telling me, and between the gift giving, the holiday entertaining, the decorations and the Kris Kringle office events, all of this spending is beginning to add up to the most wonderful … err, expensive … time of the year.

Going into the holiday season should be no different in your finance management routine than any other time of the year. If you want to avoid overspending, steer clear of financial stress and enjoy all the feelings that jingle bells and eggnog by the fireplace bring, you will need a budget and a plan. The earlier you get this done, the better handle you’ll have on your holiday shopping and spending throughout the season. You don’t need to go tainting all that holiday cheer with a family board meeting featuring Excel documents and pie charts, but incorporating a few simple budgeting practices can only be positive for your holiday spending and keep you enjoying the season without becoming overwhelmed.

Create a budget. I’m not going to lie, I broke out the Excel worksheet for this one, but my life in general is managed by Excel so no need to follow my example. It can be simple! Divide your budget into main categories (ie, gifts, entertaining, decorating) and decide on how much money is available for you to spend on these different categories according to your current financial situation. Be realistic! Underestimating costs runs the risk of you failing early and abandoning your budget altogether, and setting your expenses above your income is just bad financial planning.

Play Santa. Make a list. Once your budget is set for gift giving, make a list of gift receivers. I separate my list into present people (family and close friends), cookies and cupcakes people (mostly co-workers and neighbors) and card people (acquaintances or out-of-town family and friends). Try to decide on what gift you plan on getting them BEFORE making a trip down to the mall. That way you have an idea of what price point their gift falls under and how that works with your established budget.

Play Scrooge. Trim that list. Sometimes, my biggest holiday finance downfall has been realizing that not everyone needs to get a Christmas present. Sure my mailman would probably love a pair of super-efficient rain boots for his long route, and my kid’s teacher would probably enjoy a weekend spa trip to get away from the everyday, but if your budget can’t support the added bodies, then something needs to give. If you absolutely cannot bear the thought of removing someone from your list, consider smaller gifts, or inexpensive homemade gifts, or moving those people to your own cookies and cupcakes list. It is possible to let those people feel remembered and appreciated without breaking your budget.

Start Early. The earlier you start, the more time you have to organize your finances and start shopping. You’ll also have the advantage of comparing prices, finding the best deals, getting to pre-holiday sales and beating the inevitable December 22 department store lineup and mall parking lot madness.

It doesn’t take much to improve your holiday financial situation. Plan ahead, follow through, and bring on the eggnog! Happy holidays to you and yours.

Thumbnail image © Iodrakon | Dreamstime.com

Chellie Mejia is a freelance writer, real estate developer and lifestyle coach. Follow Chellie on Twitter @chelliemejia. Visit her brand new website www.chelliemejia.com