Well, Christmas is coming! And that means the end of the year is quickly approaching. It always seems hard to believe when you see those first Christmas lights go up that it’s this time of year again.
I’m enjoying Christmas shopping more than usual this year. For starters, I made a list of everyone I’m buying gifts for and I have the amount I’m spending beside each person on my list. I have saved up this money already, so that takes the stress out of Christmas shopping. Of course, I’ve already had to start shuffling around amounts – borrowing money from different people’s columns because I’ve overspent on some gifts already!
I’m also enjoying Christmas shopping this year because my kids are getting older and it has been fun to think of things that aren’t necessarily on their lists but that I know they’d love regardless. I mean, after all, their lists are hilarious and ridiculous. The kids range in age from ten to six and each list has a cell phone, laptop, iPod, TV, etc. on it. I seem to remember circling toys in the “Sears Wish Book” at their age – not asking for every possible electronic device out there (Although, I did get a sweet Sony Walkman with the cassette option one year. It even had a belt clip, if I recall, which made it even more awesome. Imagine clipping that huge thing on your belt nowadays? I found a picture of one online and showed my kids. They weren’t impressed).
I also remember the time I got my own phone for my room (no, not the wireless kind!). I told my kids this and they didn’t understand because they’ve never even seen one of those spirally phone cords that limited our movement to a six-foot radius around the phone.
I actually shopped online more than usual this year for Christmas – I even took advantage of some “black Friday” deals and had three items shipped to a postal box in the States. I have never done that before, so we’ll see how that goes when it’s all said and done.
I just wanted to take this time to encourage you in your budgeting. Having a budget doesn't mean that you are cheap or that you are always looking for or finding the best deals. To me, it just means you know where your money has gone and where it is going to go. It means that you are trying to spend less or the same as you make and not go into debt.
I’m not necessarily looking to get the best deal, and I know that there are a lot of times when I could have gotten a better price on certain items. Even with my Christmas shopping, I have a specific amount of money allocated for each of my kids and, since I have the money budgeted and saved already for their gifts, I don’t necessarily need to search for a deal on their items. If I do happen to find a good deal on some items, then I can buy them more things; however, we feel that more certainly doesn’t mean better.
I just wanted to encourage you that you are ahead of most people if you are trying to budget or trying to live within your means. We all fail from time to time and we all make stupid purchases and spend too much sometimes.
Just keep trying to live within your means and still enjoy your life in the meantime!
Happy Christmas Shopping!
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