Set a Family Budget That Lets You Give

December can be an overwhelming month when it comes to the family budget.  For many people they want to be generous and choose a holiday gift that will adequately reflect their appreciation to the person receiving it.  It’s a lovely gesture but when the holiday bills start filling your mailbox and draining your bank account after the first of the year, you won’t have any appreciation for the fact that you didn’t plan your gift giving strategy more carefully.

When it’s time to set a family budget, gift giving has to have a place.  If it doesn’t your December buying binges could result in financial problems that last for the better part of the next year. 

The first and most important step is to choose an amount of money that you can affordably spend and then sticking with it.  This shouldn’t be done while you are in the middle of a store filled with holiday decorations and tempting gift choices. This should be done early in the year, the earlier the better actually.

A common time of year to set a family budget is in January.  For some people it becomes one of their New Year’s Resolutions.  Saving money and sticking to a budget.  Along with weight loss, this resolution often doesn’t make it into February.  With a little willpower though you can not only lose weight but save money as well.  Gift giving is an area that most people can save quite a bit of money in.

Here is a list of money saving tips that relate to gift giving:

• Make your Christmas and birthday gift giving lists in January.
• Pick an amount to spend on each person and don’t defer from that.
• Whenever you see something during the year that fits the person’s interests and your budget, purchase it and set it aside for the appropriate occasion.
• Homemade gifts such as greeting cards and fruit baskets are a lovely gesture and welcomed because the person giving took time to make something as opposed to purchasing it.
• Discuss the idea of picking names for Christmas gift giving if you are a member of a large family.  If each person spends a slightly larger amount of money on one person as opposed to a small amount on several people this allows you to not only give a nicer gift, but you save money as well.

Gift giving doesn’t need to break your piggy bank.  When you set a family budget, pick an amount for each person you need to buy gifts for and get shopping, knowing that this year you won’t overextend yourself and your holidays really will be filled with joy. You’ll have the joy of knowing that you’ve given what you can afford. Often others will appreciate a gift limit as well because it means less money they feel pressured into spending as well.  The holidays are much more about family than gifts and with proper planning you can have both.