Holiday Budgeting Simplified

Tomorrow we ring in a new month and many of us will refresh our budget in preparation for the month the holidays.  But, as we near the end of the year and prepare to celebrate two holidays within one week of each other, many of us will experience

HOLIDAY BRAIN:

Our overtired brain's inability to think clearly due to the endless list of merriment-related plans we must make in preparation for the holidays

HB can cause us to...

...put an ice pack in our purse and a car key in the freezer.

...walk into a room and completely forget why we're there.

...drive away from the ATM with JUST the receipt, leaving behind the cash and 

our card.

Budgeting plays an important role in the month of December because retailers everywhere are competing for - and will gladly accept - our money.  

But, we too live with HB at this time of the year, and what follows is a quick refresher course mainly for ourselves that may also be helpful to you:  

. . . BUDGETING FOR SMARTIES WITH HOLIDAY BRAIN. . .

. . . . . . .

A budget is:

MONEY IN - MONEY OUT

If you're interested, I've listed examples for each HERE.

If we want more money:

We need to     }  add items to MONEY IN or make those numbers larger

                         }  remove items from MONEY OUT or make those numbers smaller

. . . . . . . . .

Once we know exactly how much money we have coming in and from where, along with every expense we could possibly throw money at, it's easier to see which expenses/purchases are most important and should come first.  By cutting out optional and less important expenses/purchases, it's even possible to "find" money you didn't realize was there and put on a wonderful Christmas for a neighbor struggling with the most basic of needs. 

FOOD is an important purchase that has no cost limit.  We enjoy good food and hanging onto as many of our hard-earned dollars as possible.  You can Follow by Email below and continue to follow our blog as we work to make this number as small as possible for families everywhere, without sacrificing good meals. 

Finally, we realize that with "budgeting" we've pulled at the threads of THE UGLY "MONEY" SWEATER, of which "credit," "debt," and "interest" are all a part...

It was important to my parents to put on a magical and memorable holiday for their family, and many parents who hope to do the same may feel desperate to find money in the budget, that just isn't there.  

Remember that growing your MONEY IN numbers will require your time and energy, while money goes out all too easily.  It may also help to imagine dollars spent in credit this month appearing on next month's MONEY OUT list, and every month's thereafter until the amount is paid off.  

Wishing you happy budgeting and happy gifting.

What is your funniest Holiday Brain story?

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