“A goal without a plan is just a wish!”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One way you can ensure you don’t go into debt this Christmas is by planning for Christmas NOW! It’s not too soon to start thinking about your Christmas budget and gift-giving list. Today I am going to share with you 6 things we are NOT doing financially this Christmas and 6 things we WILL do financially this Christmas. I will also share with you how we can make this Christmas a DEBT-FREE Christmas. Let’s jump into it.
First, let’s establish the 6 things we are not doing this year.
This Christmas we are NOT:
❌ Going into debt to buy gifts.
❌ Using Afterpay, Quadpay or Klarna to buy gifts for family and friends.
❌ Going to stop paying our bills to buy gifts.
❌ Going to buy gifts we know we cannot afford.
❌ Busting out budgets to fund Christmas.
❌ Feeling guilty about not being able to buy everyone a gift.
Instead, we will make this a DEBT-FREE Christmas by:
✅ Creating a budget to fund Christmas:
We will determine how much we can afford to spend on Christmas this year. We must put a dollar amount to our Christmas Fund. (Ex. $250, $500, $1,000, $2,000 etc)
✅ Saving for Christmas now by creating a sinking fund:
Now that we know our dollar amount, it’s time to create a sinking fund just for Christmas. I like to park my money in a high-yield savings account with Ally. You can park your money in a high-yield savings account, your savings account connected to your checking account, or in an envelope in a secure place. It’s all up to you.
✅ Planning by using the Backward Planning Model:
Now that we know how much money we will save and where we will park the money it’s time to backward plan. Backward planning is simply starting with the end goal in mind and developing small goals to reach the end goal. For example, if the goal is to save $500 for Christmas these are the steps you will take:
- Determine how much money you’ll need to save monthly to reach the $500 goal by December. The goal is $500 so we will divide that by 5 months which will equal $100. Meaning, we will have to save $100 dollars a month to reach the $500 goal. ($500/ 5= $100)
- Breaking $ 100 dollars down even further will mean saving $50 each paycheck if you get paid twice a month.
✅ Developing a plan for gift giving.
Now that you created your savings goals for the next 5 months, it’s time to get to the fun part, creating a plan for gift giving. Now it’s time to be intentional about who we are giving to and what we plan to give. One quick and simple way to do this is by creating a Christmas Shopping List Template on Google. Below is an example of a Christmas Shopping List. Creating this template was super easy. This template will help you keep track of the recipient, the item(s) you planned to purchase, the recipient’s budget, and when you purchased the gift. You can even go a step further and categorized/ color code your list:
Red= Immediate Family, Blue= Adopted classroom students, Green= Adopted Angel Tree Children , Purple= Local Cheerleading Team.
✅ Buying gifts we know we can afford.
Now that you know how much money you can spend, who you are buying gifts for, and what you want to buy it’s time to make sure we are within budget. Review your Christmas Shopping List and make sure you are within your budget and the recipient’s budget. Visit the store’s website to estimate how much the item(s) will cost.
✅ Using cash to pay for gifts.
After you’ve planned and organized your spending for Christmas, it’s time to go shopping! Remember the money we will use for Christmas is inside our sinking fund. We aren’t using credit cards and we aren’t buying now and paying later. When we are ready, we will use the cash we saved to make our purchases.
💫 Challenging ourselves to give to others in need.
This is a challenge we all should consider. Now that you have planned gifts for your family and friends, I challenge you to save an extra $20, $50, $100, or $500 to do some random acts of kindness throughout the holiday season. Consider donating to a charity of your choice, participating in an Angel Tree Operation, paying for someone’s groceries, or leaving a generous tip for a waitress.
I hope these tips help you have a DEBT-FREE Christmas!
❓: Let me know in the comments what you plan to do this year to have a debt-free Christmas.