Yes, it is only October! People may think I am crazy, and maybe I am. I certainly can’t argue that logic the majority of the time, BUT…there is a method behind this particular craziness, and it is called PLANNING!
For years I have been a very early planner for Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. I love Jesus, who was born to bring salvation! I love the “feeling” of Christmas, decorations galore, lights, home tours, Hallmark movies, Christmas books, Christmas carols, Christmas CDs, well, you get the point. I love it all.
For me to truly enjoy the Christmas season, I have to have everything planned ahead of time. I just have to. It stresses me out to have things hanging over my head, SO, that means that I start planning way in advance. I plan for gifts and the money it will take to buy those gifts!
I wanted to share 5 of the key ways that I prepare for a stress free holiday season!
Top 5 Ways I Plan for a Stress Free Holiday Season:
1) Automatic Christmas Savings Plan
For years I did the Christmas savings plan that my work offered. It worked great, but I had to wait until September to get my money. I know that sounds plenty early to most people, but not for me! I wanted to have constant access to my Christmas stash so that I could shop anytime I saw a great gift, any time of year. In order to do that, I decided to start an automatic savings plan at my bank. Every time I get paid, I have it set up where $75 goes directly into my extra checking account for Christmas shopping. It really adds up, and I always have access to it for online shopping or whatever I may need to buy along the way. For me, it is the simplest way. I never think about the money because I never see it. It goes straight in there every 2 weeks without me ever touching it. Maybe $75 isn’t the right amount for you, but whatever you decide to save will help out tremendously when the time comes. There is nothing more stressful than having tons of gifts to buy and no money set aside to do it. Don’t do this to yourself! Plan ahead!
2) Use EBATES!!
Anyone that knows me knows that I am a HUGE advocate for Ebates. (In fact, I wrote an entire post on it here!)Why wouldn’t I be?! I have made over $500 this past year alone using it! No, it is not a scam. It is simply an online site that lets you purchase from your favorite sites through them to receive a kick back on your purchases! Seriously. It is that easy. Ebates gets a kick back from the store you purchase from, and they pass a percentage of that along to you. Everyday, thousands of stores offer different percentages back on your purchases. You simply sign in to your Ebates account, click on the store you want to shop, make a purchase, and you are done. You then receive a certain amount back onto your Ebates account after your purchase has been verified. Let me tell you, it adds up quick! Grant it, don’t be silly and buy stuff for no reason {common sense!}. I shop online ALOT for Christmas gifts. The majority of my purchases are online. It is just easier to shop that way with 2 little toddlers, so I get quite a bit back. I only buy things that I would be buying anyway, but I just go to Ebates first before going to the store. It takes an extra 5 seconds to make a few extra dollars. You get paid every 3 months, and it is totally worth it! It is a great tool to get some extra Christmas money! You DEFINITELY need to give this a try. It is a no brainer.
3) Make a Budget/List {and stick to it!}
To me, this may be one of the most important things that I do each year. It isn’t always easy! Certain people are just more “Fun” to buy for; therefore I find things all the time that I know they would like…BUT by having a set budget for each person on my list, I never go overboard with spending. I also never get “surprised” by the amount of money being spent. I already had it planned out, and I knew where each dollar was going. I also make a list of each and every person on my list, and I keep up with every single item that I have bought for them, along with the price. I never “forget” buying something by doing this!
4) Look for Deals {All the time!}
I will tell you, I am always thinking “Christmas gifts” year round. This is where most people think I am crazy, but to me, it makes perfect sense! I pretty much know each and every person on my list each year {except the ones that we draw names for}, so I know what they all like. If I am out and about and see a great deal on something that someone would love, I buy it right then! Why wait?! I can save a ton of money that way, and then…I am done with them! One less thing to worry about. Last year, right after Christmas, we were at Sears. I can’t even remember why we were there, but for whatever reason, we were. We saw these great gifts that were originally $70 on sale for $30. My husband told me how great of a deal it was, and how it was an awesome gift for our Dads, so we went ahead and bought them for this Christmas. We have had their gifts for 10 months now, but have I had to even think about what to get them {some of the hardest ones on my list!}? No! It is already taken care of. What a great feeling!
5) Have a Designated Gift Spot
While this can be a challenge, I think it is super important to have 1 place that you can keep all of your gifts {or at least the majority}. I have spent way too much time looking for gifts that I had bought and sometimes not finding them until way after the holiday season! You know, I put them in a place where I would “never forget”. Right. I now have 1 closet that is designated for all gifts, and I will admit- it is pretty fulfilling to look in there at this time of year and see so many gifts already bought! I know it will be much harder to do this as the kids get older, but for now, they have no idea they have stuff in that closet, so I am safe. Those days will soon be gone, and I will have to get more creative!
While most of these ideas are probably not new to you, maybe they will spark a fire to help push you to go ahead and get started NOW so that you can sit back and enjoy the holiday season STRESS FREE later!
Pin for Later!
Last Updated on October 2, 2016
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