Christmas on Budget

Christmas can damage anyone's budget if it wasn't carefully planned. Hubby and I refused to damage our budget for one day worth of gift giving. We wouldn't do it for a birthday nor would we do it for a holiday.

This year hubby and I took on the $100 challenge.

This year hubby and I had to get as much as we can for each other and not spend more than $100. Some people spend way more and even way less than that for their spouses. Our main focus is to make sure we get each other things that mean the most to the person. We try to fix our gifts is the 4 categories:

Something they Want, Something they Need, Something to Wear and Something to Read

Here is a sample break down:

Shirt on Super Clearance from Old Navy.......$10
Pants on Sale from JcPenny............................$20
Favorite Game.................................................$12
Cool Body Wash and Spray............................$18
Funky Wild Socks...........................................$5
Restaurant Gift Card.......................................$20
New Gloves and Scarf Set..............................$10
Handmade Candy Basket................................$5
Total................................................................$100

Now what about family and friends? We keep to a $30 budget per person. We have around ten people to shop for each year which results to a max of $300. I say max because some gifts don't always cost the whole amount. This year we were about to get a soup tureen, originally $75 for $36 with shipping. We were able to counteract the overage with a workout outfit for grandma for only $24. We also try to come up with a theme each year. Next year we plan on sticking to the theme a little better.

It's not too late to make some changes to your shopping list. Next year we will lower our amount for each other to around $75 because hopefully we will have a little bundle to spoil.

Happy Shopping!