Sunday, December 16, 2012

Christmas Joy & Shopping Pain

Cramped parking lots, long line-ups, and short tempers… all words my fiancé would use to describe Christmas shopping. In his defense, Christmas shopping can be very stressful but not if you plan ahead.
Have you ever gone out Christmas shopping with a list of people in your head for whom you need to buy Christmas presents? Me too. And I always ended up over spending and forgetting people.
You can make Christmas shopping a little less stressful and A LOT more budget friendly by following a game plan. Start with listing out everyone you are buying Christmas presents for. Then I usually start a couple weeks before I go out shopping, researching online and getting ideas for presents. This way, I am able to plan a budget for each person. You need to commit to your budget, it is really easy to say, “I think I will get that instead, it is only $10 more”. $10 per person can really add up.
It doesn’t end there. Before I go out shopping, I make a plan of action. What stores I am planning to go to and what I am getting at each store.
It all sounds like a lot of work, but honestly it makes things so much easier. Mike and I went out this afternoon and as he says, “It was relatively painless.” We were able to get presents for more than ten people on our list in just a couple hours.
Taking some time to make a plan doesn’t sound so bad now, eh?!
9 DAYS LEFT

When you are out and about this Holiday season, just take a minute to remember what Christmas is all about. It isn’t about getting the latest and greatest presents, but it is about enjoying some time with your family and friends and helping those less fortunate.

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