Certain times of the year and certain circumstances seem to drive us to spend more money than we'd planned. Vacations are one area that I think many folks spend more than planned. Circumstances that make one feel sad for a person, or guilty over something, tend to make us go overboard on our "comfort/remorse" gifting. One other specific time of year when a check on spending seems to get lost in the mail, is the Christmas season. And nowadays, the Christmas season spans so many days on the calendar, there are just too many opportunities to over-spend our budget.
Here we are, in the midst of the holiday shopping, celebrating and entertainment season. It's so easy for me to spend money freely in December. If it's charitable giving, and we have the money in the bank, then maybe that's a good thing. But sometimes I go overboard on gifts, or am too busy to really plan my time and money spent. A quick meal from a restaurant here. Disorganized errand running there. It all adds up to going over our budget.
In years past, we could fudge a little on the budget, because we knew there would be plenty of income to cover any extra expenditures. Things are different this year. Our budget is tight. There is enough money there. But there's no stretch to the budget this year.
Knowing this has made me acutely aware of how I spend, why I spend, and how I can get a handle on extra expenses. It's required being very mindful, some good sense talking-to in my head and focus on the goals that lie before of us.
Our goals -- Keep our daughters at the university for the duration of their education. (They have responsibility in this, as well.) Continue funding our retirement, in large sums. Continue giving generously, whenever it is needed.
On a reduced income, sticking to our goals means that I must be vigilant with spending choices.
For example, typically I'm rather haphazard about trips to the post office in December. I like to run out to the PO whenever I have a parcel or two ready to go. Some years, I make 3 separate trips to the post office. It's a good 15 minute drive each way, and not at all on my way anywhere. Plus, I must consider my time spent, not just driving there and back, but waiting in line. My time is more valuable than ever this year. The time spent on unnecessary extra errands, is time that I could have been working productively at home, thus saving us more money towards our goals.
This year, I was about to do the same as I usually do, when it really hit me, I had to change this one little thing about my holiday mailings, in order to spare time and gas spent on extra runs to the PO. And I did. It does mean that one of my gifts may just barely reach its destination in time. But this one person will surely understand my situation this year.
Another area of over-spending occurs with gift giving. I see something that I think would be "perfect" for someone on my list, after I've already spent the budgeted amount for that person. In past years, I've gone ahead, and gone over budget, figuring we'd cut the budget in some other area to cover this gift. Well, last Friday, I was in Kohl's when I found a sweater that I really wanted to buy for my son. I've already bought his gifts, but this sweater really caught my eye. I must have carried that sweater around for an hour, while I tried to settle my mind on this. In the end, I remembered our goals, and realized that in a month's time, this "perfect" sweater won't seem sooooo special anymore, and I'll find other sweaters that I think are just as nice.
I've also shown restraint when it comes to treats while I'm out and about. The holiday season means that I'm running more errands than usual. I easily succumb to buying treats for myself while I'm out. But this year, I've managed to curtail that impulse. I do a couple of things which help keep me from buying snacks or quick lunches. One, I plan for my next meal ahead of time, so that I know, after my errands are done, I have something yummy and quick to make at home. Two, I have planned a couple of treat days, for when my family is home. I'll be using gift cards for the bulk of those meals and snacks out. When I'm feeling tempted, I remind myself that these treats are on the calendar.
And finally, it really struck me, friends, real friends, don't want me to compromise our financial goals, in order to buy them something that they may or may not love. Real friends want the same for me as I want for them. I want my friends to have a restful Christmas. I want my friends to have peace about how much they spend or the time that they put into making a gift. I want my friends to give me the gift of their friendship, and truly nothing more. It's the friendship that I need, not more stuff.
I'm not doing perfectly on my holiday spending, this year. I did go over budget on my husband's gifts. But I am doing a lot better than previous years. And I think this will show when the credit card bills roll in, come January.
My hope for you, is that your budget is not nearly as tight as mine this year. But if it is, I hope you have found ways to keep yourself on track.
