No, this isn't an accident. I am really posting about Christmas in January. GASP! I'm doing a blog series this year that I have entitled the 12 months of Christmas. Each month there will be a post about getting ready for Christmas, saving for gifts, or whatever! :).
I'm reading a book called "Debt-Proff Your Christmas", by Mary Hunt. As something that made me giggle, I bought this book at 90% off just recently, as it was considered a "Christmas" item.
The book centers around the Christmas rush and how we get caught up in the frustration of the season, often spending way more than we can afford in order for our families to be happy (or so we think), when a simpler approach really is the best way. It's chock full of great homemade ideas, new ways to do gift exchanges and helpful advice.
I sat down last night and made a file called Gifts. In it, I wrote the names of my Mom, Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and Grandmother. Then I broke them down farther by Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day, etc. Any occasion I buy for, I wrote down. Then I wrote down what I planned to give to each of them on each date. Some might be more vague than others- for instance one might say "bath gift basket" while the other might say "K-Cup spinning tower from Kohls".
This is going to go a long way to help me this year. No more buying something, then finding something better. No more hustle and bustle around crowded malls because I thought I had something that I didn't have. I have 11 months (to the day) to get ready for Christmas, there is no reason to put it off until my only option is to choose something too expensive and charge it.
If you find the New Year brings you lots of debt, I highly recommend you check out this book. If you live locally, I'll even let you borrow my copy.
Stay Tuned for another blog post that is going to be entitled "It's Better Than Good-Enough, It's Great."
-Kristen
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