Buy Gifts ahead of time
We already went over creating categories within you personal spending plan in Budget 101. I now want to take a closer look at one of those category’s and how you can save money. The category we are going to discuss today is Gifts. This one can be a little tricky at times, especially when party’s pop up that you weren’t planning for. That’s why it is important to be practical about how much money you put into this category. It’s important not be overly lavish with your gifts but it’s also unrealistic to think you can get 3 birthday gifts for a total of $15.
Here is my suggestion. Have a yearly calendar in a place where you regularly see it, whether on your computer or on your wall. Mark all the birthdays, holidays, and family events that you know for sure will come up throughout the year. These are events that you know you will be buying a gift for or at the very least sending a card. You can even go as far as to put a small “C” or “G” beside the day to indicate whether you will be buying a card or gift.
The next step is to add those items up and work them into your budget. For example, my husband and I knew that for the month of August we would be having 3 set activities that month; two requiring a gift and one a card. We figured out how much we were willing to spend on the gifts and if we had to purchase a card or did we already have one. Once we figured that out we were able to plan accordingly for this months budget. It may also be a good idea to add a little buffer room so that if another party comes up, you’ll already have money set aside to get something. It should not be used to spend more on a person then was already allotted. If you don’t use the extra money, great! Put that amount towards next month.
I would then encourage you to keep these dates in mind and when you are out shopping be on the lookout for a gift that you would like to buy that person. This is a very helpful way to (1.) keep stress down because you are not looking for a gift the day of and (2.) keep costs down because you are not settling for buying outside your price range because you don’t have time to look for something else. It’s important to allow yourself time to shop around so that you can get the best possible gift for the best possible deal. As I have said before, I will regularly shop at discount stores where the items they have on hand were overstock from another store. These places are great because you know you a still getting a good, new item but you are also getting it at a way better deal then you would if you bought it at it’s original location.
So, before you get yourself into another gift jam think about what parties, birthdays, and events are coming up for September and plan ahead! If you used this method to buy a gift recently tell us about it in the comments below.
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