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Staying in Budget at Christmas

Image found here
Also, the amount of money I DON'T have!  Haha!
Christmas season can be rough on your wallet. Between buying gifts for your kids, parents, co-workers it can really make it run dry. I pretty much hate spending money, so this is always a tough time of year for me. This year, I did things a little different. I set a budget.

I took about $160 dollars to buy presents for my family. I have stayed within that budget, but I still need to buy for my parents. Which, I will have to add just a little bit of money to what I have left over.

So all together, I have bought presents for my aunt and uncle, 2 sets of grandparents, and my great grandpa. All that is left, is my parents. (Why are they so hard to buy for?)

I bought some presents online, and I set aside $40 (the total of the bill) to be used when the credit card bill comes in. That way, I won't go over budget and spend that $40 and be scraping around for money when the bill comes in.

This system has really worked for me this year. I would suggest it to everyone, especially if you are frugal like me!

Now, I have some last minute shopping to do!

How do you manage shopping for Christmas presents? Do you set a budget? I'd love to hear from you! Leave me a comment and let me know!

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