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!

Comments

Cooking for a Crowd: Spaghetti Sauce

My family likes to save money when we have parties. One way to do so is to cook everything ourselves, instead of hiring a caterer. Today, I wanted to give you a recipe for spaghetti sauce that will feed a crowd. This recipe is best made in an 18 quart roast pan. We bought most of our sauces and tomato paste at Costco. Ingredients: 2 onions 3 cans diced tomatoes 2 #10 cans of tomato sauce 1 #10 can on spaghetti sauce 1 heaping tsp of garlic minced 2 (28 oz) cans of crushed tomatoes 4 (6 oz) cans of tomato paste 1 tsp sugar Onion and garlic salt, italian seasoning, parsley, oregano to taste 1 pound of each: ground meat, hot and sweet sausage Look at the deliciousness! In a skillet brown your meat and sausage in a little oil. Once browned place off to the side. Combine your onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes. *Sweat your onions down first, then add the garlic. Then your tomatoes.* Open your tomato sauces and spaghetti sauces (we li

It's Been Awhile...

Hi! Do you remember me and this little blog? I've been thinking about starting this blog back up again, and I am just going to jump in with both feet and go for it! In the past what, 4 years since the last post, I have learned a lot, and have a lot to share! So if you'll bear with me, I'd love to share some fun tips and tricks and recipes with you here on this little space on the internet. I will give you a little reintroduction of myself. I'm Mandii. I'm a small town girl full of random information. Sports facts, check. Fashion tips, oh yeah, I've got those a plenty! Recipes? You're speaking my language. I love all things faith, family, fashion, sports, and food related. Which is exactly what you will find on this space. I love to travel even though I don't do it nearly enough. I don't know if I am going to commit to a full 5 days on here yet. I'll play it by ear, and if you'll stick with me, I think we can do some great things here! I&

New Schedule!

I think to start off, I am going to be blogging on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's. I think that is a good schedule to start with that won't be overwhelming, and you readers won't get bored. So in my time off in the blog world, I worked at a clothing boutique and absolutely fell in love with it! I found that it is something that I am really passionate about. I have learned so many tips and tricks while working there that I can't wait to share with you! I mean we also have lived through a worldwide pandemic. Add that to the list of things you never thought you would type! Haha! I have continued to cook and bake, take short little trips here and there. I truly do lead a very boring life. Haha! If there are any topics you'd like me to cover, just let me know and I will try to see if I can cover them! Don't forget you can follow the Mandii's Muse Facebook page here ! You can also follow the blog's Instagram page too! Maybe one day I can go live and we ca

Mandii's Muse

Search This Blog