How to Set a Holiday Shopping Budget and Stick to It

These easy steps will keep you from getting so swept up in the spirit of giving that you go into debt.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Ribbons
• Comfortable Shoes
• Shopping Lists
• Calculators
• Yarns

1. Write down the names of everyone on your mental Christmas/holiday list.

2. Cross off the names of anyone for whom you don't absolutely have to buy a gift.

3. Decide how much money you can afford to spend.

4. Decide how much you want to spend on each person and write that amount next to his or her name.

5. Add up all the per-person amounts and make sure the total does not exceed the amount you've allotted yourself to spend.

6. Take that much money (plus $20 for things like sales tax, lunch and parking) out of your bank.

7. Leave your credit cards and ATM cards at home. This way you won't have to exercise restraint or resist buying something for yourself.

8. Ask for a free gift box and tissue whenever you buy something.

9. Take advantage of free gift-wrapping whenever it is offered.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're doing your shopping over several weeks, keep your list with you and make yourself stick to it. It's much easier to fall into the trap of buying several gifts for someone if you make several different shopping trips.

• You don't have to buy gifts for everyone ' not even all the people who buy you gifts. Instead, bake several batches of holiday cookies. Arrange them on festive plates covered with colored cellophane and give them as presents.

• Beware of gift bags. They seem like an easy way to wrap a gift and some of them are adorable, but each bag costs several times what it would cost to wrap a present with paper and ribbon. A nice gift bag plus tissue paper can cost $6. If you're buying eight presents, you could spend almost $50 on packaging alone!