The Budgeter's Christmas

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Here is my attempt at giving money advice. Hee hee, haw haw! Now I'm definitely not the model of perfection when it comes to saving money and paying off my credit cards all the time. However, this Christmas season I am determined to not use my credit card once. Which is made extra difficult by the fact that I'm jobless at the moment. Here are my tips at creating an affordable Christmas (at least for me):

1. Figure out how many people you definitely need to buy for (read family and extremely close friends) For me, this was 17 people...I know, I have a lot of family! This only includes my parents, siblings, my niecephews, and Zach and his family.
   
2. Figure out a secondary list in case you end up having money left over (as if that would happen) For me, this was only 2 people, though I'm sure it could be larger if I thought about it long enough
   
3. Set a budget within your means. This is the hardest part. Take into account how much spending money you usually have each month after you pay all your bills. For me, this is around $200.
4. Now, Divide the number from #3 by the answer from #1. For me, this was just under $12. Not much, huh. Therefore, my spending cap per person is $12. Of course, some people you may get away with spending less on. With the extra money you can either apply it to other gifts which may cost a little more than your spending cap, or better yet, save it! There is no rule that you must spend every penny of your budget!

What are some budgeting tips you have? Do you have any tips on how to stay on budget?

Christmas Shopping

So it is that time of year. Time to spend tons of money on gifts for people. I don't know how I am going to afford it this year. Even narrowing it down to just my immediate family and Zach's I have about 20 people to buy for. Sometimes it really sucks having a big family! giving myself even a $10 limit is $200! I guess money isn't really my main issue though. I am fresh out of ideas. I hate giving gift cards but for the last 3 years I have just given my dad a home depot gift card. This year though, I have an idea for him, its everyone else that is giving me trouble!

What do you get for people who have everything they want?