There is No Time Like the “Present”
There is No Time Like the “Present”
It’s a new year! Have you created a new budget that aligns with your goals for the year? Or are you still trying to catch up; paying for overspending on all of those Christmas gifts? As we help our daughter work through a new budget that more closely matches her income for 2025 and add a “savings” subaccount to the mix, one line item of this budget stands out. Miscellaneous Personal $50. Her budget includes this spending line per month for gifts and any other personal spending. The question I asked, “How can you make this realistic?”
Well, one area is in gifts for others. We recently sent our son a gift “just because.” He thanked us and replied that he appreciated it but we didn’t have to send cards or gifts. My response, and so many of you would agree
“I look at cards and gifts as a way of telling someone you are thinking of them and appreciate them. Giving is more about ‘want to’ than ‘have to.’”
But again I ask, how can we make the Miscellaneous Personal line item realistic? Especially when we are still remembering that last year’s gift spending was a budget buster!
It’s all about having a plan. List now, yes, in February, who you often buy gifts for, whether a birthday or holiday. Also list what months of the year you need to have that gift ready.
Is it possible to start purchasing those gifts now and space out your buying throughout the year so that it more closely aligns with your budget? Absolutely! Attach a name to that item and store it for the month that you need it. Often, we see something and think it would be quite fitting for a particular family member and then tell ourselves that we will come back for it when we are looking for a gift for that person. Do we remember where we saw ‘the perfect gift’ when the time comes? Does the store still have that ‘perfect gift’ in stock?
Another key element is to communicate with those you exchange gifts with. Set a spending limit. This prevents us from buying and buying and then wondering if what we spent is enough.
Another suggestion is to purchase a gift card that is within the budget for that special person. Choose a particular store that they like. Gift cards rarely expire so they can be purchased early with that month’s allocation of miscellaneous personal and gift money. Then use your talent and creativity to create a special gift wrap for that gift card.
I think you will be happier and less stressed to give a gift that is within your spending budget, and it will be appreciated just as much!
“Money can’t buy happiness. But everyone wants to find out for themselves.” Zig Ziglar
“If you measure something, you can understand it. If you understand it, you can control it, and if you can control it, you can improve it.” The same holds true in your monthly budgeting.
The reality is that it is nearly impossible to complete & follow a monthly budget without improving your overall financial position. There are several reasons for this, so I would challenge you to do this.
First, just developing a budget for yourself will raise your awareness of what you have for revenue or income sources and then also boost your cognizance of how much you are spending each month. Next, you will come to grips with the reality of one of three facts. Either you need to boost your income sources, reduce your outgoing expenditures or, thank goodness, if you have more income than expenses, you can then save some money. Of course, this is fantastic! You just need to determine where you will store or invest those extra funds each month…
Read More