I Don't Have Time For That!

Saving your sanity one recipe at a time.

  • Contact Me
  • About Me
  • Work With Me
  • Home
  • Money Matters
    • Coupon 101
      • Getting Started With Coupons
      • Black Friday Deals
      • Drug Store Deals
      • Online Deals
      • Rebates
    • Budget 101
    • Money Saving Tips/Tricks
      • For the Home
      • For The Car
      • For The Holiday’s
        • Valentine’s Day
        • Thanksgiving
        • Christmas
    • Work From Home
  • Life
    • DIY
      • DIY Products
      • DIY Home Decor
      • DIY Home Improvement
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Entertainment
      • Disney
      • Fox
  • In The Home
    • Meal Planning
      • Getting Started Freezer Cooking
    • Cleaning
    • Organizing
    • Decorating
    • Party Planning
  • Recipes
    • Freezer Cooking
      • Getting Started Freezer Cooking
    • Instant Pot
    • Crockpot Cooking
    • Simple 5 Ingredient Meals
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Baking
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Meatless
    • Pasta
    • Pork
  • Giveaways

Five Mistakes That Break the Holiday Budget

This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy for details.

2 Comments

Share

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
Share
171Shares

Five Mistakes That Break the Holiday BudgetThe holiday season is pending and you’re all set with a budget. Great! That puts you steps ahead of the majority of people. However, before you head out to begin your holiday shopping, let’s step back for a moment. You may have made some critical mistakes in your holiday budget. Identifying them ahead of time will save you stress in the long run.

Five Mistakes That Break the Holiday Budget

#1 Buying the first item you see – Okay, so your kid wants the new gaming system. You’ve budgeted it and you know you can afford it. You head out to the big box electronics store to grab the item.

Stop! Have you done your research? Is this the cheapest you can get it for? Are there any promotions or online promotion codes that could save you money? Just because it fits your budget doesn’t mean you should spend that amount. You might be able to save money. Chances are, there will be a few surprises during this holiday season and a few bucks saved may come in handy.

#2 Not tracking your expenses – One of the most common mistakes people make when creating a budget is they don’t actually track how much they’ve spent. How will you know then if you’ve stayed on budget?

Your tracking system doesn’t have to be fancy. You can simply write at the top of a piece of paper how much you have to spend, who you have to buy for and then leave room to write down how much you’ve spent. Clip receipts to the paper so you can quickly do the math, and you’re set. Don’t walk out the door before actually creating a system to track your expenses.

#3 Not factoring in unforeseen expenses – It’s almost guaranteed that there are going to be some unexpected expenses during the holidays. If you don’t leave room in your budget for these expenses, they can put you into debt and cause stress. This is a season to enjoy, not to get stressed about. Create a miscellaneous expenses category in your budget and allocate some money toward it. That way, all your bases are covered.

#4 Pride and Ego – All too often we buy gifts to impress others. For example, that $500 bottle of wine you gave your boss as a hostess gift. There’s no need to do that. Your hostess would likely be just as happy with a lesser bottle of wine. It really is the thought that counts. Don’t let your pride and ego get you into hot water.

#5 Too much – It’s easy to go overboard during the holidays. Learn the value of scaling back. Buy your children three gifts this holiday instead of thirty. Scale back on the decorations and really focus on quality instead of quantity. You’ll be glad you did.

It’s easy to go over budget during the holidays. Take the time to make a plan and commit to sticking to it. Remember what the holidays mean to you and focus on that.

Share

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
Share
171Shares

Filed Under: Christmas, For The Holiday's, Tip Tuesday

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Jamie @ Medium Sized Family says

    November 1, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    So true. I have totally been guilty of all of these things in prior years! This year I need to do better about leaving some wiggle room in the budget for those unexpected expenses you mentioned.

    Reply
  2. Lucinda Nutting says

    December 16, 2015 at 2:28 pm

    This post reigns true. Especially No. 5. I had to cut back on decorating for Christmas this year, because it just didn’t make sense to spend money (even though I really really wanted to).

    Reply

Coupon Sites

  • Coupons.com
  • Smartsource
  • Redplum
  • Hopster

Recent Posts

Instant Pot Creamy Pasta e Fagioli

Instant Pot Creamy Pasta e Fagioli

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef (Better than takeout!)

hand holding crab rangoon

Air Fryer Crab Rangoon

air fried crab cake on a bun

Air Fryer Crab Cakes

Disclosure Policy | Privacy Policy
Copyright ©2022, I Don't Have Time For That!. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs