That’s a wrap (pun intended)! Christmas is behind us and we’re on to a new year. How ’d you do? Were you able to make special memories with loved ones and stick to your budget? Fight consumerism and remember Christmas is ultimately about celebrating Jesus’ birth?
As I reflect on our Christmas, we managed to stay within budget for each category. I’m sharing a picture of our budget, below, so you can be encouraged by how simple it is to track what you spend. I don’t expect you to be able to read and/or make sense of it, but hopefully it’s a helpful overview.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to total up your spending to see how you did. Now is a great time to reflect what you’re glad you did well this Christmas and what you’d like to change. What can you do now for next year? Write down how much you spent this past Christmas and determine if you think this is a reasonable amount. Would you prefer to spend less or more next year?
Our 2017 Christmas budget totals:
If Christmas often catches your wallet by surprise, I recommend preparing for Christmas way in advance. We have a gifts category within our budget and intentionally add to it all year in efforts to have the balance we’d like for Christmas. We track this on our budget spreadsheet within YNAB. By the time Christmas is here, purchasing presents truly is a gift (pun intended) and not a burden.
Create a budget now and begin planning for next Christmas. Remember, Christmas is on December 25th every year. 😉
What memories do you want to make in the future and what’s preventing you from that, now?
You got this!
.Em
A Cheerful Giver 