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Holiday Cash Crunch - How to Avoid It!

By: Liss Burnell

The holidays have crept up on us again. If you're anything like me, you started this year out with the good intention or purchasing or making a few gifts each month as you went along throughout the year. However, there always seems to be something that happens when you're busy making plans... Life. You know what I mean, an appliance breaks down, the furnace clogs and has to be cleaned, your child lost one of his brand new shoes in a mud hole and suddenly you have to shell out another $15-20 for new ones.

  Perhaps you are already ahead of the game, you put a lot of effort into planning the holidays and you manages to pick up a few gifts along the way. If not, don't fret, your starting in the right place.

1. Make a List of everyone that you plan on giving a gift to this year. (Sometimes it helps to plan for 2 extras: 1 gal, & 1 guy) Did you ever notice when you make a nice list, someone always gets forgotten?!

2. Go down through your list and determine whether the gift should be a personal (individual) gift or a family gift. For instance, for your own children you would choose personal gifts, but when choosing a gift for a neighbor's child, you might choose a family gift for the household to enjoy.)

3. For each person/ family, jot down a few things that the recipient enjoys. For instance, a hobby, their occupation, are they athletic, pamper their pets, etc.

4. You're almost done. Now comes the tough part. You need to determine a dollar amount that you plan to spend this holiday season. Once you come up with a grand total, then go down through your list and plug in numbers. For instance, you might spend $25 on your Parents, $50 on your children, $5 on a neighbor, etc. Be as realistic as possible, and do not allow for gifts on your credit card. To avoid the Holiday Crunch (and the months of regret that follow) I'm going to show you how to give gifts you can afford.

5. If you've completed everything above, you're doing wonderfully. You now have a complete list of WHO you need gifts for, What They Like (half the battle), How much money you can afford for their gift, now all you have to do is decide what to give them.

Samples:

1. Dylan --- Individual--- crafts, plants, computers, art, books --- $5. --- Gift: Craft Kit

2. Kathy--- Individual--- Gambling, Accountant, always has nice nails-- $5-- Gift: Casino Survival Kit & Manicure Gift basket

 In order to make this project even easier for you, I have created a Free Printable Holiday Organizer:

 Free Printable Holiday Organizer:

Once you have made your list, it is quite easy to come up with inexpensive gift ideas that fit each person or family. Just think, you could create gifts for your entire list for less than $100 this year.

Gift Ideas by Category 

 Article By Liss Burnell – Creator & Designer of Budget101.com, “Digging yourself out of debt when all you have is a spoon” © 2005