Just because you are on a budget this Christmas, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to spread joy and give gifts. It just means you will be telling your money where to go this holiday season- instead of your money disappearing all over the place leaving you discouraged and in a heap of trouble come mid-January. There is nothing Merry about that! So here are a few steps to budgeting for the Holiday season.

Stick to a Budget This Christmas

First of all you need to have a written budget! Ok, this may seem like a no brainer, but you may be surprised how often this gets overlooked.  Actually putting down- in writing- how much you are going to spend on specific categories is a powerful tool in keeping your money going in the right direction. Be sure to include things like gifts and holiday parties, travel and clothing. Set a budgeted goal for what you are going to spend.  And then be sure to log or track exactly how much you are spending along the way.

I have created a printable Holiday Holiday Budget Tracker that you can download for free. You can get the printable here, the only catch… I ask that you sign up for my daily e-newsletter. If you are already a subscriber, please sign up again to get access to the link to the printable budget page. Then be sure to put it all on paper!

Another way to stick to that budget is to cut spending on certain items during the holiday season. Maybe for the certain amount of time you can make you own coffee instead of hitting the pricey coffee shop, or decide to cut a subscription service for a few months. These penny pinching options may be just the way to boost your Christmas funds and you might decide you don’t need them anyway for additional savings all year long.  See more ideas for 10 spending habits to cut out of your budget to save more.

Finally to find some more money for that Christmas budget, how about considering selling some things. Whether you use traditional consignment stores, online sites or my personal favorite Facebook buy/sell groups– now is the time to sell! Of course don’t be afraid to use these sites for looking for gifts as well.  I recently saw someone selling off their brother-in-law’s prized shoe collection.  They were ALL name brand and NEW in the boxes! Perfect for gifting!

Another way to find some extra cash during the holidays is to use your Ibotta earnings toward gift cards to use on gift buying.  I have heard from many Mission to Save readers over the years that they use the grocery savings from Ibotta and turn it into a holiday savings account.  I love that idea.

What other ways will you stay in budget this holiday season?