Stick to a Christmas Budget

• 1). Decide what you can afford to spend. This should be an amount that you can afford to pay in cash and does not push you to rely on credit cards. Next, write a list of the people you want to buy gifts for. Take the amount that you determined you can afford to spend and divide it among all the people on your list. It does not have to be equally divided.
  
  
• 2). Under each person on your list, write a list of gift ideas. Make sure these ideas are for items that cost no more than the amount budgeted for the person. Be creative and think about inexpensive items that build on or enhance big-ticket items they already own.
  
  
• 3). Scour weekly sale papers for sales on the items on your list. Take advantage of Black Friday deals, coupons, rebates and seasonal sales. Search online for discounts and coupon codes and shop at discount retailers who offer comparable products to those on your list.
  
  
• 4). Once you have decided what to buy, and how to get it as cheaply as possible, make a list of the stores you need to visit and the items you need to purchase at those stores. Leave no room for yourself to be tempted by impulse buys.
  
  
• 5). Do not bring credit cards with you when you shop. Before you go shopping, take cash out of your bank account and only bring the amount of cash you need to make your predetermined purchases. When shopping online, use your bank debit card and try to buy multiple gifts at one online retailer to save on shipping costs.
  
  
• 6). Give your wallet a break and make homemade gifts for some of the people on your list. Homemade jams, muffins, scrapbooks and framed poems are always appreciated and treasured long after store-bought gifts are forgotten.