Organize Your Christmas Shopping

photo credit: Randy Son Of Robert

Grab a notebook. Grab a pen. It's time to get serious about your Christmas shopping by making your list (and checking it twice).

Make a list of the people you'll be buying for this year. Leave space between each person’s name. Now go back through the list and write down gift ideas and a rough dollar amount you’re willing to spend on each person.

Example:

1. Aunt Fran - Collects lighthouses, loves golf - $30.00

2. Beth - Candles, bath and body products - $20.00

3. Joe - Something for his new truck, loves fishing - $50.00

Bring your notebook shopping with you. It will help you to stay focused on who you need to shop for, a general idea of what you're looking for and your price range. Making a detailed list like this will prove invaluable in keeping you organized and on budget with your Christmas shopping. As you shop, cross off each person on your list. Be sure to keep an eye open for bargains and grab a few extra gifts - there's always that visitor that shows up that you didn't anticipate.

Set holiday shopping goals for yourself and jot them down in your notebook.

1. I will have all cards in the mail by December 10th.

2. All of my major shopping will be done by December 15th.

3. I will not go over budget!

Making lists and setting goals for yourself this holiday will save you time and stress and allow you to enjoy the season for what it really is. If you haven't started your shopping, start now. It's not too late to get on track. The first step is starting your notebook, making your list and getting a plan of action.

After the holidays, store your notebook away somewhere (perhaps with your decorations). It will serve as a great reference when you're ready to start your shopping next year.

Happy Holidays, Happy Shopping...and by keeping a Holiday Notebook - Happy You!

Money At Christmas - Surviving The Festive Period Without A New Year Financial Hangover

photo credit: hlkljgk

Money always seems to be tight. Every year at Christmas the financial situation always seems to get worse. Increased electricity and heating bills to pay, expensive party food to purchase, presents to buy, travel costs to visit relatives, the list seems to be endless, while finances are certainly not. It is the season to be jolly, whilst trying to forget the long-term costs which will emerge in the New Year.

What can be done to reduce the New Year financial hangover?

Firstly, ensure your incoming finances are being maximised.

If you are in work, is there any part time or freelance work that you can do? Often jobs such as supermarket shelf stacking can be made to fit in around other commitments, while websites such as Dobiz ( http://www.dobiz.net ) have started springing up to get freelancers and businesses together. Selling on eBay or simply returning unwanted gifts can help recover some of your own expenditure.

If you are not working, then obtaining a job is the most important thing to do. Use the facilities that are available. The Jobcentre can provide some help, but it is frequently better to sign up with several agencies who specialise in your own area of expertise. A quick geographically based Google search will normally locate appropriate organisation in your area. As well as using specialist agencies, it is always a good idea to sign up to a couple of general agencies in order to get some form of temporary work, as these can often provide short or long term contracts to keep your finances above water, and they can be given up without much of a period of notice and they look better on a CV than a period without any work at all. If you need help with CV’s or interviews, then internet searches can provide many sites that will be able to help, like Capita ( http://www.capitapd.co.uk ) or Jobseekersadvice ( http://www.jobseekersadvice.com ).

Regardless of your employment situation, you also need to maximise the money you have already. If you are using store cards to make your purchases, don’t. Unless you always pay off the entire balance every month, you will be paying more than you have to. Store cards usually have a very high rate of interest, and you should be able to get a much better rate if you use a credit card. If you are using a credit card to make most of your purchases, what is the APR of that card, and could you get a better rate? Many credit cards currently offer introductory 0% transfer rates, and the increased competition to handle your finances is leading to lower APRs all round. If you have a loan, could you get a better deal? Are you getting the best return on your investments? Comparison websites like Moneynet ( http:www.//moneynet.co.uk ) or Fool ( http://www.fool.co.uk ) are there to enable you to check these details for free, quickly and easily, in order to make your money work for you.

The next thing to do is to try to reduce your outgoings. Budgeting is a good way to reduce costs. By highlighting how much your regular incoming and outgoings are, it is often easy to spot areas that can make huge differences. Most people find that instead of having very little money to spend each month, they are actually frittering away small amounts all the time. This pattern of small spending rapidly mounts up, and can leave little left over to spend on the things that you feel are really worthwhile. Keeping a daily record of your spending is a simple step to take but it can also show where important cuts can be made.

Other ways to reduce costs at Christmas include recycling last year’s decorations, only buying food that will be eaten, rather than obtaining large quantities that will end up being thrown away. Do most of your shopping online to save money on presents. Due to the lower costs of running a shop online, the price of goods can be considerably lower than in the High Street. Sites such as Kelkoo ( http://www.Kelkoo.co.uk ) and Pricerunner ( http://www.pricerunner.co.uk ) enable you to compare prices from various suppliers and find the cheapest. Even if you prefer to buy on the High Street it can still be worth going armed with prices from these sites as many High Street shops will discount if they know they are beaten on price.

If you don’t win the lottery in the New Year and still feel that things have got out of control then you need to seek advice from one of the free advice organisations that are set up to help. The National Debtline ( http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk ) and the Foundation for Credit Counselling ( http://www.cccs.co.uk ) are two non-profit making charities that can help with guides and free personal advice.

Regardless of whether you are trying not to shed those few extra pounds, or recover from debt problems, a few small actions like this can make a large difference to your New Year.

Disclaimer:
All information contained in this article, is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act 1986.

You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Christmas Decoration Ideas for Kids

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

Are you a parent? If so, there is a good chance that you already know just how much kids love the holidays. That is why you may want to think about letting your children help you decorate for Christmas. In fact, in addition to just letting them help you hang Christmas decorations, you may also want to let them make their own handmade Christmas decorations. Not only will you find that there are a number of benefits to doing so, but you will also find that there are a number of fun and exciting Christmas decorations that they can easily make.

Almost every family that celebrates Christmas has a Christmas tree; therefore, there is a good chance that your family will have one. One fun and exciting Christmas craft project that your children could do involves making their own Christmas ornaments. Christmas ornaments can be made from regular paper or any other type of material. In fact, you can purchase a number of Christmas ornament cutouts or guides from your local craft store. These ornament pieces are likely plain, but already shaped like something, such as a star or a cross. It would be up to your child to paint their ornament. This type of Christmas decoration craft project is great for small children or those who may be making their own Christmas decorations for the first time.

In addition to Christmas trees, a large number of families have small Christmas signs or pictures throughout their home. These signs and pictures often state a Christmas message or have a picture of Santa. Your children could easily make their own paintings or drawings, often with the supplies that can already be found inside your home. Your child’s picture would likely look great on your refrigerator or you could even frame the picture and hang it up somewhere else inside your home. This type of Christmas decoration craft project is ideal for children of any age and, as previously mentioned, is a great way to save money since you likely already have all of the needed supplies.

Another fun Christmas decoration that your children could do is make a centerpiece for your dinning room table. In fact, you may also want to use that centerpiece for your Christmas dinner. If you are looking for a somewhat elegant centerpiece, you could easily have your children make their own. You can do this by purchasing artificial flowers, a large bowl or vase, as well as other decorative items. Your children can easily arrange these items to create their own unique centerpieces for your dinning room table. It may also be a good idea to let them be crafty. Your child may also be able to create a centerpiece in the shape of Santa or a Christmas tree by using construction paper and a few other small supplies.

The above mentioned Christmas craft decoration ideas for kids are just a few of the many that exist. In addition to using your own craft ideas, you can also find a number of other fun Christmas craft projects for kids online. You can find a collection of ideas by performing a standard internet search. Also, in your local library or at one of your local book stores, you may also be able to find a collection of Christmas craft books for children. These books tend to outline the supplies needed, as well as give detailed directions on how to make Christmas decorations. These decorations may include Christmas drawings or paintings, tree ornaments, table centerpieces, and much more.

Regardless of which type of Christmas decorations you allow your child or children to make, they will likely enjoy the experience, especially if you participate as well. For a child, there is nothing like seeing their Christmas drawings hanging on the walls or their Christmas ornaments hanging on the tree. That is why you are advised to let your children make their own Christmas decorations. As mentioned above, there are a number of decorations that they can easily create; decorations that may require little time and money.

How Not To Blow Your Budget This Christmas

photo credit: WTL photos

Every year thousands of families make a fresh decision to start living by a budget. They set up accounts on their home computer, begin to track everything they spend and set limits designed to help them save more and spend less.

Gwen Mathews is the Mother/Chief Accountant in one of these new budget conscious families. She and her husband Pete set up some ambitious financial plans with the goal of paying off their credit card debt. They split their family income up into categories and were doing just great. That is until the holiday season came along.

As Gwen scanned the family Christmas list she realized that the ‘gift giving category’ her and Pete had agreed to early in the year wasn’t going to cut it.

Pete, Gwen and their three children sat down after dinner that night and laid out the situation. Christmas was a month away and the budget was clearly not going to buy the family the kind of presents that they were used to. They needed to make some decision together as a family. What did they want more? Expensive Christmas gifts or a shrunken credit card balance?

The secret to keeping a budget during the holidays is to:

A. Have a clear vision of your priorities. Remind yourself and your entire family of the reasons you had for getting on a budget in the first place.

B. Make a complete gift shopping list and then prioritize it according to your relationship with that person. Immediate family comes first, extended family, friends, co-workers, etc. Start at the bottom and cross off any names that absolutely don’t need to be there – then assign a portion of your budget to each of the remaining names.

C. Get creative with your gift giving. A day in the kitchen with the oven at 350 degrees will take care of a lot of people on your shopping list. A plate of home made Christmas cookies is a welcome and touching gift.

D. Give up keeping up with the neighbors. The surest path to a blown budget is to start comparing what you’re doing with what someone else is doing. Remember, they’ll likely be crying come January.

E. Don’t start shopping too early. Many a Mom has spent their entire holiday budget before Thanksgiving thinking she’s a smart cookie to get it all out of the way. Then the Christmas sales kick in and she’s kicking herself and thinking ‘Well I can spend just a little bit more can’t I?”.

F. Final rule: No impulse buying. If someone gives you an unexpected gift, it doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy them something – that’s what 'Thank You' is for.

By keeping their goals in mind and recruiting the support of their children, Pete and Gwen survived the holidays within their budget. As their gift to each other they wrote an extra payment to the credit card company. If they keep that up, they’ll be celebrating a debt free Christmas next year.