Gift Giving Doesn’t Have to Take Everything You Have:
The most important rule when shopping for gifts during the holidays is to make a list and a budget, and stick to them! Let me repeat that… Stick to your list and budget! Gift giving is not a requirement so decide who you want to buy for, and how much you have to spend on each person.

Here’s my list:
$50 Mom
$50 Dad
$50 Nicki (sister)
$50 Sarah (sister)
$100 Dave (husband)
$50 Gloria (mother in law)
$200 Tyler (son)
$200 Cali (daughter)
$50 for 10 Starbucks gift cards for misc use
$20 Christmas Cards and postage for everyone else (save even more by send postcards or a hand written note instead)

 That’s it for me. I’m skipping friends and co-workers this year, and I assume they’ll be skipping me too. So what if they don’t skip me? Let’s say a co-worker shows up on Monday and brings me a beautifully wrapped box with a big red bow. I have two options, graciously say Thank You, that was very thoughtful and come to work the next day with a nice Thank You or Christmas card in return, or to reach into my previously purchased stash of Starbucks cards and hand it over.

If you had asked me last year what to do in that situation, I would have told you that I’d lied through my teeth, told my co-worker I had left their gift at home and ran to the store that night frantically looking for a gift to give in return. It would have not only stressed me out and wasted my time, but  my list and budget would have gone right out the window! Do I need to remind you that gift giving it NOT a requirement? Don’t stress yourself out, don’t waste your money. If you prepare yourself in advance, it’s amazing what a difference this season can be for you. No more last minute shopping, spontaneous purchases and thoughtless gifts.

People aren’t giving to you with the anticipation that they’ll get something in return, the whole idea behind the gift is that they wanted to get something for you, not because they want you to buy something for them. So, make your list, stick to it!