Save Money This Holiday Season

I know you all think I am crazy for thinking Christmas already but believe it or not getting a head start will help save you some money!!!

I always make a Christmas spreadsheet. All you have to do is make a list of everyone you have to buy for. Enter a column with how much you want to spend and a column of what you actually spent. Now when you go shopping keep an eye open for deals. BUT THERE IS ONE CATCH!!! If you buy on sale DO NOT think you have to buy someone MORE. The goal is to keep the difference. Here's an example.Name           

Name        Buy         Bought      Spend   Actually Spent

Mom        Camera      Camera      $250          $150

So you ended up spending $100 less than you wanted to. That $100 is yours, not to be used to buy mom something else worth $100.

Try it and tally up your SPEND column to compare to your ACTUALLY SPENT column. You'll be amazied at how much you save if you plan ahead. You may also actually enjoy the holidays more and feel less like a scrooge