Ok, so it’s nearly December, and you know what that means!!  Out of control shopping, worrying, stressing, lots of parties, which means wanting nice clothes to wear, lots of extra little things to pay for, for a lot of people Christmas presents and Christmas food and decorations, celebrations for the new year, followed by problems with bills and a very scary credit card balance.

Right, so obviously we don’t want that.  We need to really spend some time now, sit down and plan, budget (yuck) and prepare.

I know many of you have lots of cooking to do, and decorating and so on, but that’s not what I’ll be writing about.  I want to talk to you about your budget.  Yes, the boring bit.  The really dull and tedious part of the holiday season.  Snore.  ZZZZZZZZZ

How did your budget go last year?  How does it tend to go every year?  Do you have any idea what you tend to spend?  Do you have a realistic budget of what you intend to spend this year, and what on?  Do you know where the money is coming from?  Can you afford it?  Do you still have most of your shopping ahead of you?

Perhaps, you learned well last year and all your gifts are already bought and wrapped and labeled (with a list or note to remind you what’s in them), you have all the decorations you need, having bought them in the January sales this year, your menu is all planned, including extra guests and plates you need to take to parties, you have plenty of nice outfits to wear & so do your kids, and you’ve got money saved which you can spend in the January sales.  Aren’t you lucky!  All you have to do is keep up with your routines and follow your calendar and you can just enjoy yourself and relax, not having to face crowded shopping centres and car parks or worry about whether your credit cards will max out before you’ve got everything you need.
Or maybe you’re still working on all that.  Hey, you’ve got to have something to aim for, and you’ll get there. 

If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you start a folder, and call it Christmas or holidays or December 07 or whatever you want to call it.  In it, you should have a list of any and all people you intend to give gifts to, how much you intend to spend, and what ideas you have so far, or what you’ve decided on.

Underneath that, or on a new page if need be, list all the extra things you can think of that you’re likely to need to spend money on.  You will likely need a section for food, beverages, decorations, parties, clothes, charity, various raffle tickets and miscellaneous things. 

Now add up all your estimates and look at it realistically. 

Now get real and double it!

Really?  Well, think about it.  Do you just get the gift on your list, or do you pick up many other fabulous little things you just couldn’t resist that the retailers cleverly tempted you with?  Do you end up getting quite a few little treats for yourself too?  Do you enjoy that?  Will you probably do it again?  Can you actually budget for it?

And what about your food budget?  Is it just me, or do you find no matter how carefully you write your list and plan your menu, you always manage to come back with about twice as much food?  It’s not the end of the world, and of course you can coast through January eating leftovers and treats, or is that just me too?  I’m amazed every year as I stand in the long queue at the supermarket checkout, everyone including me with overflowing trolleys, as if the shops were going to be closed for a month, not just one day.

But why not just face up and admit how much you are really likely to spend, and not pretend you’re all shocked when you sit down in January and assess your finances.

Maybe you’re really short of money this year (or every year) and worried how you’re going to make the holiday special for your family.  Believe me, I know what that’s like.  If you have children, of course you want to surprise them with generous gifts, see the excitement on their faces. 

It’s not just that though is it?  It’s the fear of being judged, of comparisons with what other people are doing and spending.  Hey, we’re not perfect.  These thoughts creep in.  Just keep chasing them out.

If you are on a very limited budget this year, face up to it right now, accept it, and don’t promise what you can’t do, to yourself or your family.  You don’t need to apologise for it, feel guilty about it, feel inadequate or fret and worry.  I know you will, but you don’t need to, really, so stop it.  Make a budget for yourself that you know is realistic, and accept it.  I know it’s hard to do, but you are where you are right now, and things are much more likely to be better this time next year if you can accept, and just do the best you can now.  Make peace with your situation, make peace with yourself, and resolve not to worry.  Look for all the ways you will still enjoy this time, and don’t focus on what you’re doing without.  Forget about what anyone else thinks of you.  You do not need new decorations, new anything, to be a worthwhile and loveable person. 

I know the shops are full of fabulous pretty shiny things.  I know you feel you must buy them.  I do too.  But life will go on, the season will pass, and your ordinary bills will keep coming in, just as they always do.  Avoid the shops as much as you can if you know it will be hard, and find other more useful things to occupy your attention.

When you go shopping, however much money you have, stick to these two simple rules:

1. Do NOT step outside the door without a fully prepared detailed list and budget.

2. Do NOT buy one single item that is not on your list, until AFTER you have what’s on your list, and you have been home, unpacked it, wrapped it, put it away, recorded your spending, and reassessed your budget.  Even if you see something fabulous that you just HAVE to have, because it might not be there when you get back.  Trust me, they have more out the back!!

So, do you see now, that you need to spend a lot more time preparing for your shopping, than actually out doing it?  It’s time well worth spending, and will make your shopping adventures much less stressful, and much shorter.

Go out with a mission, determined to follow your list to the letter.  When you have done all that, THEN you can enjoy some mindless wandering and browsing if you like to do that.  You’ll enjoy it so much more.

With both gifts and food, you don’t need to spend more money to show you care or make it special, you need to spend more time, thought and effort.  I know, it’s harder, and much easier just to go and buy buy buy.  But is it really? 

You’re reading this because you’re someone who wants to be organized.  An organized person plans things in advance, thinks things through, has a budget, makes decisions consciously.  You can do that!  Put aside the reactionary impulse to throw money around all over the place without planning it.  You can still be generous, thoughtful, caring, hospitable, and all those nice things you want to be at this time of year, and always.  You’re better able to do all those things with planning and a budget.

Do you think people who are rich and have plenty of money don’t have budgets?  Ok ok, Paris Hilton probably doesn’t go clothes shopping with a plan or a budget.  But wealthy people, especially if they’ve created that wealth themselves, do make decisions about how best to use their money, and those decisions, if made well, contribute to the growth of their prosperity, and their ability to make worthwhile contributions to the world.

If money is not really an issue for you this year, you can still make and follow a budget, and I strongly recommend you do.  Being organized is about planning and making good decisions, and you can think of budgeting as an exercise in and demonstration of your organizational ability.  The better you do it, the better position you will be in to help others, and you know it feels really good to be able to do that.

So, if you haven’t done it already, make some time to sit down and carefully work out your budget.  If you know you will have trouble concentrating on the task because it’s boring (hello!), just do it a few minutes at a time if you have to, but keep coming back to it til it’s done.  Not done perfectly, because it can and never will be perfect.  Just as completely as you can. 

One possible strategy is to try to do it really quickly, in a rush.  Then you can go back and tweak it to your heart’s content, but you’ll have the guts of it done already.  Imagine you have to do it in the next 15 minutes, in order to win a wonderful prize.  You could just try it and see what you come up with.  Sometimes the best decisions are made quickly.  But make sure you’re in a good, positive frame of mind when you start, or it will be rubbish!
 
You can do it.

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