Every year I create my Christmas budget and every year I do my best not to go over the limit I have set for myself. Its tough. I know that this holiday in particular is more expensive than most and, if you're like me, its also really easy to overspend on... even with a goal set in my budget ahead of time. We all love the people that we buy mountains of gifts on every year and all of those parties and events are non-negotiable social events. I'm right there with you. I want to make sure that the holidays are a wonderful and memorable time with my close friends and family but I need to also keep my finances in mind.
In years past I have arbitrarily set that number in my budget, rarely with amazing success. Sometimes I based my budget goal on quick mental math of what I thought I would need, sometimes I based it on previous years' expenses, and sometimes just on what I thought would be able to fit into my Q4 spending. These were good starts and gave me a nice chunk saved up by Christmas time but it definitely didn't put an end to the financial stress that this time of year inevitably brought to my budget and therefore my mind. I eventually decided that I needed to be more specific with my goal setting so that I could remove as much stress off of myself as possible by having a plan for the funds that I saved before I saved them. There are multiple types of expenses during the holidays- gifts, events, travel and other basic expenses like additional electricity costs, decorations and etc. The template below is fairly simplified but I hope it will help you figure out a reasonable number for your holiday budgeting needs so that hopefully you will be able to have a bit less of a stressful holiday season as well. Until next time, Downsizing can mean something different for everyone, but it usually involves moving to a smaller home and getting rid of possessions. For most people, downsizing is an inevitable part of life, whether it brings you to a smaller single-family home, condo, or even an assisted living facility. Below, learn more about downsizing and find helpful resources that will guide you through the process.
Purchasing a New Home For many seniors, it makes the most sense to buy a new home that’s smaller and easier to take care of. Here are a few tips for picking the perfect home.
Planning Your Move Mapping out your move can eliminate a lot of the stress associated with downsizing. Once you’ve decided where you’re going to move, use these tips to develop a plan for a seamless transition.
Packing and Unpacking If you hire professional movers, they might take care of packing for you. However, you may still want to do some of it yourself. Here are a few tips for making the process easier on yourself.
Downsizing involves a lot of work and is often stressful. However, the process may also allow you to start fresh with a new perspective. Following these tips will help streamline the process so you can avoid feeling overwhelmed and focus on getting settled in your new home. My first three months on Paragard were difficult to say the least. I was in quite a bit of pain, had a lot of bleeding and generally was not a happy camper. I wasn't prepared to give up though as I had heard that it could take a while... and the experience of getting it implanted was one that still has me not wanting to repeat it to have it removed if I can help it. I don't want to dissuade someone from getting it as I think it a good option for a lot of people but I also think that it is important for people to be able to make a fully informed decision and do not think that I was well informed on how much pain and discomfort I would be in for over the next few months. I still plan on doing a 6 or 9 month update and a 1 year in update over the next few months as things did get better eventually.
Until next time, I forgot to upload July 2020's budget review unfortunately, one month after starting this series... yeah it was a fabulous move. :P Sorry about that. Let me know how you would like to see this series evolve over the next few months. The intention right now is to compare month over month to both the forecasted (in January) budget as well as the previous month's actual expenses while also looking at various groupings of categories to get visual representations of where my money goes and what my priorities are with it. JuneAugustSeptemberUntil next time,
Quarter 3 is over and I am so excited about this next month- I get to finally see my love again! Who knows when the next time will be with all of this crazy but, for now, we are excited for just this small period of togetherness while we can have it. This does mean a bit of a setback on funding sinking funds in September and October but I am 100% ok with that as there are more important things in life than money sometimes, and this is one of them. JulyAugustSeptemberUntil next time,
|
Details
Archives
October 2022
Categories
All
|