Saving money for the holidays: Part 1

I know what you're thinking.  Why is she thinking about the holidays already?!  Like it or not, Christmas is about 20 weeks away.  Only 133 days of saving left.  The holiday season is a busy one at our house.  Someone special has a birthday on November 8, we host Thanksgiving and Christmas each year, and I celebrate my birthday on New Year's Eve.  It can be an expensive time of year, especially for a family on a really tight budget like ours. 

Last year, money was at a minimum.  Like non-existent, really.  But I LOVE the holidays and couldn't help but to get a few things for under the tree.  I had to really work hard to save a few extra bucks here and there to be able to come up with enough for a very modest Christmas.  I spent about $50 total.  I got lists early, shopped sales, and of course I used coupons!  I was able to get a few toys for K, a couple shirts for Sam, and we did stocking stuffers.  That's it.  I was finished shopping the week after Thanksgiving.  It was awesome.  In my opinion, it turned out to be the best holiday season ever!  It forced us to really just focus on spending time with family and friends and less on running around town, fighting crowds of people, and buying unnecessary things with money we didn't have.  For me, it really put to focus back on what the Christmas season should be. It was stress-free and perfect. 

So, it's time to start planning for this year's holiday-palooza.  In this series of posts, I'll explain how we are saving money for holiday costs and getting ready early. 

First up, I started lists!  I'll need lists of potential gifts for each person I'll be buying for early so I can scour the sale ads and collect coupons as I see them.  I'm super Type-A so lists and plans are just second nature to me.  There might even be Excel spreadsheets involved (shhh). 

Most people can't think of what they want right off the top of their heads.  I know I can't at least!  So, I put a list on the refrigerator for each of us, and one for family gifts, so we can jot things down as we think of them.

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Next up, I'll talk about how I plan to come up with the CASH to pay for these gifts.