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Day 3: How To Create A Christmas Budget
(1). Write Out Your Monthly Income.
(2). Write Out Your Monthly Expenses.
(3). Make a Note of Other Expenses.
(4). Zero Out Your Budget.
Other Things To Consider: Another rule of the zero-based budget is that each dollar has to have a name. Therefore, you’ve got no more dollars to budget because they are all accounted for. If you come out ahead by $50 or $100, you’re not done. That $100 has to go somewhere, which can go toward the Christmas budget or into another savings account. This is going to free you up to relax and enjoy life, knowing that everything is suitable and ideal.
How To Budget Irregular Income. Even if you have an irregular income, zero-based budgeting is a possibility for you. You can actually plan for irregular incomes exactly like regular ones. The goal here is to list your income based on what you earned the last year (the lowest amount). You can also list the expenses in their order of importance. Of course, focus on food, shelter, clothing, utilities, transportation, etc. first. When you get paid, take your money and go down your list from most important to least important. It might not cover everything, but you can pick up and continue with the list next time.
What’s a Christmas Fund? Many banks offer Christmas funds, which allows you to deposit the money you need and hold it until you are ready to spend it. Generally, you can set up a free Christmas fund, or you can do it yourself. Buy a few envelopes and have that be your account. Don’t dip into that money until you are ready to start spending for the holiday season.
How to Set Up Your Christmas Fund. It’s often easy to set up a free Christmas fund and have a debt-free Christmas. Take the money you’ve set aside each month for your holiday budget and put it in a separate account. Alternatively, you can create a budget line item that says, Christmas Fund. Enter the balance of what you’ve saved, what you want to save, and a long-term goal. Once you know your holiday budget, and what you’re spending on Christmas, it’s time to divide up how much you’ve got by how much time is left. For example, if you have already saved $500 and have a budget of $1,000 with three months left to go, you should be saving about $170 to have that much money to spend.
How Much Money Should I Save for Christmas? Generally, the rule of thumb here is to not spend more than one percent of your yearly income for holiday shopping. Of course, the amount you have to play with depends significantly on your Christmas budget. When you create a Christmas budget, it helps you realize what you’ve got, and you can divide that by how many people for which you’re spending. If you use the debt-free approach, you aren’t going to use a credit card for any Christmas shopping purchase.
How Much Should I Budget for Gifts? That amount is up to you. It’s important to make a list of everyone you want to buy for. Of course, nothing comes for free, so you’ve got to plan ahead to budget enough money for everyone’s items. You can save money, and some gifts can be free with coupons and other tactics. However, it’s best to plan ahead and divvy your holiday gift budget for each person before you start buying presents.
Don’t Go into Debt. Living free of debt doesn’t start at Christmas time, but it can be ruined during the Christmas holiday. Your Christmas budget is there to ensure that you can buy something for everyone on the list.
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By Michelle
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(1). Write Out Your Monthly Income.
(2). Write Out Your Monthly Expenses.
(3). Make a Note of Other Expenses.
(4). Zero Out Your Budget.
Other Things To Consider: Another rule of the zero-based budget is that each dollar has to have a name. Therefore, you’ve got no more dollars to budget because they are all accounted for. If you come out ahead by $50 or $100, you’re not done. That $100 has to go somewhere, which can go toward the Christmas budget or into another savings account. This is going to free you up to relax and enjoy life, knowing that everything is suitable and ideal.
How To Budget Irregular Income. Even if you have an irregular income, zero-based budgeting is a possibility for you. You can actually plan for irregular incomes exactly like regular ones. The goal here is to list your income based on what you earned the last year (the lowest amount). You can also list the expenses in their order of importance. Of course, focus on food, shelter, clothing, utilities, transportation, etc. first. When you get paid, take your money and go down your list from most important to least important. It might not cover everything, but you can pick up and continue with the list next time.
What’s a Christmas Fund? Many banks offer Christmas funds, which allows you to deposit the money you need and hold it until you are ready to spend it. Generally, you can set up a free Christmas fund, or you can do it yourself. Buy a few envelopes and have that be your account. Don’t dip into that money until you are ready to start spending for the holiday season.
How to Set Up Your Christmas Fund. It’s often easy to set up a free Christmas fund and have a debt-free Christmas. Take the money you’ve set aside each month for your holiday budget and put it in a separate account. Alternatively, you can create a budget line item that says, Christmas Fund. Enter the balance of what you’ve saved, what you want to save, and a long-term goal. Once you know your holiday budget, and what you’re spending on Christmas, it’s time to divide up how much you’ve got by how much time is left. For example, if you have already saved $500 and have a budget of $1,000 with three months left to go, you should be saving about $170 to have that much money to spend.
How Much Money Should I Save for Christmas? Generally, the rule of thumb here is to not spend more than one percent of your yearly income for holiday shopping. Of course, the amount you have to play with depends significantly on your Christmas budget. When you create a Christmas budget, it helps you realize what you’ve got, and you can divide that by how many people for which you’re spending. If you use the debt-free approach, you aren’t going to use a credit card for any Christmas shopping purchase.
How Much Should I Budget for Gifts? That amount is up to you. It’s important to make a list of everyone you want to buy for. Of course, nothing comes for free, so you’ve got to plan ahead to budget enough money for everyone’s items. You can save money, and some gifts can be free with coupons and other tactics. However, it’s best to plan ahead and divvy your holiday gift budget for each person before you start buying presents.
Don’t Go into Debt. Living free of debt doesn’t start at Christmas time, but it can be ruined during the Christmas holiday. Your Christmas budget is there to ensure that you can buy something for everyone on the list.