I remember the days that I used credit cards to pay for Christmas.
There were two key reasons that I used these fabulous credit cards:
- I did not save money for Christmas during the year
- I overspent on Christmas presents
I solved #1 by creating a Christmas escrow account.
Let's say that I wanted to spend $1,000 for Christmas. By saving $83.33 each month, I magically have $1,000 when Christmas arrives! This takes away a lot of stress, and I highly recommend it! You can read more about creating your own escrow account by clicking HERE.
I solved #2 by putting together a written plan for my Christmas shopping. I pulled up a copy of the Mini-Budget Form (Excel) and entered the names of those I am shopping for this Christmas.
At the top of the form, I entered $1,000 for the "Cash Budgeted".
I then wrote in the amount of money that I plan to spend for each person on the list.
Applying my secret formula for financial success, INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO, I spend the $1,000 to EXACTLY ZERO.
By pulling out cash for the Christmas Shopping, I can ensure that I will not overspend!
I am FIRED UP by all of the success stories that readers are sharing via the "Success Stories" link! Have you shared your successes – both large and small? You can do so by clicking on SUCCESS STORIES on the sidebar or by clicking HERE!
