[Kayla Buell – Ambassador]

Am I the only one who gets stressed out about gift-giving? It’s not that I don’t love my family and friends, but it seems like every other day it’s someone’s birthday or I have an event to go to (wedding, bridal shower, baby shower, etc.) that I need to buy a gift for! I wish I had all the money in the world to give the best gifts, but there’s not a lot of extra money in the budget these days (with our little one due in December) and all this gift-giving has me super stressed. This month alone, I had 5 birthdays (my dad, my husband, and three of my girlfriends) and I still have my grandma’s next week.

Any advice on budgeting gifts? Do you guys include a line item every month in your budget simply for gifts? Would love to know how you guys handle scenarios like this because it’s not even Christmas yet and I still have so many gifts to buy over the next couple of months.

Short of simply becoming 100% antisocial, I don’t really know what to do. Thanks!

[Stacey Daprile – Ambassador]

It really adds up! I am always on the lookout for great deals and sock the gifts away in my gift closet ready for the giving. Certificates for babysitting for friends with children is always appreciated – allowing fiends a night out without the littles is priceless! Sharing a favorite book you have read along with a plate of cookies could be super thoughtful. I have been totally touched by being given one simple, beautiful, and totally delicious cupcake. That gift was under $5 and was perfect!

[Kelby Green – Ambassador]

You are definitely not alone! A few years back, we realized that the end-of-year birthdays, holidays, etc. were big budget busters, so we added up what we planned to spend and made that a line item for the next year. Basically, we took the total and broke it down by month and just increased our monthly savings contribution by that much. That way when the events came around, we could just take the money from savings and not feel the hit to our monthly budget.

[Lisa Talley]

My sisters and I JUST had a family summit about how to handle holiday gifts this year, literally just last night! There was some back and forth, but we finally agreed to make this year a simple holiday ornament exchange. No individual gifts, with the exception of the youngest kids. It will be so much easier on the budget! And, I was surprised to learn that my sisters had ALSO been stressing about spending money on things that the recipients don’t really want or need. Talking it out was a big relief.