Gift Buying

Most of us enjoy spending money buying gifts for people we love.  We relish the thought of seeing our gifts bring pleasure to a family member or friend.  Because gift giving is a key part of American culture, establishing a budget category for this expense is essential to your planning.

 
Make a list of important dates that will require you to buy gifts.  Include birthdays, anniversaries, graduations or any other event you know is coming up (Christmas should be a separate budget category).  Next, decide on an amount you want to spend per person or event.

 
Let’s say that you have 20 gifts to purchase in a year and your limit is $30 per person.  Multiply these two figures and you will have $600, the amount needed for the year.  Add $100 extra to cover any unexpected events, gift wrap, greeting cards and shipping.  Now divide that amount by how often you get paid.  If, for example, you get paid every two weeks you will divide $700 by 24 pay periods.  You gift budget amount per pay period will be $29.16.  Knowing how much money you can afford to spend will help you to stick to your budget.

  
Make a list of people for whom you will buy gifts throughout the year and keep notes of things they want.  If you know ahead of time what gifts you have to buy, you can be on the alert for sales or coupons.

If you have children who are often invited to birthday parties, look in the clearance racks for potential gifts.  Stock up on these items so that you will be ready with a nice, inexpensive present. 

  
You can purchase secondary gift cards that cost anywhere from 5% to 10% off and include free shipping.  Two sites that offer this service are plasticjungle.com and cardpool.com.

Making homemade gifts like sending grandparents a calendar with all the kids’ pictures on them is very meaningful and inexpensive.

The dollar store is a great place to purchase gift bags, tissue paper, and cards.  Many e-cards are free or have a minimal charge.  Homemade cards are great especially if made by your children.