103. 7-Steps to Creating a Stress-Free & Budget-Friendly Holiday Spending Plan [Solo Show]

Let’s be real, Black Friday is not what it used to be. Long gone are the days of getting up at 4 am to go to Kohls and stand in line for an hour in the freezing cold for a $10 fleece blanket… 

It’s just not the same. BUT, what if we could go into Thanksgiving with our holiday spending plan in place. Imagine opting-out of Black Friday and going to the Christmas tree farm instead. Can we just ask ourselves… What do we want our holiday season to look like, and how can we align our gift giving, and our spending to make our holiday vision come to life?

Whether you have a little or a lot to spend, I believe the key to joyful gift giving is going in with a plan and a budget for giving. Tune in for my 7-step process for a stress-free holiday season so sweet even your bank account will feel merry & bright. 

WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/holiday-spending-plan

📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Handprint Ornament Making Kit
CNBC Holiday Debt Statistic

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This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

Shanna's End of Year Financial checklist

Transcript

Shanna Skidmore: 0:44

Hey, friend. Thanksgiving is one week from today, the turkeys will be trotting, and that means Black Friday is just eight sleeps away. Let's be real. Black Friday is not what it used to be. Long gone are the days of getting up at 4am to go to Kohl's and stand in line for an hour in the freezing cold for a$10 fleece blanket. Just me. No, here's a real confession, I would go Black Friday shopping by myself, because I love it. I love the tradition. I love the kickoff to the holidays. I love giving the side eye to people who think they can cut in line, not today, but now, Black Friday is just not the same. And unless you're going for a frame TV or one vacuum yes and yes, you're likely to get the same deals back in October. The secrets out. I say all of this to say, what if we could go into Thanksgiving with our holiday giving plan in place? Imagine opting out of Black Friday and going to the Christmas tree farm instead. Can we just ask ourselves, what do we want our holiday season to look like, and how can we align our gift giving and our spending to make our holiday vision come to life. That's what today's special solo show is all about. Hey, it's Shanna, and this is consider the wild flowers, the podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear 1000s of stories from entrepreneurs around the world. As a former fortune 100 financial advisor turned business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the real behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout and those of utter victory, or, as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering, but not many are talking about and now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Hear the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them, and the journey to building the brands they have today, stories that will inspire and reignite, encourage to redefine success and build a life and business on your own terms. Welcome, Wildflower, I'm so glad you're here. According to CNBC article, 36% of Americans take on debt during the holidays. Another study found it takes an average of three to five months to pay off those holiday charges. There have been years in our marriage when we've had funds to spread at Christmas. And there have been years when it was homemade, everything, and those have been some of my favorite years. If you want to give great gifts, but don't want to break the bank doing it today, I'm sharing Seven Steps to Creating a stress free and budget friendly holiday giving plan, whether you have a little or a lot to spend, I believe the key to joyful gift giving is going in with a plan and a spending allowance, aka budget for giving. Creating this holiday spending plan in advance keeps us from feeling overwhelmed or stressed and challenges us in a good way to get creative with our gift giving. I thought it would be helpful to share exactly how we prepare our own finances for the extra expense of the holidays without losing the joy and excitement of giving. Let's dive in. So first of all, you will want to block off about two hours to go through these seven steps and create your own holiday spending plan. Trust me, it will be worth it in the end. So step number one, you want to list everyone you need to buy for. I know this sounds silly, but the first step I do each year is to create a full list of everyone we want to give gifts to this season. The list includes family members, neighbors, friends, professionals, like our wonderful house cleaner or mail carrier, Christmas gift exchanges, party hosts, etc. It says extra people on the list who tend to be forgotten or last minute gifts that tend to stretch the budget. One helpful tip, we create a separate list for business gifts that includes vendors, clients, your team. While these are business expenses and not personal, it's still important to go in with a spending plan. Step number two, decide your entire budget in advance each year. When I update our family budget for the year. We create a Christmas and gifts allowance for that year. So once we get to November and start planning for the holidays, I want to review how much we've already spent on gifts for the year so we know how much is left in our budget, as well as our current savings balance, just so we can determine our holiday gift budget for that year, I want to know our entire budget before moving on to step number three, another helpful tip here, don't forget to budget for extras, things like holiday cards, holiday decor, buying yourself gifts. You know you do it also, if you're hosting for the holidays, budget for extra food costs. Step number three, determine a spending allowance for each person or item or event on your list. So once you know your overall budget from step number two, we go through our master gift list and gift spending allowances for each person. This step takes some time and tweaking to get it just right, but it feels so good to know how much we have for. Each person or each event before we start buying, our budget tends to shake out kind of like this, from highest to lowest. Our spouse number one, we typically spend the most on each other, second, kids, that would be a close second from there immediate family, like parents and siblings, cousins, then grandparents, then anyone outside of our family kind of get the idea there. Step number four, think of creative ways to stretch the budget. So years ago, we started exchanging names between our siblings. This way we can spend more on one person rather than buying multiple small gifts. I have a friend whose parents started at the tradition. They call it buy gift or make. So they would either buy something new, give something you already own to the person who wants it, or make a gift. So it's a creative and fun way that has now become a beloved tradition in their family, to either buy gift or make. I really love this idea. Gifts don't have to be something purchased or new to still be cherished. Here's what we do, as mentioned, we exchange names between our siblings. We typically make something for grandparents, and then we often bake goods to give to neighbors and professionals. Step number five, brainstorm gift ideas before buying again. I know this sounds simple and can also feel undoable when life is full and busy with all the things, but brainstorming gifts in advance is super helpful. I did not grow up in a family that did Christmas lists, but I found that I love researching and using gift guides to think about fun gifts for others. So some we have cousins that make wish lists, so we gather all those Amazon wish lists for the cousins that we're buying for. But if we don't have a list, I love shopping gifts guides like Chris loves Julia studio, McGee Magnolia, Magnolia, the New York magazine the strategist is probably my favorite for gift giving ideas. Number six, buy early. I actually start buying Christmas gifts in October or November, and I buy a few gifts a week with the attempt to be done by the beginning of December. It doesn't always happen, but this way, I'm buying over time and spreading out the cost. I find that when I'm rushed, I usually end up overspending, plus you'll find better deals and won't end up paying for rush shipping charges if you start early, give yourself Grace here there will always be someone or something that you forget. Another helpful tip, I found the best deals on holiday cards are during Black Friday weekend. So go ahead and start getting your list together of names and addresses so you know how many cards you need to buy and snag yourself a great deal. Last but not least. Step number seven, remember, meaningful gifts don't have to be expensive. In theory. We all know this, but I think it's really hard to believe it. Gift giving can come with so much pressure, ideas like, if you receive a gift, you must give a gift in return, or gifts must be of like kind value, it can be stressful. I have found that some of our most treasured gifts, both given and receive, have been the least expensive gifts. Think of creative ways to give meaningful gifts that don't break the bank. Don't underestimate the meaning of a homemade gift, especially for parents and grandparents. They eat that stuff up. One year, we actually made a homemade quilt for Kyle's mom. It is probably my favorite gift we've ever given, and I know she treasures it so much, it costs us about$30 to make and a lot of sewing. I learned a lot about quilting that year. Another year, we actually gifted cosmom, a hand print ornament making kit that I found on Amazon. It was under$10 it was our oldest daughter's first Christmas, and was just so much fun to make the ornaments together. The gift of time and experiences is so special now, while staying on budget and out of debt, this holiday season is important financially. I believe the true value in this process allows me to enjoy gift giving without feeling overwhelmed and stressed. So often the holidays become hurried and rushed. So I'm always grateful for practices that allow me to slow down and soak up this most wonderful time of year. I hope this seven step process helps you as you prepare for the holidays and gift giving this year. Consider the wildflowers. Podcast is produced and edited in partnership with the team at Palm Tree podco. Special thanks to our producers, Anthony Palmer, our audio mixologists of palm tree, podco and Lauren from Team Skidmore, without whom this podcast would never reach your earbuds each week.