So you want to have a holiday party…and not go broke

As part of your holiday experience you may want to invite a few friends over and have a little get-together.  This can be a major expense or you can plan carefully and save money, but still have a classy party.  Here are some suggestions that might help you be terrific, smooth, and have a great time also.

• Set a budget for the party.  Setting a budget will keep you from overspending and help you make sure you have enough in your spending plan for the rest of the season.
• Schedule your party in the evening after dinner or in the afternoon after lunch, then you won’t be expected to serve dinner. You can serve appetizers or snacks to your guests.
• If you choose to have dinner invite your guests to bring a salad or side dish and you provide the main course. This won’t only cut down on the money you spend but also on the preparation time for your party.
   
• If you choose to decorate your home keep it simple yet homey.  Use simple decorations or even  homemade ornaments.
• For entertainment have a game night and ask everyone to bring their favorite game or create an opportunity for everyone to mingle. It may be more fun to be able to reconnect and create new friendships.

A site I recently learned about has a neat article of how to prepare for holiday entertaining.  Click this link and see some more great tips.

Save Money over the Holidays

As we prepare for Christmas with its parties, baking, and of course-gifts to unwrap, I'd like to discuss with you some ways we can be live within our means and still have a Merry Christmas.  I love Christmas but it can be hard on your spending plan unless you prepare for it.  Those of you who have prepared for it, give yourself a pat on the back!!  For those who haven't we have some tips that might help.

Holding fast to the idea of a cash only policy which I wrote about a few weeks ago, I'd like to discuss with you a possible hurdle that you may experience at Christmastime.  You may be tempted to use credit because you don't have enough money to purchase all the gifts you wish.  I've heard of families that put all their Christmas purchases on a credit card and spend the next year paying them off...with interest.  The challenge with this is the excitement of the gifts received goes away long before the feeling of paying things off.

Don't be like the young man in the hurdle video and follow these simple tips:

• Analyze your budget and set a target price on each of your family members.  Keep track of your spending on each person so you're not tempted to go over your target price.
• You may have to cut down on the amount you spend on Christmas gifts, but if you explain to your family and stick to your plan it will be easier for them to understand.
• Instead of buying for each person in your extended family draw names and buy one gift for the person whose name you've drawn.
• I know it's early in the morning but Black Friday has proven for us to be a good day to get good deals, and also get started on your Christmas shopping.

Here are some more tips from one of my favorite personal finance websites, to keeping your costs down and avoiding overspending at Christmastime.  With that I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a peaceful Happy New year because you stayed within your spending plan.

Next week we'll talk about how to entertain over the holidays and not go broke.  Please send in your frugal Christmas or Holiday ideas so that all of our readers may benefit.

Now that Halloween is over...

My wife just learned from her mother a great trick that she used to do after the Halloween candy was brought home, counted and put away for daily snacks.  She would take 7-10 of their best pieces of candy and put it in a zip-lock bag and put their name on it.  At Christmastime she would take the bag out and use it for stocking stuffers.  The children were never the wiser and with a large family it helped saved on gifts.  Look at it as a candy savings plan!!

Try it and let me know how it works out.

Thanks,
Greg