WEBVTT - Creating a Holiday Spending Plan #131 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.759 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:25.840 and today we're discussing creating a holiday spending plan. Yeah, Juel, 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:27.920 you know, it kind of seems early to talk abouts 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.160 the holidays. It is only October, but it's going to 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:33.480 be important for us to talk about these things now 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:36.040 before we get to the holidays. We're discussing ways to 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:38.160 get through the holidays without debt. We're gonna talk about 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.639 healthy habits when it comes to holiday spending. Man. Yeah, Matt, 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:44.279 there's a status is consumers say we'll take more than 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.639 three months to pay off their balances after the holidays. 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:49.839 That's a big problem. And so yeah, we've got some 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:51.239 thoughts that we want to share in order to help 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:54.120 people avoid that. Because it feels nice to buy people 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:57.520 fancy gifts for the holidays, but then January comes, you 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.800 get the credit card bill in the mail, and that's 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:02.080 what really sucks. That's what it's not good. And so 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:04.520 it makes that spending it like kind of taints it. 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:07.280 I feel like the tainted holidays. I know, right, you 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:08.560 don't want to be there. You don't want to be there. 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.560 It sounds like a lawsuit or a band I don't know. 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:13.280 All right, but before we get there, Matt, what do 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:15.760 you want for the holidays? Any anything that you want 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.600 in your stocking or under the tree. Maybe a little 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:22.440 more sleep? That's actually that sounds really good. I wish 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:23.880 someone could wrap that up and give it to me, 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:26.000 like take the bags out from under my eyes. Yeah, 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.039 we each have had our babies on the scene now 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:30.559 for a couple of months. I'm still not getting great sleep. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.880 But actually, so related to that, I had a story 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:34.759 to share with you about venmo. All right, I want 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.920 to hear how venmo equals no sleep? Like what how 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.039 did these tie together? Here's the thing. So we thought 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:43.120 that the reason Weston wasn't getting great sleepers because we 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:46.560 kind of have this different sleeper, this bedside sleeper units, 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.360 and he was sort of getting turned diagonal a little 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.120 bit and we'd wake up and see him kind of 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:52.720 crammed in the corner. It just didn't look like he 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:55.400 was very comfortable. So we thoughts, you know, what, he 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:58.280 needs to be laying on something flat, maybe just a 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:01.320 little bit nicer bassinet. Maybe we went cheap and got 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:04.240 the least expensive safe option, and we're paying for it 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.520 because we're not getting any sleep. Now, Yeah, that's not 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:09.000 worth it right there, man, I've trade hard cash for 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:11.360 sleep any day of the week. Well that's exactly what 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.680 we did. So Kate found something on the neighborhoods selling swap. 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.360 It was a basically brand new bassinet. She had found 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:20.080 it online as well. It had great reviews and it 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:22.560 was an amazing deal. I went over to their house. 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:24.320 I saw it, you know, as brand new, didn't have 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:26.399 spit up on it or anything to hold it under 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.280 a black light to makee no black light. But keep 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:31.480 in mind how I mentioned that I haven't got much sleep, right, 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.680 and so I'm halfway aware of what's even going on 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:36.400 while I'm over there, Like I probably fell asleep, just 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:37.919 kind of leaning against the wall while the lady was 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.040 talking about and so she told me her Venmo name, 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:42.919 because that's how you do stuff, right. You don't really 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:44.880 carry around cash, right, I don't, at least know most 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:47.880 people don't anymore, especially people in their twenties and thirties. 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:51.440 They're totally used to sending money virtually through Venmo and cash. Yeah, exactly. 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:52.960 And I'm very used to it as well, very used 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.960 to punching in someone's name accurately. But in this particular instance, man, 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.720 I did not do that. I got her name. Let's say, 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.680 for example, her name was Cassie Smith, and I like 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:05.320 the made up names, very nice one. In fact, she 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:07.480 said her name was Cassie Smith too, and so I 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:09.200 was like, done, got it? So I punched it in 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:11.359 and popped right up. I was like, gotcha, I see 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.200 you right here, clicked it, punched in thirty bucks, send 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:15.519 it to her and she was like, all right, he 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:16.960 let me help you take it out to the car. 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:18.880 I didn't take much of it, took a home. We're 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:22.240 done right until an hour later I get a message 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.600 from Venmo from Cassie Smith too that says wrong person. 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:27.920 And I was like, what is she just messing with me? 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:29.720 Because I pulled it up right with her right there, 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:32.760 and I mean Cassie Smith too, right, Like how many 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:34.920 Cassie Smith's two are there? Well, turns out there's at 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.480 least two of them. It totally was the wrong person, 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:39.880 and I wanted to share the story because you need 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.440 to make sure that you have the exact right screen 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:44.760 name or handle when you're using cash app or when 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.040 you're using Venmo, because those companies they don't have any 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.480 control over the money that you send to people. Once 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:52.840 it goes into their account, it's their money and they 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:54.760 don't have to send it back, right, Yeah, And there's 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:58.000 no protections for anybody if you send money. Whereas if 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.160 you use a credit card and you don't receive the 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.680 items right that you purchased, you have the ability to 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.200 do a chargeback. Well, there's there's nothing like that when 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.760 it comes to Venmo or cash app. And with Venmo, 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:09.600 it's easy to see the people that you've paid before. 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:11.880 They're kind of in your history. Same thing with cash app. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:15.000 But if it's somebody exactly, that's what it's the most difficult. 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:17.120 So if it's somebody that's done work at my house 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:19.000 and it's the first time I've paid them, I just 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:21.360 have to make sure I show it to them physically, 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:23.080 like is this your right screen name? That's what I 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:25.320 should have done. Yeah, So that's like really the only 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:28.000 way around it is to actually pull it up and 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:29.880 show it to their face and say is this your 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.920 actual screen name? And they have the scan future too, 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:33.240 like you can pull it up, pull up your profile 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:34.479 and it pulls up the what do you call it, 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:36.160 the bar you know, like the square with like the 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:40.039 different coded shaded sections, so just to ensure that you 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.560 get the right person. But again, it wasn't a big 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.920 deal and I thought, surely that's you. Didn't think much 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:47.440 of it. So did fake Cassie Smith too? Did she 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.080 or other Cassie Smith who I should call it, she's 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:52.960 a real Cassie Smith too? Was she above board? Did 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.479 she send that thirty bucks back? Well, eventually it's like 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:58.840 a lot of conversation back and forth. But the fact 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:00.760 was was she was a that I was trying to 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.360 pull on on her because it was totally random. And 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:04.960 I looked into this because I thought there's no way 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:06.880 that could actually be a thing. But it is. There's 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.720 been some reports of fraudulent payments being sent to people 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:11.839 and then them saying, oh, no, rob person, and then 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.000 they asked for back and somehow that person who sends 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.560 it back, they're out that money because the the initial 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.480 money wasn't maybe fully in fully deposited. I'm not exactly 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:22.560 sure how it works because I'm not a criminal, but 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:25.280 that's something to take into account. So if you ever 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.799 get money sent to you, you know, be above board, 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:30.360 be cool, send it back. But if it seems fishy, 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.560 right if they have like a weird history, or if 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.160 it's a brand new user, definitely something worth reaching out 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:36.920 to Venmo and just letting them know that, like, hey, 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.120 this is going on. Should I be doing this? And 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:41.360 I think that could be a really healthy and safe 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.800 way to be above board but still take advantage of 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.240 those different apps. Yeah, I've heard about that with fake check. 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:47.640 So you get a check in the mail, right, and 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:49.760 then and they're like, send me back six bucks, but 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:53.360 I give you a check I overpaid. It's like, it's okay, 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:54.760 I'm still walking away with a ton of money in 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.080 this situation. But really, they check is fake. It looks 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:58.960 like it clears, and then it doesn't. Then the bank 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:00.880 realizes that it's not a real check, and then they 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.000 want their money back, and it's just, yeah, that's a 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:05.040 hairy situation. But I've not heard about that with Venmos. 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.240 That's fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Yeah, I mean, overall, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.320 still very safe, but like we said, make sure you 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:14.240 have the person's name right at their handle exactly correct, yep, yep, 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:15.880 show it to their face. All right, mat, let's get 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:17.839 to the beer that we're having on this episode. Today 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.320 on the show, we're drinking a beer called Timely Surrender 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.080 by Archetype Brewing, and this was sent to us by 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.120 Brad and Corinna, who brewed the beer themselves. Right, Yeah, 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.960 they are the owners or founders of Archetype Brewing up 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.880 there in Asheville, North Carolina. So thanks so much for 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.320 sending us this beer. Yeah, Monday's I p A was 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.720 excellent and I love me a good Sason, So I'm 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:38.240 excited to drink this one and talk about it at 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:40.520 the end of the episode. Yeah, man, me too. Alright, Matt, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:42.520 let's get onto the subject at hand. Today on the show, 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:45.760 we're talking about creating a holiday spending plan. The problem 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.080 is most people don't have a plan for how much 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.320 they're gonna spend and who they'll be buying for this 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:55.320 holiday season, and their budgets get wrecked because they overspend, 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:58.000 and lots of Americans will have a holiday spending hangover 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.840 and be paying off those unforeseen expend is well into 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.080 the new year. But if we start saving money now 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.359 and start planning for how we're going to spend, we 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:09.120 can avoid that kind of January nastiness and the ridiculous 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:11.640 bill that we don't actually have the money to pay off. Right. 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:13.480 You know what I love around the holidays like a 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.200 nice fresh blanket of snow like outside for Christmas and 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:19.440 some fresh credit card debt. Well, in Atlanta, we're not 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:22.480 getting snowbuddy, But we're also not getting credit card debt either. Yeah, 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:24.600 that's true, man. So a few main points before we 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.080 dive into just how to set up a spending plan 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:29.560 is just overall, you want to make sure that you're 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.240 not going into debt for the holidays, that you're not 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:34.800 going into the red spending money on gifts. You want 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:37.200 to only spend the money that you actually have, and 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.840 so make a commitment to not going to debt over 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.040 holiday spending. No one's gonna love you more just because 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.920 you spend more than you could actually afford. And if 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:47.000 they say that, they'll love you more because you spend more. 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:48.600 And that's not somebody you want to hang out. No, No, 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.760 those are keepers, right, that's a bad friend. But you know, 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:53.800 here's the thing. If you just love giving gifts and 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.840 you want to spend more, just be creative about it. 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.240 Find other places that you can cut back onto, increase 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.120 the amount you have for holidays. Sending. So for example, 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:03.720 if you change cell phone providers to save maybe fifty 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:05.840 bucks a month, like that is going to give you 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.760 more gift money to spend every single month. Yeah, no doubt. 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:12.320 I love the idea of looking at your budget, finding 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.280 places to cut, and then allocating that money towards the 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:16.880 positive things that you want to do. So, like, if 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.680 gift giving is really really important to you, but you 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.040 don't have the money to make it happen, well, finding 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.440 ways to cut your current budget so that you can 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:26.800 allocate more money towards gift giving is an awesome way 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:28.960 to do it. Also, another thing you need to do, 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:32.800 probably right now, if you're into online shopping is install 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:35.520 the plug in called Honey or or something similar. There 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:39.240 are other plug ins that do similar work, but Honey 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.320 is just probably the best. Honey is the best. It's great. 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:43.560 It's so good. Yeah, so people should install that right now. 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:46.200 It helps with coupon codes and really it's just gonna 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:48.480 help you save money when when shopping online. Honey can 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.160 help you see like the price history of a particular item. 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:53.520 It can give you notifications of price drops if you 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:55.920 sign up for that. And also it will kind of 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:58.680 do this automatic searching for coupon codes, so you're not 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:00.800 going down to Google Rabbit hold to try to find 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.440 a cupon code for that website. So I would do 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.480 that now if you're into online shopping, nice man, A 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:10.960 nice little plug for a plug in. Another thing is 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.520 we want to encourage folks to start early. Another reason 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:15.960 we're talking about holiday spending this early in the year, 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.240 this early in the season is because last minute Christmas 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:21.920 shopping is the worst, right, It's hard for planning and 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.040 you will end up spending way more money that way. 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:26.240 You actually want to make sure that you're thinking like 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.400 a retailer, like retailers are thinking about the holiday season 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:31.480 like the following year. And you know what, that's not 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:35.000 a bad approach. Yeah, retailers would prefer for you to 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:39.920 buy all your gifts between like December. In December, I mean, 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:42.760 that's when they want you to buy because they're not 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.319 running sales anymore at that point in time. The biggest 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.760 price competition is in mid to late November. Really, that's 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:51.200 when you're gonna find the best deals on things, maybe 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:54.200 creeping into early December. But if you want to save 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:55.920 the most money on gifts, if you want your dollar 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:58.800 to stretch further this holiday season, and you are planning 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:03.000 on shopping on line in regular bigger retail stores, locally 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:07.120 small businesses, the best sales, the biggest discounts, you're gonna 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.080 find those earlier on in the holiday shopping season. And 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.079 if you wait too long, if you are a last 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:14.800 minute shopper, you're gonna pay a heck of a lot more. 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.080 And and that could end up really throwing a big 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.160 wrench in your budget. Unless you're just like me and 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.440 you love waiting to the last second, because that used 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.520 to be my m O back in high school, back 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:27.120 in college even I used to totally wait until until 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.000 Christmas Eve. And do you feel like you paid a 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:30.240 lot more because of it? I don't know. I was 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:33.679 a very presconscious was in high school or in college. 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:35.480 I was just kind of like, I gotta get something 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:37.640 for mom. I waited too late, And I was totally 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:39.360 the guy that's like parking up on the curb because 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:41.440 there's so many cars at the mall. Do you remember 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:43.760 them all, by the way, Yeah, I think they still exist. 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.800 Actually I don't think they do there, so I'm not 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:48.560 all of them, that's for sure. They're they're going the 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:50.559 way of the Dodo bird. It's interesting to see how 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.920 malls are being reconfigured and the companies that are buying 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.120 malls to do something different with them, because people just 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:57.880 don't shop at malls like they used to go to 0:10:57.920 --> 0:10:59.800 the mall and work, you know, like it's just the 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.360 we work now, like you can go there and get 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.520 work done. But we were kind of joking about thinking 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:07.000 like retailer, but you really do need to think that 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:09.360 far in advance. If you can even start thinking about 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:12.319 the next holiday season now, that is going to put 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.480 you in an even stronger position. Consider opening even a 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:18.280 separate savings account where you can funnel just however much 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:20.080 you need to maybe twenty bucks for fifty bucks a 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.559 month for next year's holiday spending. It's just about having 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.680 a plan, having time on your side so that you 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.160 can implement and execute that plan. Yeah, I mean, some 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.400 people might think we're crazy for doing an episode about 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:34.160 holiday spending in October. Yeah, it's like when the Christmas 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.880 decorations go up and it's not even Halloween yet, right, Right, 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:38.920 That's that's what this episode feels like. But it's even 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:41.560 crazier that we're talking about creating a holiday spending plan 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:46.760 for right, But really and truly, if you want to 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:50.640 make sure you're fully prepared for Christmas, it takes budgeting 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:54.199 in advance. It takes setting aside that money every single month, 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.920 because you in all likelihood know roughly what you're going 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.680 to spend for Christmas based on last you're spending. And 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:02.840 we're going to get into more on that and how 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:06.360 you actually create a solid spending plan right after the break. 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:17.360 All right, girl, we are back from the break. We're 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.120 talking about holiday spending. And like the title of this 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:23.360 episode says, this is about creating a holiday spending plan, 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.480 and so having a solid spending plan is just so clutch. 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.600 And here now are some specific steps you can take 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.040 to get started. Jill, you just hinted at taking your 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:35.120 cues from last year's spending, right if you don't even 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:37.120 know where to begin now, it's not a bad idea 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:39.480 to base this year spending on what you spend last year, 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.439 assuming that you didn't overspend. Think about who you bought for. 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.560 Did you buy for teachers, maybe some distant relatives, third 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:47.360 cousins or no, go, you don't have to buy for them, 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:49.640 forget them, But at then ask yourself, do you plan 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:52.400 to buy for those folks again, and if so, like 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.319 what seems like a reasonable amount of money. This will 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:57.600 give you a realistic starting point for how much you 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.160 can save and set aside. And before the break, you know, 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.439 we talked about setting aside like twenty forty or fifty 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.880 bucks a month. Well, this is when you actually determine 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.240 that amount. When you take that total and you've got 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:09.480 your annual spending for the holidays, you just take that, 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.120 divide that by twelve, and then set that money aside 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:15.080 every single month, just like you would towards an annual bill. Yeah, 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.000 and make sure you're adding in new people. So, like, 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.920 let's say you've got a girlfriend or a boyfriend and 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:21.480 you didn't have one last year. Looking at last year 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:23.760 spending can get you a long way. But don't forget 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.679 about it. Yeah, yeah, looking at last year's we'll get 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:28.679 you like ninety five percent of the way that right. 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.200 Like that, you still need to make some small tweaks, 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:33.400 but that's I mean, that's exactly what we do every year, dude. 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:37.439 We I mean, we'll take eighteens Christmas spending XCEL file. 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:40.200 I will copy and paste that, change it to twenty 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:41.880 nine seen and then we'll just open it up and 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:44.080 Kate will go in there and kind of tweak some numbers, 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.000 maybe add somebody, maybe cut somebody. But it's really that easy, 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.080 and that will get you most of the way there. 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.720 But don't forget any special significant others who may have 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:53.800 joined you in the past year. True, all right. And 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:57.599 also it's important to round up have an amount specified 0:13:57.760 --> 0:13:59.840 to that you can factor in if you go over 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.520 So if you can allocate five more than you thought 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:04.439 you would spend, well, that can help ease the pain 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:06.319 if you do overspend on a gift for a loved one. 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.640 That way you don't feel quite so cramped or tempted 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.040 to throw in the towel if you blitz through the 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.160 budget that you had set for yourself. I know, sometimes 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.440 you find that perfect gift for somebody and you had 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:19.640 let's say thirty dollars allocated for their gift, but it's 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.560 a fifty dollar gift and it's perfect. You really really 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:24.080 want to get that for them. I think there are 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:25.400 ways to try to see if you can get a 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:28.080 better deal on it, whatever, But if that's ultimately the 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.240 gift that you want to buy for somebody, having that 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:34.680 excess amount budgeted in for overages. It's just super helpful 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.920 so that you can go over occasionally on that perfect 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:40.000 gift for that right person. Yeah, the idea here is 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.120 that you have a number man, that's realistic, right, and 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.200 that you have a number that's not so low that 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.200 you completely burned past that and like you said, you 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.760 just completely quit and give up on that budget. And 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.320 so once you have that list put together, and man, personally, 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:54.760 I do feel that like a Google sheet or an 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:56.840 Excel file is perfect for that because you've got all 0:14:56.880 --> 0:14:59.040 your mouths you keep their totals running. I just write 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:01.760 it on my hand and pen. That's my way of keeping. 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.040 And then you swept profusely wipe your brow and you're like, oh, no, 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.240 my budget well, and then my friend like sees it 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.120 and they're like, oh, you're spending twenty bucks on me 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:10.280 for christ, it really gets awkward. Well, here's the thing. 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.360 After looking at last year's list, what you want to do. 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:14.920 If it's looking like you're setting yourself up to fail 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.800 to spend maybe more than you can actually afford, then 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.440 it's gonna be time to start making some cuts. It's 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:22.560 time to get really picky at this point you'll either 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:24.760 need to maybe limit the folks that you buy for, 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.480 like altogether, or maybe some combination of both. I think 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.600 Joe and I would both recommend that you just cut 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:36.520 everybody off your list. Actually, boom problem solved, joyful holiday 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:38.800 is in store for all. I'm sure if all those 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:43.240 fails just Scrooge mcduckett, all right, that's one way to 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:45.920 do it. Probably not the best advice for Matt on that. One. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.480 Another thing you should do in this whole process is 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:50.360 is be tracking the whole time. Like Matt said, an 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.720 Excel spreadsheet could work. I don't actually write things down 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.400 on my hand and pen. That just wouldn't work out 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.160 very well. But once you've created your holiday spending budget, 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:01.560 you want to keep trying as you're buying the gifts. 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:03.760 If you get a great deal on something and spend 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:05.600 less on somebody because of it, well they give you 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:07.760 some wiggle room to spend more on others. This is 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:10.200 how you can have even more flexibility and freedom within 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:12.200 your budget. You want to be sure that you stick 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.800 to the overall budgeted amount and you don't want to 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.120 go over that, but there is some wiggle room inside 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.520 of that if you do score just an incredibly low 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:21.920 price on the perfect gift that you've been looking for 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.400 for somebody. It just gives you that ability to spend 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:26.720 a touch more on somebody else. Yeah, Soul, this is 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:28.720 such an important step, right because you're not only just 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:30.880 coming up with the plan, but this is the follow through, right, Like, 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.840 this is the actual execution, and we're not only just 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:36.360 tracking those expenses, you're comparing it to the numbers that 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.800 you have decided that you're going to spend. Um. This 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:40.480 isn't a situation where you just kind of close your 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:42.680 eyes and crush your fingers hope that that it works 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.000 out after you set that number at the very beginning. 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:47.160 This is something that you are going to track and 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:50.120 follow and monitor because, like you mentioned, man, there's gonna 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.040 be times when you need to make some tweaks and 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.120 adjust the amount that you're gonna spend on somebody else 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:56.320 because you know what, like I really wanted to spend 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:58.560 more on this other person, but we're sticking to the budget. 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.880 We're sticking to the plan, and really that's the hardest part. 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:02.640 That's kind of what it all comes down to. Yeah, 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:05.399 mat And as we're kind of thinking about tracking our purchases. 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:08.480 One interesting way of doing it I think that can 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.800 be really really helpful is considering going cash only for 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.280 the holiday season. If you pull out the exact amount 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:17.040 of cash that you've budgeted to spend, it really helps 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.080 you be disciplined in sticking to that number. And granted, 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.119 that can be hard to do because so many of 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:24.040