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Not perfect

Yes I am indeed not perfect. I could elaborate more on this but I won't.

First things first:

My Holiday/Christmas Gift budget plan is flawed. My initial plan was to charge my purchases to a credit card that has a $500 limit on it and then to pay off the card when I receive my Christmas bonus at the company Holiday party. What's the flaw you ask?? Well I am counting on money that isn't in my hands yet. I know for sure that I will get the Christmas bonus and I know it will be @ least $500 bucks cash. But in order for me to be financially savvy I need to stop the assumptions. Assumptions and money management do not mix. And I am all about managing my money.

I had only charged about $32 on the credit card which I paid off yesterday. I am going to take $250 of my credit snowball money and use that for my Holiday budget. I will use another $250 from my income in December towards my Holiday budget, totaling the $500 I had initially set as my spending limit. So no more using imaginary money. Once I get my Christmas bonus on 12/15 I will decide then on what I am going to do with it. Not going into it now because I would be managing imaginary money again.

Holiday budget flaw fixed!

On a post I did prior to leaving for the Thanksgiving weekend, I challenged myself to do all my Christmas gift shopping for less than $150 total. Well that got shot out the water when my brother asked for a black iPod and my oldest godson asked for a Nintendo Wii. Hilarious ain't it?? Yeah........Dimples was not laughing......at all. Anyways I am in hustlette mode and am in search of a really great deal on either one of these or substitutions. Needless to say, my Christmas gift challenge is no more. I'll follow suit and set a spending limit on each person on my list and see how much I may need to spend from there. I'll do a post on that tomorrow.

I am going to sleep so I can have naughty dreams about Idris Elba....mmmmhmm.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
great point about not spending imaginary money. as much as i know i'm getting a bonus for Christmas, i still haven't counted that money as something i can count on for future spending. nothing is promised, no matter how sure it may seem from this vantage point.
November 27, 2007 at 10:13 AM
SavingDiva said…
I agree with sistah ant about not spending future money. Congratulations on seeing a possible problem and dealing with it.

Are you really going to purchase your godson a Wii?

You could try to earn points at ipodsweepstakes to earn an iPod. I earned 1000 points for a shuffle for my sister.
November 27, 2007 at 12:48 PM
Single Ma said…
I was wondering about that and I'm glad you decided to redefine your plan. Acknowledging a mistake is a sign of growth. You're holding it down over here.
November 27, 2007 at 9:59 PM
Tired of being broke said…
Right on the money about assumptions and money. I used to sit and plan my bills way in advance. Now I just do it a few days before pay day and take the stress out of it. Makes no sense to spend future money that is not in my hands yet.
November 27, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Anonymous said…
Sounds great, but I don't understand why the fact that your godson and brother want expensive gifts has to throw you off. Can't you adjust their expectations? It seems very greedy to me to ask for that kind of gift from someone. If they are kids, you can just get them something else, and they don't understand about money. Just explain to their parents that things are tight. If they are older, you can explain to them that money is tight. When I went back to school, my gift giving was cut way back. My sisters still send me gifts made up of multiple books and dvd's, but I send them one book, or one pair of earrings. It is what I can afford. They understand that. When I am working I can get them gifts as nice as the ones they give me. Can you explain this more in your blog--why do you feel that you have to buy people such expensive gifts? Is it the tradition among your family and friends? Are your efforts to get out of debt a secret? Good luck in any case : )
November 28, 2007 at 2:50 AM
Dimples said…
@ Sistah Ant

Now thinking about it, I have always done that in the past; counting on imaginary money. And a couple of times it has bitten me on my ass for doing so. I am surprised I didn't realize this earlier. That's why I love blogging

@ Saving Diva

I am reconsidering it now that I have thought about it.

@ Single Ma

:-)

@ Tired

Thanks girl.

@ Anon

May have to answer you in a post later today.
November 28, 2007 at 7:08 AM
Anonymous said…
You don't have to get your brother or godson the gift they asked for. After all it's a gift, not a demand. Plus I think kids actually turn out better if they don't always get every electronic toy they want.
November 29, 2007 at 5:50 PM
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