How we plan year-end spending as a family
Presents, holidays and school things, all in one list we go through together.
Our family budget notebook
November and December are the most expensive months of our year. Sales, presents, holidays and new school things all land at once. A simple list keeps it under control.
One list, three parts
- Presents. Names and a limit for each.
- Holidays. Outings, trips and eating out.
- School. Books, uniforms, shoes, bags.
We add up all three before November starts. If the total is too high, we cut from presents first.
Let the kids see the list. They understand “we have this much” better than “it’s too expensive”.
Buy school things during the sales
Uniforms and shoes are needed anyway. Buying them in the November sales frees up December’s budget for the fun things.
Leave a buffer
Something always comes up: a forgotten birthday, a broken water bottle, a last-minute class party. We keep a little aside for it.