It is easy to spend over your budget at Christmas time. Whether you are spending money on presents or luxurious foods to consume, this is the time of year that we usually indulge ourselves. A little overspending is harmless, as long as it is managed well, but many people spend what they cannot afford, leading them into financial difficulty. Others cause themselves extra stress by leaving present buying to the last minute. This generally always leads to bad decision making and is the main reason for overspending choice of gift becomes more limited as we approach Christmas.

Here are some of my handy tips that will help you avoid both stress and overspending. I hope you enjoy them and please share your tips with me by commenting!

1. I usually work out what I have to spend on gifts in November. I factor everything into my budget; what I will be spending on socialising, on the day itself and then work out what I have left (after the usual every day living costs). Knowing this figure is half of the battle because once you know this, you instantly become more aware of the cost of an individual present compared to the overall budget.
2. Write a list of everyone that I have to buy gifts for, noting down any present ideas as I go.
3. I divide the budget by how many people I have on my list and then allocate different amounts to the different people on the list depending on how important they are to me.
4. I also write a deadline date down on my list for doing all online shopping and finishing off in the shops. I do this because I had an undelivered item a few years ago.
5. I go online and look for discount vouchers and special deals that I can use to get more for my money. When I have done this I start immediately shopping online, making sure to tick off anyone on my list that I manage to find a gift for.
6. I get my diary out and plan a few shopping trips. Before I go on these trips I always plan where I need to go so that I can make the most of my trip and once I am at my shopping destination I ‘check in’ to any shops that I am interested in using my smart phone and Facebook – this is an excellent way of getting special deals that are not available on the rest of the internet.
7. If I have a few people on the list that would like to receive cosmetics or bathing products, I often try and look for 3 for 2 offers in places like Boots or the Bodyshop.
8. I mark down what I have spent everytime I buy a present so that I can keep an eye on the rolling total.