Every year I end up going on a big shopping trip to get all the gifts we are going to give to our friends and family.  This happens because I always forget to get gifts throughout the year.  Both my siblings and mother are good about shopping ahead of time (though my brother is only good about it because his wife does all the shopping).  So how do I keep from overspending every year and having to turn to debt to make up the difference?  We save some money each month for gifts so that ther is plenty in our account to cover any last minute spending. 

We keep up with this money by putting it into a separate account and only touching it if we a purchasing a gift for someone (this includes birthdays, weddings, baby showers, etc.).  If you haven’t created a gifting fund then you are making life a lot more complicated. 

If you need help getting organized I would check out the mini budget form on the Next Steps site.  This site is run by the I Was Broke Now I’m Not team (the ministry of Joe Sangl).