By hope
As any bad long-term reader knows, I love to play around with finances. Keeps me motivated. This year was no different.
I decided earlier this year that my Christmas budget would be based entirely on the $5 bill challenge. I’ve been playing this $5 game for several years. And every year was different. Here’s how I spent it again in 2022.
As we were getting ready to head to Texas last week, I got out my bucket and counted my stash!
Drumrolls please….this year, I have $215 to spend for Christmas.
Make it stretch
Since I want to expand it as much as possible and give gifts to my parents, siblings and children, I will have to get creative. Honestly, it’s been a long time since I’ve been creative. It’s time to create my own Santa’s workshop for the season.
In the past, I was a scrapbooking enthusiast, but I cleared out my stash a few years ago when I purged most of my homeschool supplies. So I don’t want to break the bank on supplies either.
A few weeks ago, Princess and I attended a local Harvest Fest where creatives and crafters put their wares on sale. You have inspired me so much. I have some ideas that I think I can implement well.
Homemade and personal
I won’t share my thoughts here yet, because I think some of my friends and family have read here and I don’t want to give them away. But the goal is to create personalized, practical gifts that don’t cost a lot of money. The supplies I’m considering are:
- Boxes – Shoe boxes, cigar boxes (I recently received a half dozen of these for free from someone who knows my grandfather), and small Amazon boxes
- Mudge podge -I can get a large bottle for less than $5 at a craft store. I make a comprehensive list before I go so I don’t overdo it.
- Paint – If I stick to just two colors, I can buy big bottles and hopefully I won’t have too much left to store.
- Clothespins – Great for creating a personalized gift with a photo or note card. And with the included magnets, they come in handy as chip clips or refrigerator decorations.
- Sharpies – Fortunately, I have these in abundance, so no need to buy. Great for writing on a variety of surfaces.
- Construction Paper – I have a lot of coloring supplies, books, crayons, pencils, etc. Mounting a colored element on construction paper improves the presentation slightly. By coloring or drawing something, it allows me to communicate a very personal message or wish to the person I am giving it to as well.
- Magnets – I don’t think a bag of adhesive-backed magnets won’t break the bank. Let me turn a clothespin into a handy display.
I’m looking forward to some upbeat music, burning candles, hot chocolate by my side, in my pajamas, and literal time at my kitchen table.
The goal is to create gifts for 15+ people on this budget. challenge accepted!
Pictures are coming.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager who helps clients grow their businesses and operate more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, and technology solutions. She has recently become an empty nester as her five foster/adopted children spread their wings. She lives with her three dogs in a small town in northeast Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She has the travel bug and does her best to help each of her children finish school and become independent (but it’s hard!) She’s been running her own consulting company for nearly twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the spring of 2015, and feels like she’s finally in a place that allows her to truly focus on making wise financial decisions.
