Here is a good strategy to limit your holiday spending. Aside from just creating a budget for gifts, create a list of everyone you want to buy a gift for. Put your closest friends and family on the “A” list and pick a price level for those people. Put your less close friends as “B”. Maybe co-workers as “C” or “D”.
Use that tier system to set price limits. Maybe you will spend up to $50 on each “A” gift, $40 on each “B”, and so on. You pick the friends and the levels, so you pick the budget within your means. However, you have to stick to it for it to work. Break it down so everyone added up fits within your gift budget.
By forcing yourself to budget per person, you keep yourself within your total budget.
However, you might do non-traditional gifts to save money too. Try making something like a baked good for some people. That can save a lot of money.
