For the most part you’re going to spend more money during the months of November and December than any other time of the year.
I found this out long time ago in college when every holiday season my Spending Account (explanation of accounts here) would get stretched very thin.
Solution: Spending Account #2
In addition to my other accounts, I created another spending account for myself which would cover only gifts, vacations and general holiday spending. I initially used to just put $20/week (aka $100/month) in this account through automatic transfer. That means during the holidays I had an additional $1,000+ to spend on gifts and going out for the holidays. That extra cash is mighty helpful during these months when spending goes through the roof.
Now I put about 10% of all my income in this account. It pays for vacations and everything without having to worry where I’ll pull that money from.
If I randomly see a great gift at the mall or someone, I can usually buy it without much price consideration thanks to the previous 10 months of savings in the Spending Account #2. Same with hopping on a plane for vacation…the Spending Account #2 takes care of it.
If this season you’re struggling to find where all that extra spending money is going to come from, I’d HIGHLY suggest creating a Spending Account #2 for yourself to make the next holiday season much less monetarily stressful and more enjoyable.