Budgeting for a Happy Holiday

I know. You thought I had fallen away from the earth. Well, almost.

Being part of the sandwich generation, I've recently dealt with health issues (my mother), reworking my website (me) and wedding plans (my daughter).

The health issues are getting resolved as we speak (write) and the website is looking better than ever. But the wedding plans still have a ways to go even if the wedding is only 2 months away.

The big problem with weddings is getting what you want but staying within the budget and my kid is vigilant about that (good for her and her fiance!).

Keeping to a budget isn't specific to weddings. It pertains to yearlong (and future) plans.

Now that the holidays are upon us, some personal budgeting might be a wise way to go. Cut down your gift-giving list to the "essential" people. Think "do-it-yourself." Use last year's decorations. Use funky wrapping paper--like the comics. Forego the little things.

I want to share with you a cool site that aids you with your holiday spending. You enter the amount you've budgeted and the actual prices paid. The closer you get to the amount you've budgeted reveals how good you are at this game.

Good luck and happy holidays!