Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to keep a holiday budget before the actual holiday hits?

I was sitting in my truck in a rest stop outside Tulsa last December, looking at my bank account on my phone. I had already spent $350 on gifts between Black Friday and two weeks before Christmas. Then my sister called and said she was hosting a big dinner and asked me to bring the ham and sides. I said yes without thinking. That ham plus sides cost me another $60. By the time January rolled around, I had $40 left for gas and food until my next paycheck. I had to run my heat sparingly and eat gas station sandwiches for a week to make it work. The thing is, I knew I was overspending but I felt guilty saying no to anything. Does anyone else struggle with setting a hard dollar limit for the holidays and actually sticking to it?

3 comments

3 Comments

bens8126d ago

Nah, just budget better. Your fault for not saying no.

xena37326d agoTop Commenter

You said it's their fault for not saying no" - that's pretty rough when we don't know their situation. Some people literally cannot say no at work without losing their job or getting passed over for promotions. Judging someone for not having that option feels a bit harsh without knowing what they're dealing with.

julia_patel26d ago

Last year I worked 60+ hour weeks for 4 months straight because saying no meant my project got killed. @xena373 is right, not everyone can just push back without consequences.