Budgeting for Christmas shopping may sound like a chore but it can be the life line you need to avert debt. Typically when a person goes Christmas shopping and there is no budget. Then this gives the illusion of having no limits. And no limits often leads to January credit card bills that hurt. I’ve heard people talk about how they counted on getting a big tax refund in order to pay for the previous holidays. Is that you? That doesn’t sound like healthy finances to me. It doesn’t have to be that way. Designing a budget helps you to avoid that steep downhill in January; and this helps to keep the happiness of the holidays lasting well into the new year. you need to make a list of all expenses. Notice I’m talking expenses here and not just gifts. We tend to spend more than just on gifts, don’t we? Do you have to travel at Christmas? How about special holiday meals? You see where I’m going with this. The point here is to figure out how much you’re spending before you even get to your gifts.