It's the 25th of July. Only 5 months 'til Christmas!!!

I don't want anyone to freak out but officially there are only 153 days until Christmas. It will be here before you know it! Have you started planning for Christmas yet? If not, it is time. Trust me, you'll feel better about yourself when you are one of "those" people who have Christmas under control and can gloat that your gifts are wrapped and under the tree by December 1st. If you know me well, you know that I love Christmastime. It was my dear departed mother-in-law's favorite time of year, and I try to recreate that good memory for my husband by decorating to the nines. Last year we had 5 trees in the house!

So, what do you need to do first? Most people think the first step is to make a list of people you will be giving gifts to this year. But, the absolute first thing is to make a budget. Do you have a Christmas club account where you have been putting money all year? If so, then you know your budget. But if you are like most people you don't have a dime saved for Christmas so you need to start now. How much can you save each month for August, September, October, November and December? Be realistic.

Now that you have an amount, make a list of the people for which you will be buying or making a gift. Allocate a certain $ range to each group of people. For example, for teachers of your kids or co-workers $5-$10. Your frugal goal is to spend less than that amount be shopping wisely. When you find a great gift at a great price, buy more than one! When my daughter Christin was in Kindergarten, Lenox China had an awesome summer sale which included Christmas items. I bought 8 "winter berry" pattern cake stands for $4 each. The retail for each was $30. I have since given them filled with Krispy Kreme donuts or homemade sugar cookies to Christin's first, second, and third grade teachers and Caleb and Ciarra's preschool teachers. Last year I bought those "at home socks" from JC Penney for free after a coupon and gave those to my co-workers. They even knew they were free for me but they still wore them and they still kept their feet warm! The cost of the item does not lessen its usefulness!

So, I want you to have a budget by August 1st! Trust me, getting started now is the BEST gift to give yourself!