December Challenges

I have some challenges coming up for December with my budget.

My daughter just passed her master's degree testing from UW Milwaukee and so I need to go to her graduation on Dec. 18th. She also has a violin concert with the UW Community Orchestra on Dec. 11th. So two trips to Milwaukee in December will add about another $40.00 to my gas budget.
     

I am also wondering what to do for a gift for her- whether or not to have a party for her or buy her a gift...I will have to talk to her about that sometime soon. Something that I knew was coming up, but forgot to plan for! Yikes.
   

Some of the other challenges in December are always the parties and the Christmas gift giving. Mary Johnson, our financial advisor told us that we need to spend money for Christmas and make it as we always have done before. It's just too special to miss out on all the fun. So each year we always spend money chopping down a tree. Maybe this year we will go for a smaller one and not the blue spruce. I told Dylan that we needed to wait awhile until the salesmen get a little needier for a sale. That way we may get a better deal!
   

This December I also will be hosting the ladies Christmas party in my Condo common room. Because I am in Project Money, the Bethel women all chipped in $5.00 for supplies. It will be fun using someone else's money, but I will need to use my good bargain hunting skills to stay within the $5.00 per person budget.  For the ladies Christmas party, we need to also purchase paper plates, cups, silverware and then at the end we have a special craft project and we need to buy supplies for that too. I wish I could tell you what it is, but the girls read my blogs and I don't want to spoil the secret tasty craft. Watch for a video on my Facebook page under 'Project Money Penny' and you will see how they turn out.
   

Also in December at our work we have an optional cookie exchange. We have one gigantic container that the ushers room and the nursery get and then we share the rest. Last year I spent way too much on cookie ingredients. With chocolate chips and all of the butter in the cookies, things did get way out of hand. With Summit's good training and trying to stay within my budget, I opted out of the exchange this year. Good for my waistline too!
   

So many challenges in December to stay within my budget. It makes me kind of anxious. I signed up to work in the nursery on Dec. 24th from 3:30-10:30. That way I can make money for my Christmas gifts. And I am glad that I meet with my finance person in the middle of December. Maybe she can check my progress then and give me a few tips for the rest of the month.

I need to hold on tight for a bumpy month! How is your December looking???