Peruse the web and you'll find holiday spending calculators and budget sheets a plenty. But I'm not using one. Every year, I formulate a loose plan for how much we're spending and what we're buying, but I never write down a hard number. Here's why.
We save for retirement. We save for emergencies. We save for expected expenses like home repairs, car maintenance and trips to the vet. We have an account growing to replace our beat-up mini-van.
Then we put the rest in an account for unnecessary expenses, but the kind that make life worth living: Vacations, a used pop-up camper we share with friends, donations to charity, and holiday gifts.
We watch our pennies throughout the year to be able to splurge a little for Christmas. And I have to admit it feels good to loosen the purse strings every now and then.
