Disclaimer: Only think about spending if you're spending within your means and if you have some emergency fund stocked up.
Anyway, since spending is inevitable every December (at least for me it is!), instead of talking about saving and investing, let's talk about spending wisely instead! For starters, if you're planning of coming up with a wishlist, you can divide it into categories. A great post I found was this, and so I shamelessly
Here's a "special wishlist" I created for, who else, Yuri. I know I wanted to buy a lot of things for Yuri, but being the careful spender that I am (I kid, I kid), I wanted to prioritize Yuri's needs rather than my wants for him. Do you see the difference?
For example, let's begin with the WANTS category above. I want to create a mini-library for Yuri, which entails buying a front-facing bookshelf and a cozy lounging/reading chair.
However, aside from the fact that they cost a lot, it's not practical to buy them now for two reasons. First, Yuri is still a very young toddler with a very short attention span, and second, they would take up too much space in my parents' house.
= In other words, they are nice to have, but we can live without them.
On the other hand, for the NEEDS, I listed big, waterproof bibs, a potty-chair, and a straw cup. I need to buy Yuri large and waterproof bibs because he loves to play with his drinking water. All the time.
I also need to buy Yuri a potty-chair because for now, toilet seats are out of the question.
Finally, Yuri's sippy-cup at home is already nearing its natural death; a straw-cup would be best for his toddler needs. The simpler the better.
= The bottomline is we need them very soon.
As for the next two categories, in my opinion, WEAR is considered WANT because unless Yuri has absolutely nothing to wear already, every piece of apparel I buy is unnecessary (as Job never fails to point out).
In this case, it would be nice to have a chambray shirt and a pair of Tiny Toms, but we don't really need them. Do we? No, we don't. (That's me talking to myself.)
On the other hand, I consider READ as NEED because, hello, books are always important! Both of us agreed on us, even though Job strongly thinks I don't need to fill an entire bookshelf in just one month.
In this case, we already bought a lot of books for Yuri's Christmas present (I will make a future post about this!), but it's always nice to have one more Eric Carle and Sandra Boynton book and one elusive Dr. Seuss book.
(Tip: If you don't know what to buy for your niece, nephew, godson, or goddaughter this Christmas, you can never go wrong with books. Keep in mind to buy age-appropriate ones, though!)
There is a difference between creating a mumble-jumble of stuff and creating an organized wishlist. This one helps you spend more wisely because if you're running on a limited budget, you know what to get first. Imagine how hard it would be to realize you need to buy something after spending all of your money on things that are pretty but are not really necessary!
Now, I encourage you to do the same. What nice-to-have stuff do you need? On the other hand, what nice-to-have stuff do you want?
PS: For the ninangs and ninongs and whoever wants to give Yuri gifts this Christmas, we already took care of the "Reads," and we'll be taking care of the "Needs" next. You know what to do. *hint hint*
PPS: On the other hand, you can always get Yuri books. Thanks! :D
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