It’s a new month, time for a new budget, and with that new budget plan, we need to be sure and account for a few new things.
Don’t be caught off guard by any of these items. If you have already written out/planned your November budget and you did forget to add in any of these, go back today and add them in/rework your budget.
Anytime you recognize a mistake in your budget, the sooner you tweak/fix that plan, the better off you will be. DO NOT PUT IT OFF. It will NOT be easier to deal with later. It will be more difficult, so if there is literally no time to deal with it today, just set aside some time (like, actually add it to your calendar/to-do list) this evening or when you plan your day tomorrow. Don’t just say, “I’ll remember.” Odds are, you probably won’t.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Just put a reminder in your phone now, so that in the off-chance that you DON’T remember, you’re still covered. If you do remember on your own, no skin off your back. Safety net. 🙂
These won’t all apply to you, and it’s not an exhaustive list, but I’ve done my best to think of a lot of them for you!
November Budget Considerations:
- Upcoming sales days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, Small Business Saturday, etc.
- Thanksgiving meal contributions. If you don’t already know what foods you will be responsible for bringing to your Thanksgiving meals, reach out to whoever is hosting this year, and ask them what you can bring. If they let you decide, then make that decision now (I’m doing that today as I use my (free) Monthly Meal Planning template to get our family ready for the month. I’ll just add my Mac and Cheese + Veggie Tray as the meal for Thanksgiving Day in my planning).
- Host/Hostess gifts if you plan to give those at your Thanksgiving gatherings.
- Any charitable giving you plan to partake in this holiday season that is outside of your regular monthly plan.
- Clothing Items/shoes that you might need for Thanksgiving festivities, family photos, or any other holiday related shindigs you’ve got coming up this month.
- Personal Grooming purchases necessary for those same things (this includes haircuts/colors, nails, eyebrows/lashes, or anything else that would fall into this category.
- Additional travel costs that might occur with traveling to Thanksgiving gatherings (gas, flights, hotels, Ubers, road trip/travel snacks/meals, parking meters/garages, tips, etc.).
- Family Photos and/or Holiday Cards – account for postage and envelopes as well!
- Christmas gifts you might come across through the month (not just during the sales mentioned above).
- Holiday Parties that are upcoming. Consider if you might need a new dress/shoes/makeup/jewelry/hostess gifts, etc.
- Pet/House-Sitting – will you be traveling and need to board your pets while you’re gone or ask a friend to stay at your home to care for your home and animals? Account for the cost!
- Utilities – for us, our bill usually decreases as the weather gets colder, but for some the cost can go up dramatically. Account for the change in weather, but also consider if you will have more people using electricity, water, a gas fireplace, etc. in your home over the holidays!
- Decorations – are you going to want to redesign your Christmas Tree or front door wreath this year? Will you want to purchase new stockings or be sure and grab a few of your favorite pine-scented candles so that your home can still smell like the holiday even with a fake tree? 😉 Plan for the costs.
- Handmade Christmas Gifts – If you are planning to make your own Christmas gifts, odds are you’re going to have to start sooner rather than later unless you plan to be making and wrapping last minute in a smoking fog of panic and stress (not recommended. I speak from experience…ha). Go ahead and use our (free) Ultimate Holiday Gift + Budget Planner template to brainstorm all of the people you’ll need to provide gifts for this year, and decide now if any of those gifts will be handmade. If they will be, decide how long the gifts will take for you to make them, when you will make them, and put it on your calendar so that you don’t forget until the last minute.
- Turkey Day 5K’s – are you a runner? I may not be, but I know a LOT of you love to take part in the popular Thanksgiving 5K runs/walks. If you and your family will be attending one, be sure you plan for those costs – and not just the cost of admission. Plan for any eating out/snacks/hot chocolates, etc. that you all will take part in as a part of the day, as well.
- Thanksgiving Parades or other events – Similar to the 5K’s, if you’ll be attending or participating in any parades or other festivities, account for any costs associated with them (bags of candy, float decorations, costumes, etc).
What did I forget? Can you think of any other November costs that we should all consider when planning our monthly budgets? Drop them in the comments below, or if you can’t think of any others, let me know if any of these were great lightbulb flashes for you in your own planning!
Happy November, sweet friend! Now, go and show this day who’s boss.
