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" We all would like to give lavish presents to the people we love. The truth is that after several tight years, gift-giving remains a touchy and pricey prospect for many of us. So how do you avoid giving credit card companies the gift (interest payments) that keeps on giving? Follow these rules to keep the red on the poinsettias and the green in your wallet. 1. Everyone gets a price tag  Nobody likes to assign dollar values to loved ones, but if there was ever a time to say that Uncle Dave gets less than Grandma, it&amp;#039;s when you&amp;#039;re creating a holiday budget. Karolann Patranzino, founder of Purse Strings Online, recommends making a simple budget chart. First, determine how much you have to spend in total and write that number at the top of the page so it&amp;#039;s always in view. Then decide whom you will be buying for, and list their names down the left side of the page. Put dollar limits in the next column and the gift you&amp;#039;d like to purchase in a third column. Finally, leave a fourth column to record what you actually spend. This approach creates not only an overall budget but also spending targets to stick to, increasing your odds of success. For example, if you go overboard on your husband&amp;#039;s gift, you can decide that the overage is going to have to come out of your nieces&amp;#039; presents. Ouch! Carry your budget list with you when you shop in stores, and keep it in view when you shop online, crossing off and filling in numbers as you go \u2014 or use an app. Galia Gichon, founder of downtoearthfinance.com, likes to let technology do the tallying. &amp;quot;The Envelopes app [for iPhone] is simple and doesn&amp;#039;t require any links to checking accounts or other secure information,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;You create virtual envelopes for each category, from groceries to gifts. Then you give each category a budget. Input the dollar amount you spend each time you go shopping, and it instantly tallies up your purchases.&amp;quot; You can continue to use the app after the holidays to track other costs like clothes and restaurant meals.  2. Secret Santa is a frugal woman&amp;#039;s best friend  All the budgeting in the world won&amp;#039;t help if there are simply too many people on your list. Secret Santa and similar traditions allow family members (or coworkers, or friends) to buy just one gift while infusing the gift-giving with an element of surprise and fun. Tara Connell, a mom of two preschoolers in Brooklyn, says that this tip has been a lifesaver. &amp;quot;My two girls have 10 cousins \u2014 on my side alone! \u2014 so a few years ago, we decided that each child would pick one cousin&amp;#039;s name and buy him or her a gift. When we all get together on Christmas Eve, every child gets one gift, and everyone is happy.&amp;quot; Next:   3. Sweat the small stuff  We&amp;#039;re suckers for the sweet little gestures of gift-giving, such as special wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows, but they add up; so do shipping, new party clothes, and holiday travel. The National Retail Federation reports that last year, a third of our total holiday spending was gobbled up by non-gift items, including food, decorations, and greeting cards. Jeannine Anckaitis, a public relations director and mom of two in Philadelphia, found that with family scattered all over the country, shipping was taking too big a bite out of her holiday budget. &amp;quot;I now try to buy lightweight items for shipping,&amp;quot; Anckaitis says, &amp;quot;because I have made the mistake of paying as much for shipping as the gift was worth, and that feels awful!&amp;quot;  Single mom Carmen Hernandez is especially vigilant. Hernandez, a branding specialist, factors shipping and wrapping into her gift costs, even if it means a less expensive present: &amp;quot;If my budget is $50 and shipping will be $15, then the gift will cost $35, not $50.&amp;quot; Gift cards have the advantage of requiring no shipping charges: You can slip them in a holiday card, and many can be delivered electronically. But recent retail industry data suggests that Americans are sitting on $30 billion in unused merchant-issued gift cards. (If you have any, sites like plasticjungle.com and giftcardrescue.com will buy them for as much as 92 cents on the dollar.) 4. Stop giving (to some people) No, I haven&amp;#039;t totally Scrooged out on you. But I don&amp;#039;t like the idea of your busting your budget because you feel guilty or think you owe someone. Julie Williams, a real estate agent and mom of two in Villa Park, CA, once gave tips to her mail carrier, her housecleaner, and others. Now she can afford to tip only her child-care provider. In such a case, simply say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m so sorry, but I&amp;#039;m just not able to give tips [or gifts] this year. Please know how much I appreciate what you do.&amp;quot; If you don&amp;#039;t feel comfortable with a face-to-face admission, say it in a holiday card. For family, an e-mail is just fine. Another option: Consider giving at a different time of the year, when you&amp;#039;re less stretched. In tight years, Nicole Minore, 40, a vice president of marketing and mom of two in Ardsley, NY, explains to her child-care provider that she&amp;#039;d rather defer part of her holiday bonus than cut it out altogether. Gichon recommends other ways to give, such as offering a home-cooked meal or a free night of babysitting, dog walking, or cat sitting. Or, serve up another great skill you have, such as editing r\u00E9sum\u00E9s or taking photos. Next:   5. Get creative  Don&amp;#039;t underestimate the power of a homemade gift. Anckaitis enjoys creating personal presents: &amp;quot;I gave my boss a neatly arranged group of recipes that I thought he&amp;#039;d like, since he enjoys cooking. He surely doesn&amp;#039;t need anything material, and it was a present that I could afford!&amp;quot; (You can also make personalized cookbooks online, starting at $19.95 for 25 recipes, at tastebook.com.)  Hernandez recommends redeeming charge card perks for gift cards when times are tough. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve used my American Express Member Rewards and Nordstrom points,&amp;quot; she says.  Gichon adds, &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t be afraid to re-gift if the item is in good condition and given to a different set of people.&amp;quot;  6. Let a &amp;quot;thank you&amp;quot; be enough What to do if you receive an unexpected gift? Connell, who works as a corporate-event planner, says, &amp;quot;If I&amp;#039;m caught empty-handed, I politely say thank you, but then I crumble inside!&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s a reaction many women can relate to, but there is no need \u2014 don&amp;#039;t crumble! More important, don&amp;#039;t feel you have to reciprocate. Purse Strings Online founder Patranzino says trying to keep up with others is unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible. &amp;quot;I always tell my clients that their ego can be their biggest enemy,&amp;quot; she says. Anckaitis, a busy traveling mom, has a neighbor who surprises Anckaitis&amp;#039; family not only during the holidays but also throughout the year. She doesn&amp;#039;t let it turn into a battle of egos or guilt: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve told her that it&amp;#039;s much appreciated but not necessary. The kids make colorful thank-you pictures, and we&amp;#039;ve had her over to dinner. I don&amp;#039;t reciprocate in kind.&amp;quot;  Bottom line: Don&amp;#039;t buy what you can&amp;#039;t afford. If you are surprised by a gift and have nothing to give in return, an expression of gratitude and a handwritten note will do your guilty conscience, and your budget, good. 7. Start next year&amp;#039;s holiday planning now  The best way to get a handle on next year is to realize that time is on your side. Stock up on seasonal items after the holidays. Hernandez shops for affordable gifts throughout the year, putting aside discounted buys and taking stock of what she has before putting together her list. Anckaitis does the same, assembling her purchases in December and determining what still needs to be bought. Even January is not too early to begin saving for next year&amp;#039;s gifts. Williams, who has three stepchildren and five grandkids, depends on an automated savings account. Each month, she socks away funds that are earmarked for holiday spending. Patranzino says, &amp;quot;If you put away just $20 a week during the year, you&amp;#039;ll have $1,040. It&amp;#039;s so much easier to part with the $20 than to come up with the full amount in December \u2014 or, even worse, to go into debt.&amp;quot;  And what if you bust your budget again this year? Figure out why and where you went wrong. Was it overspending across the board or on one person in particular? Patranzino says that answering these questions will help you get to the root of the problem. &amp;quot;Put little words of wisdom on your calendar or reminders in your phone,&amp;quot; she recommends. &amp;quot;Your own words will keep you focused.&amp;quot; Visualize what a stress-free season of holiday shopping would look like to you and, more important, what your bigger, year-round financial goals are. If you really want to take a summer vacation or get new kitchen cabinets, then don&amp;#039;t divorce those goals from your holiday spending. Smart shopping for family and friends can set you up to begin the new year with less debt and more savings \u2014 and that is a gift truly worth giving to yourself.  Meet Carmen Wong Ulrich, Good Housekeeping&amp;#039;s new money columnist "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/money/advice/a18505/how-to-spend-less-on-holiday-shopping/>