All this holiday talk already! I’m super excited about the holidays this year – I’ll be traveling back home to Chicago for Thanksgiving and my family is visiting Austin from Chicago and New York for Christmas. I can’t wait to start decorating and baking and it’s never too early to start thinking of ways to save money. Here are ten tips to make your holiday planning budget friendly:

1. There’s only 12 weeks until Christmas – which means only 6 paychecks for most of us. Make your holiday budget early and set aside cold hard cash to pay for things like gifts, party supplies, and travel. The  more thorough you are with your planning, the more likely you are to stick to your budget.

2. One of the highlights of the holidays is the (over) abundance of baked goods. If you’re doing the baking this Christmas, remember that bulk ingredients and finished baked goods freeze like a dream. You’ll save money by buying in larger quantities and be able to start your baking earlier knowing that your famous sugar cookies will taste just as good as the day on Christmas day as on the day you baked them.

3. Order your Storkie Christmas cards early (I aim to have mine ready to address by Thanksgiving) so that you can address one or two whenever you have a free minute. They’ll be ready to mail before you know it and your holiday greetings will arrive before the snow melts. Place your order with Strokie now, and you’ll have your customized cards before Halloween. Now that’s planning ahead.

4. You’re bound to stumble across some great sales throughout the year, so stash those purchases in your trunk or the back of your closet. Whether you’re buying gifts, decorations, or supplies for your big holiday gathering, you’ll avoid sticker shock come November if you spread your purchases out throughout the year.

5. If you’re shopping online, be sure to order early to avoid rush shipping charges!

6. Make your holiday dinners pot-luck! Have everyone bring their specialty and you’ll cut your budget and the stress of having to cook every dish at the table. All it takes is a festive email a few weeks in advance and a little ego stroking to get your great aunt to bring her famous egg nog.

7. Personalize your holiday cards with a handwritten message and a family photo. It’s a cheap and easy way to amp up the holiday cheer and show family and friends that you care. Storkie has a great collection of photo Christmas cards to customize for less than the price of a store-bought greeting card. Holy Swirls is my favorite – it’s modern and festive without being too Christmas-y.

8. Do your research. I know most people don’t recommend using credit around the holidays (heck, I recommended using cash only in this very post) but if you have a credit card with a great cash back program or airline mileage rewards and you have the cash on hand to pay the bill in full (that’s the key!) then definitely take advantage of those savings!

9. Decide who you truly want/need to buy gifts for. Buying for everyone and their brother isn’t budget-friendly nor do the gifts mean as much to you or the recipient.

10. Stock up on gift cards – especially if you can get them at a discount by purchasing online or in packs of 3 or more. If you’re anything like me, you’ll mistakenly overlook someone important and gift cards to a great last minute present to have on hand. Who doesn’t like gift cards?

How do you plan ahead for the holiday season? Are you excited to start planning this year?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Storkie holiday blogging program. I received compensation for my participation. All opinions are 100% mine. Please see my site policy with any questions.

Oh boy. Those financial goals I laid out in January are really coming back to haunt me. In April, I gave an optimistic Q1 update. In July, the Q2 update was peppered with a reality check. And here we are headed into the home stretch.

Just like the previous quarters, they’ll be some adjustments going forward. The divorce is almost final, finances are 90% separated, and October is the first month that I’m back to a single paycheck (and an ex-husband that hopefully fulfills his commitment to helping me pay down our joint debt).

Here’s what I had planned for July, August, and September:

• Pay car loan (Corolla) in full
• Pay Chase (1 of 3) in full
• Continue regular contributions to 401k
• Hold emergency fund steady at $2,000
• Begin separating finances and saving independently

Here’s what I accomplished.

• Car loan ( Corolla) paid in full
• Maximized 401k contributions (4% annually with company matching)
• Increased emergency fund to $3,000
• Finances 90% separated

Things have definitely improved on several fronts, but there are still some big goals left to tackle in Q4:

• Pay Chase (1 of 3) down by 50%
• Continue regular contributions to 401k
• Increase emergency fund to $4,000

And if I happen to win the lottery before the end of the year:

• Max out year Roth IRA contribution
• Pay Chase (1 of 3) in full

So, how have you done reaching your financial goals this year? Do you have any goals for the rest of the year?

I knew it was coming, but when this little baby showed up in my mail box last week I thought it deserved a celebration. Half of our cars (meaning one of two – but 50% sounds so much more impressive) are now paid in full!

That payment amount will now be snowballed into the next credit card in line to be paid off by October as part of my Q3 financial goals.

So, I laid out our financial goals in January. In April, I gave a Q1 update. Now it’s time to see how we did in Q2.

Just like last quarter, they’ll be some adjustments going forward. The biggest stems from our impending divorce and how we’re going to handle paying off our debt and separating finances. It’s not fun, but it’s (dare I say) friendly.

Here’s what we had planned for April, May, and June:

• Increase emergency fund to $4,000
• Pay Chase (1 of 3) in full
• Begin regular contributions to Roth IRA

Here’s what we accomplished:

• Emergency fund steady at $2,000
• Began making regular contributions to 401k account

Not exactly what we had in mind, but it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye. Here’s the plan for the rest of the year:

2011 Q3 Goals

• Pay car loan (Corolla) in full
• Pay Chase (1 of 3) in full
• Continue regular contributions to 401k
• Hold emergency fund steady at $2,000
• Begin separating finances and saving independently

2011 Q4 Goals

• Pay Chase (2 of 3) in full
• Continue regular contributions to 401k
• Continue saving independently

And if I happen to become independently wealthy before the end of the year:

• Max out year Roth IRA contribution
• Pay Chase (3 of 3) in full

So, how have you done reaching your financial goals this year? Do you have any goals for the rest of the year?

Have a few seconds? I’d love your vote in the RetailMeNot BlogHer giveaway!

My trip to BlogHer has been booked for months, but I’d be positively giddy if I could put some of the money I’ve saved for my trip ($20 a week for the last 10 months!)  towards some nasty credit card bills and winning a ticket would do just that!

All you have to do is click over to RetailMeNot, check my entry, and click vote! Entries appear randomly on the page, so here’s what you’re looking for…

Did I mention you’re looking especially thrifty lately?

Thanks for your vote!

Can you believe it’s almost May? This year is flying so I thought I’d give an update on how I did reaching my financial goals for the first quarter of the year and share some adjustments I’ve made going forward.

Here’s what I had planned for January thru March:

• Increase emergency fund balance to $5,000
• Pay Banana Republic in full
• Pay Bill Me Later in full

Here’s what I accomplished:

• Increased emergency fund to $2,000
• Paid Banana Republic in full
• Paid Bill Me Later in full

Not too shabby, right? Since I’m back to being employed fulltime and my husband and I have made some decisions regarding our future, I’ve updated my goals for the rest of the year.

2011 Q2 Goals

• Increase emergency fund to $4,000
• Pay Chase (1 of 3) in full
• Begin regular contributions to Roth IRA

2011 Q3 Goals

• Pay car loan (Corolla) in full
• Begin regular contributions to emergency fund (amount TBD)
• Continue regular contributions to Roth IRA

2011 Q4 Goals

• Pay Chase (2 of 3) in full
• Continue regular contributions to emergency fund (amount TBD)
• Max out year Roth IRA contribution

So, how have you done reaching your financial goals this year? Do you have any goals for the rest of the year?

Tax time has me rummaging through shoe boxes full of receipts, which is always quite the eye opener. While filing away all the 2010 FSA paperwork, it became abundantly clear that prescription eye glasses are my biggest health care expense.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite grateful that an astigmatism is my biggest health care concern, but the price of a yearly exam and new glasses can be a strain, and I understand why people put it off until absolutely necessary.

One great way to keep health care expenses in check is by ordering prescription glasses from Zenni Optical. For as little as $6.95 a pair, you can get frames and prescription lenses with anti-scratch coating and UV protection.

I’ve been a customer of Zenni Optical for years, and I can tell you firsthand that my orders have always been accurate, prompt, and stylish. Their website was just redesigned, making it much more user friendly, and much more tempting to order a pair of glasses for everyday of the week. Especially these full frame glasses which look like my everyday glasses but with a pop of color (green – my favorite color).

Do you order from Zenni Optical? Do you have any other tips for keeping health care costs down?

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine. Please see my site policy with any questions.