Unexpected Expenses: Gifts - Part 1 (Merrick)

As we’ve talked about budgeting on this blog, “unexpected expenses” have been mentioned a few times – those necessary expenses that pop up during the month and throw off your meticulous budgeting. Mandatory car repairs, or unexpectedly high gas bills can be among these unexpected expenses, but what about gifts? Just about every month there is a wedding, a baby shower, or a birthday that pops up – you run out at the last minute to buy a gift and end up blowing your budget. Can you relate to this situation?

Philip and I are a young married couple, freshly out of college, with tons of friends getting married and popping out babies right and left. On top of our own monthly expenses, we can’t really afford to fork out thirty or forty bucks for a nice gift every time we get a wedding, baby shower, or birthday party invitation. But we also don’t want to be that couple that doesn’t give a gift.

Well one way to handle this situation would be to set aside fifty dollars each month for gifts. You can then make your way to the registered store and buy some fabulous gift with all that money. OR, you can get creative and still give a fabulous gift, but do it in a way that doesn’t break the bank.

My solution is to come up with meaningful, creative, and fun gifts that are easy, generic, and cheap. Over the next few posts, I will be sharing my ideas for wedding, birthday, and baby shower gifts that fit this bill – and guarantee a few extra bills in your bank account.