Does Christmas seem to sneak up on you every year? Do you ever dread the gift-giving part of Christmas season?

Join the thousands if not millions of others that feel the same way. Before I got my financial situation under control, I was in that same boat. I didn’t think I had enough money the rest of the year, let alone at Christmas time, so guess how I managed to do it all? It begins with credit and ends with card – credit card. It all went downhill after that when late payment and interest kicked in.

Looking back, there were things I definitely could have done to cut costs out of our budget during the year, but didn’t. I could have trimmed our gift giving budget, but didn’t. And saving throughout the year would have caused way less headaches, dread, and problems come Christmas time, but I didn’t.

Use this simple formula to start saving for Christmas today so you don’t have the dread later:

1. $1 every day = $365

2. $5 every week = $260

3. $10 every other week = $260

4. $20 every month = $240

This equals $93.75 saved every month or $1,125 saved by Christmas time.

Don’t need that much in your Christmas fund? Fantastic. Just cut out one or more of the four steps. Need to reduce your Christmas budget? Cut out anyone that you don’t know well enough to know what they want or anyone that wants to see you succeed in your financial endeavors. As hard as this might be to not give as many gifts, don’t be afraid to tell people your goals of getting out of debt and building a more financially secure life. Once people know your goals and how hard you are working to achieve them, they are surprisingly super supportive. And if not, maybe it’s time to reconsider your gift giving list.

Need ways to cut costs this year? Check out how to save $9,274 in 2018.