If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. –Unknown man of genius (or more likely a woman)
Men, it’s December.
You’re probably watching football, drinking beer, and having a jolly ol’ time. Historically, the thought of getting your significant other a memorable Christmas gift has entered your cerebral cortex about 24 hours prior to Christmas morning.
Luckily for you, I wrote this article as a gentle reminder 2½ weeks before Christmas so that you’ll have a head start and treat the lady like she deserves this year.
The problem of waiting until the last minute is (you guessed it): you will spend copious amounts of your hard-earned money on cheap crap that no one actually wants. More importantly, stores have spent the past 11 months planning a detailed attack strategy to make sure your wallet leaves their stores empty.
You don’t have a chance.
That’s why you need to have a counter-plan.
Make a list, check it twice, and start acting like you’re going to be a millionaire someday.
We recommend setting a maximum spending amount that you will spend on your significant other and before entering any store, promise yourself that you will not exceed that amount. Trust me, the holiday advertising at every store this month will make you subconsciously spend way more than intended.
Once you have that number in mind, think up what to get for her. Better yet, make her something. Nothing speaks manly, romantic fortitude like creating a gift with your bare hands. She will probably appreciate it more than the mall crap you were going to get her anyways. Besides, these gifts from the heart (possibly hand-made) will make it easier to keep your budget in check, pay off more debt, and build wealth. Now that’s a gift!
If you need an idea for a homemade/affordable gift for her, here are some good places to start:
(1) Coupon Book. This is a great way to show her that you’d do anything for her. Don’t over-commit though! You have to follow through. Make a variety of coupons such as: back massage, vacuum the house, do her laundry, etc…
(2) Garden Kit. Purchase a small pot (no, not that kind of pot..), a small bag of topsoil, and a small packet of seeds. A good route might be something simple like herbs or lettuce. Make a little wooden plot stake and you’re good to go. Try a home and garden big box store for most of these ingredients.
(3) Photo Book. Women love photos–just look at the number of pictures they are tagged in on the average Facebook profile. They love photos of the two of you even more. Use these photos, or some selfies from your phone, to make a photo book. There are many online stores where you can have one of these made relatively inexpensively.
(4) Game. Pick a game, any game. Target has a huge selection of games for under $20. The thought here is that you are giving a gift that will enable you to spend time together, thus forcing you to put down the Xbox controller once in a while.
(5) Family Cookbook. This is great way to get on her family’s good side. Call up your lady’s grandma, aunt, mother, etc. and collect as many family recipes as possible. Do the same with your family. Standardize each recipe on a single page, and group them together in a binder. Shazam! You have a priceless gift that was under $10!
If you have any other affordable ideas for her, share them in the comments section below or discuss on Facebook or Twitter.
Want to learn how to become a Drunk Millionaire? Start here with the 4 Step Program.
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